#and i’ve watched them pretty consistently the whole time. even during the hiatus

[gremlin-pattie]

*Think about the first video you saw of them, whether it was both or just one of them. It’s okay if you haven’t watched them consistently the entire time, just calculate how long ago the first time you watched one of their videos was.

[reallysaltyobject]

Timeless children thoughts

Ok, so I’ve spent about all day trying to form my thoughts on the changes that last nights episode had and now i’m going to try and write them down just to process and, like, see other people’s thoughts (???)

First of all, I love Doctor who. I hate feeling like this. This conflicted feeling. I love Jodie as the Doctor, she is probably my 2nd all time favourite Doctor (David T, Jodie, Tom, in case you were wondering). This season has had some, in my opinion, great episodes. I loved Fugitive of the Judoon, the Tesla episode (featuring my SJA fave Rani), the Mary Shelly episode. Guess what? i EVEN LIKED SOME OF ORPHAN 55 (it fell apart in the end, but Ed Hime can write some great lines (that spam line and the sequence with Ryan getting rid of the virus are personal faves), also that episode was co-written by Chibnall, and the episode seemed to be going in one direction but it felt like there was changes from a certain show runner). Anyway, I have been watching Doctor who since I was 4, I’ve been watching consistently since Ecclestone, through the good and the bad, never missing an episode. And until the finale of season 12, I have never felt so... sad. Not even angry, just sad and let down. I hate this sensation. I need to vent

So, now that the disclaimer is out that I do like Doctor who, even up till now, let’s get into my current trauma 

WARNING THIS IS NOT A SHINING REVIEW OF THE LATEST EPISODE. IT IS JUST MY PROCESSING OF WHAT HAPPENED AND HOW UNSURE I FEEL ABOUT ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE SHOW

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OK, the Doctor is not a TIME LORD. what? ...What?!...WOT!!? Time Lords and Gallifreyans are mutated from her DNA!? 

Right let’s back up a but and start from the beginning of my puzzled thoughts. Why did we need last weeks episode? I mean seriously, It was about an hour of going ‘you’re going to learn something, we known something you don’t’ and then it leads to that. I’m just very confused. Also more side characters which I do not remember the names of by the end of the episode, and thus them dying does not affect me in any way. Was it ever explained why the head Cyber man was ‘torturing’ the other Cybermen? I honestly cannot think of why that was there (maybe to make them 100% robotic with no organic material cause of the particle (WHICH I WILL GET TO!) but idk not very clear).

Also the whole Irish flashback thing? I get that was supposed to be a filter but going back and watching the episode when we saw it in episode 9 the doctor was ALSO SEEING IT?! There was no mention of it at all during the episode but she mentions it in the episode ten. What?! (Let’s not mention the odd editing choice at the end of nine where the Master’s entrance is funny and wild and then it’s like dramatic, threatening music? WTF. I’m guessing some lines of dialogue were cut but still it would have been better to end on his first entrance)

Chibnall’s first new and interesting villain is just gone. A Cyberman that still has its human emotion, erhm, would that not make a compelling villain that we could see at least another story out of? No? we just going to shrink this guy in the space of ten minutes? Cool. Cool, cool, cool

Also the death particle? WTF. That was 110% convenient plot device which I can forgive (a little lazy but so not worth getting worked up over), but it somehow went from being able to wipe out organic life from the ‘entire universe’ to just ‘a planet’. What. I’m serious what was the process here? Was it like not done cooking? 10 more minutes left in the Cyberman before it was done? I mean, it can’t be because it shrunk, cause, well, it’s A PARTICLE. It’s can’t get any smaller than that. Oh, are we just going with that? Lazy. Never-mind, much more to cover. 

So this was Chib’s let’s make Morbius canon time? You know the thing that was created cause they didn’t know how long the show would last, and was pretty much swept under the rug cause it was a weird idea? Right, ok , sure. 

I mean I was actually interested in the Doctor having a cycle of regenerations that she didn’t know about. A cycle. Not seemingly endless lives. Cause that would keep with the canon established, you known, with the whole 11th Doctor getting gifted an entire new cycle which we are two bodies into already on the whole Tenzelore death bed thing. It would explain Ruth!Doctor (not her TARDIS being a police box but I’m sure give any Doctor who fan 20 minutes and a box of crayons and they could come up for a better explanation than what was shown last night). 

But let’s get into the worst effect of last night’s show. There are no more stakes. The Doctor can regenerate whenever, not matter how many times, and there are no consequences. Sure, you want the show to live on but as an excellent TV show put it recently: it is death that makes life worth living (seriously go watch The Good Place)

The canon of the show is that Time Lords get the regeneration from looking into the time vortex, hence River getting these powers (being conceived on the TARDIS). Normal Gallifreyans do not have this, they have to earn it through the Academy. This episode said it was genetics (SEE midichlorians and star wars). W H A T. 

ALSO DOES THIS MEAN THE DOCTOR AND RIVER SONG ARE LIKE RELATED. i mean if regeneration has come from the Doctor and she can regenerate, is it incest? 

The Master did not make any sense in this episode - and for a character who is meant to be psychotic it must be pretty bad for him to seem off. So, the Master is mad cause he is made partly from the Doctor? I mean i know that you don’t go to the Master for coherent plans but still, I don’t really get it. He also spent the entire episode being exposition and that was just, a waste. That is one of my biggest gripes about that era. You hire these great actors and you don’t give them anything to work with. I mean you can see them shine when you do but, you don’t. why? 

Also why is the Master acting like he has no compassion? Gomez!master literally betrayed herself after spending like an entire serious feeling guilt with the 12th Doctor. So, how can he say he has no compassion? I mean, if you weren’t a lazy writer, you could write some material about how they feel abandoned by the Doctor when he left her to die on the Cybership and went mad by the time they made it to Gallifrey. Or even that idea they were in an alternative universe and so this Master had not had the development that the Capaldi era worked on, which would explain why there was another Doctor (Ruth) (I know that gets a bit muddled up with Jack being in episode 5 but you could probably think of something, i’m still reeling from the finale to form a plan right now). No, we’re just not doing that. 

This endless lives also cheapens the Doctor’s sacrifice before. I mean a lot Matt Smith’s time as the Doctor was spent with this. River giving up her remaining regenerations because of his unwillingness to leave his friends. The Doctor spending all of his last regeneration watching over this town in season 7. Was this just nothing? Is the Doctor just going to sacrifice themselves for everything now?

Also, the idea that the doctor is the Other is so much better! That would be cool, it would give her a past that she does not know of (check one), but it wouldn’t have the potential of ruining the stakes and mystery of the doctor (check two), AND it would make the doctor something above what TL are, make her demi-god, which could make the Master made, in a more logical way, (check three). 

right to finish this, I have to say i’m worried. The moves that are being made feel like they are cancelling moves. Like we’re going on another long hiatus. That there is going to be a reboot. It also is giving the BBC potential to make spinoffs of the previous Doctors to likes of Netflix and Amazon, which scares me for the safety of the show. With the ratings going down, and a majority of the fanbase being against the developments in the lore, the sustainability of the show is looking risky. This is an option that i do not want to happen. Unfortunately I think the only option would be to replace Chibs. He is writing the show in a way that is continuing from when he grew up (hence the Morbius thing, and the Master acting in this way) and not from how the show has PROGRESSED since then.

I’m still going to watch the show but I fear that more and more will turn it off. The whole point that they pushed in this era of the show was that new people can watch it, there is no need to have all this previous knowledge yet the only times there has been interesting episodes has been to call backs (Jack, Cybermen, Daleks). This change to something so instrumental to the plot is driving old fans away and confusing the new ones. What you need is someone who is above the show-runners keeping the canon and coherency of the lore, as it know most show-runners change the premise when they start (see Gallifrey gone, alive, gone again)

leave the canon. Look forwards. This Doctor is about being hopeful, they should be looking forward. 

I want this show to be good. I want this show to live forever, because it can. Because it should. 

[amandajoyce118]

Agents of SHIELD S6E01 “Missing Pieces” Easter Eggs And References

Agents of SHIELD is finally back after a long hiatus, and I’m going to have to get used to watching TV on Friday nights again. Just like I do for Cloak and Dagger, I’ll have Easter eggs up after every episode (as long as I’m able to watch live). Obviously, spoilers follow.

The season six premiere sees Jemma, Daisy, Davis, and Piper in space on the hunt for Fitz while Mack runs SHIELD on Earth with May and Yoyo in high ranking positions in his new staff.

Here we go.

Daisy’s Fight Moves

Okay, the whole, “I’m just an Earth woman stopping for fuel” is a nice take on pretty much every Marvel female character being underestimated, ever. But, her moves during that fight? They look a lot like moves both May and Black Widow have used in the past, so I like the consistency of the SHIELD fight training, even years later.

Fox

Am I the only one who finds it amusing that they named a character Fox while the Disney-Fox deal was going on? Just me? Okay.

“A man can accomplish anything when he realizes he’s a part of something bigger.”

If you don’t remember this quote, it’s from way back in season one. Coulson says it drew him to SHIELD and to follow Fury’s path. (It’s also the quote Garrett mangles at the end of the season when Fury and Coulson take him out.)

“It’s times like this I wish we didn’t change the timeline.”

This is an interesting statement from Simmons. MCU logic dictates that you can’t actually “change” time. Uh, Endgame slight spoilers here. But the idea is that new decisions, or removing Infinity Stones from where they’re supposed to be, or time travel, creates new branched timelines. Is this the show’s way of telling us that it now exists in a branched timeline instead of the main universe? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Captain Watermelon

The drink special of the day (which I’m pretty sure is in the bar Deke recreated in his computer simulation and got to visit last season since it’s near the Lighthouse) is the Captain Watermelon. I’m going to go out on a limb and say you use watermelon syrup and Captain Morgan to create this, but I also think it’s a nod to the Captain America or the Captain Marvel fans.

Indiana

The show spends a lot of time in Indiana with the people in the (dimensional? space-time? is Miss America kicking holes in reality for them?) rift coming through there. Indiana is the home of Bucky Barnes in the comics. That’s all I got. Even if it’s where they found ley lines. Interestingly, ley lines are more associated with religious and magical stories in comics and fantasy films, so I’m curious to see if they have a science fiction significance for the show.

“Piper, we need a jump!”

This explains so much about how the space team is getting along for months at a time. They repurposed the Kree tech from last season that allowed Hydra to have meetings with the Confederation. Nice bit of continuity here that they’re still running from the Confederation, who wanted Earth, also from last season.

Sidenotes:

As far as I can tell, the alien species named, as well as the off-planet  places, aren’t from Marvel comics. But I could also have no idea how to spell them, so it’s entirely possible they’re deep cuts I don’t recognize.

I’m happy to see more of Piper and Davis, and that the writers didn’t forget they gave Davis a wife and kid a year ago. This show is better with continuity than most. Also, pluses for the episode include the plan to rebuild the Academy in Coulson’s honor and Yoyo moving on from Mack. It’s been a year since he became director and started shutting her out, and her pining for her boss when he’s so singularly focused would have felt like a step backwards to me. Don’t get me wrong. I love them together, and I have a feeling the suddenly introduced Keller won’t last, but I’m glad to see her living her life.

Okay, and how great is it that Jemma and Fitz both learned some alien languages over the last year? I want to know who knows more. Who thinks Jemma learned the language at every port they stopped to search for Fitz? She’s got to know so many by now.

That’s all I’ve got on a first watch. Let me know if I missed anything!

[cookieswriting]

Can’t Be Happening Pt. 5 (SEAL Team)

((I can’t believe we have to wait until MARCH for new episodes.  WHAT IS THAT?!?! NOT COOL MAN!!!! I will do my best to help break up the hiatus…there will be one more chapter after this one and then I’ll get started with some other ideas.  Don’t forget, let me know if you have any requests and I will do my best to make it happen!  BTW, totally making up Clay’s rank.  I know at one point they ID’d him as ‘sailor’ (when Ray was dealing with the whole accidental death of the boy) but A) he’d be called Seaman if he were a non-rate and B) from what I have been able to find, someone on an assault team like Bravo is a First-Class Petty Officer or higher, so he should have been addressed as SO1 not ‘sailor’, especially considering his experience leading other teams as they’ve mentioned several times.  But that’s my own personal nitpick ;) and I could also be wrong so there’s also that hahaha))

A dull throb drew Clay back into consciousness, but it took several minutes to figure out that it originated from...well, everywhere.  Whole left side of his body, middle...area of the right side of his body...face...there wasn’t a particular spot that he could identify as not aching.  

Memories hit him abruptly, of noticing movement in the shadows as he cleared a room chasing Doza’s right’ hand man after he fled the courtyard, of pushing Sonny back to the relative safety of the street and surrendering himself to the dozen men waiting for them.  The video...the brutal beating they’d given him despite his insistence that he didn’t know anything.  The agony of his leg being broken, and then...nothing.

Forcing himself to remain still, Clay listened to his surroundings.  When nothing stood out, he tested his ability to move, and felt panic threaten to seize him.  Despite the pain, his left arm was utterly immobile, and his right wrist was definitely bound to something.  Dammit.  

Voices filtered into wherever the hell he was, and Clay sank into his cover as he gave up on the pretense of unconsciousness.  “Please-” A wracking cough cut him off, and fresh agony stole his breath for a moment.  “I-I thought it was a restaurant...I don’t know anything.”

Hands pressed against his chest, careful of his shoulders...the first sign that maybe he was missing something. ��“Stand down, Spenser...you’re safe.”

Davis.  Finally blinking against the bright lights above him, Clay took in the concerned face hovering above him and gave a relieved smile.  “Lis-” Another round of coughing, and she was gently pressing a straw against his lips.  

“Easy, Clay, drink slow.  Take a minute, get your bearings.  We’re back in Virginia.”  Clay looked down to see his left arm strapped firmly across his chest, likely to secure his dislocated shoulder.  He did raise a questioning brow, though, when he looked down to see his right wrist secured to the bed.  “This isn’t the first time you woke up.  First time you’ve woken up coherent enough to settle, though...you tore out your IV the first time trying to fight free before Sonny and Jase could hold you down and the doc could sedate you.”

After taking another long drink he nodded for her to take the cup away.  “How long has it been? Where are the guys?”  Man, his throat was like sandpaper.

Lisa grinned wryly as she pressed the call button.  “It’s been five days since you were taken, two since we made it back to Virginia.  The guys are at Command...getting a dressing down for going in after you I’m sure.  Not that any of them care, Blackburn has already gone to bat for them, so they will probably just be confined to base for a while.”  

Both turned their attention to the soft knock at the door.  “Hello there, SO1 Spenser, it’s good to see you alert. My name is Kelly. How are you feeling?”  A petite brunette walked in, clipboard in hand, and glanced at Lisa.

“Please, call me Clay.”  The nurse nodded with a kind smile.  “I’ve been better, that’s for sure...she’s fine to stay if she doesn’t feel like getting up, swear she knows more about any of us than we know about ourselves.”  He winked over at his friend, who seemed to visibly relax at his joke. “Everything hurts, not gonna lie...shoulders are both on fire...left moreso than right…”

“I can give you some stronger meds for that-”

“No, I’d rather not be hazy…”

“Clay,” Lisa interrupted gently. “You’re home, you’re safe, and I’m not going anywhere until the boys are back at the very least.  Take the relief.”

Kelly looked between them.  “How about I give you just enough to take the edge off without affecting your alertness?  And when you’re comfortable and ready to sleep, we’ll up the dosage then.  Sound fair?”  Clay relented with a nod, and remained silent as the nurse took his vitals, removed the strap from his right wrist, and checked his stitches.  Once she was finished, the nurse glanced shyly at the SEAL.  “Numbers are heading in the right direction, Clay.  Maybe once you’re healed up we could grab a drink?”

A sad smile tugged at the man’s lips as images of another beautiful brunette, this one encouraging him to hold on during his darkest moments, crossed his mind.  “I appreciate that, Kelly...but I’m not in a good place for that right now.”  She nodded and excused herself.  

Lisa watched the blonde man rest his head back against the pillow with a tired sigh.  “Did you know that Stella tried to call you the day that you were taken?”  

He winced at the mention of her name, gentle though it’d been.  He was too tired to mask his surprise.  “N-no...we, uh...we split up right before shipping out.  She’d dodged my first couple of calls when we got to Mexico.”

“She must’ve called right after you left for the mission...was trying to make things right.  She’s been with Naima since the…” Davis cleared her throat, looked away for a moment before continuing.  “Since the video was released.”  Clay felt a twist in his chest at the thought of Stella seeing what he’d been through.  Lisa stood and approached the bed, settling her hand over Clay’s uninjured arm.  “I’ve kinda taken over keeping in touch with Stella instead of Naima having to be the go-between for the guys.  They are...less than thrilled with her over what happened before we left, but I can see things closer to her perspective.  I’ve been stuck miles away and unable to do a damn thing as you, Jason and Trent went down in a chopper.  I have a little bit of a clearer understanding of what it feels like to be on her side of things.”  Watching Clay’s conflicted reaction, Lisa squeezed his bicep and shrugged.  “Maybe I wouldn’t have been so quick to forgive her...lapse of judgment if she weren’t so consistent in checking in since the moment the team got you back.  She’s following your lead, though, Clay...if you don’t want to see her again, she’ll back off.”

The wounded SEAL stared up at Lisa for a long moment, processing everything she’d said; that Stella had wanted to fix things before he’d been taken hostage...and still wanted to be with him even after what he considered to be the worst scenario she could’ve endured as his girlfriend.  “I...I need to see her...talk to her before I make any decisions.”  Lisa grinned.  “But I need to talk to the others first.”

“What you need to do first is rest.  The team will probably be another couple of hours.  You’re still healing, Clay...I don’t know how much you remember, but we came really close to losing you.  It’s going to take time to bounce back from this, so don’t push it, do you understand me?”

The SEAL couldn’t help his smirk, even as he lost the fight to keep his eyes open. Damn, if this woman doesn’t have some magical powers that bend us to her will, he thought. “Aye aye, ma’am.”

The last thing he saw before falling asleep was the affectionate grin on her face as she settled back into the chair near the door.

“C’mon, Ken Doll, Davis already gave you up, open those pretty blues, you’ve had enough time to sleep.”  The gruff voice that dragged Clay back from his slumber was accompanied by light pats on the cheek, and the young SEAL flinched away with a grimace.

“Really, Sonny?” Trent growled.  As Clay opened his eyes, the medic was tugging Sonny away from the bed.  

“I didn’t touch any of the bruises, but you can’t tell me you aren’t itchin’ to see him awake and talkin’ just as much as I am.”  When Sonny caught Clay’s gaze, the Texan lit up.  “There he is! Welcome back to the world of the living, GQ!”

“You wanna take it down a notch, Son?” Clay mumbled, turning his eyes to the rest of his room.  The entirety of Bravo Team was scattered around him: Sonny and Trent standing at his right side, Brock and Cerberus next to Lisa by the door, Jason and Ray to his left.  

“Sorry the caveman can’t keep quiet to save his life,” Lisa offered with a regretful smile.  Clay grinned back with a wink.

“How are you feeling, Kid?” Jason asked, voice soft.  

“Like hell,” he answered.  “What’s the damage for going rogue?”

The Team Leader shrugged.  “Couple weeks restricted to base, which is fine because it’s about how long you’ll be stuck in here anyway.”  Jason watched his youngest team member quietly for a moment.  “Before you ask, cause I know you will, Charlie team is taking over the hunt for Doza.”

Clay nodded his gratitude, chose not to respond to the fact that he’d be confined to this room for two whole weeks.  “Thanks for coming after me.”

Brock snorted.  “Like not bringing you home was even an option.”

“The only reason the cake-eaters gave us any hell is because we didn’t wait for their green light, couldn’t be made to look like fools for not responding faster,” Ray added.

The injured SEAL fidgeted for a moment, wishing that he could move his left arm - or leg...that he could find some kind of comfortable position as he prepared for what he was sure would be an uncomfortable conversation. He settled for raising the head of his bed so that he could at least be sitting up. “Hey, guys...I’m going to ask Stella to come by...to talk.”  Sonny opened his mouth to retort, but Clay held up his good hand, limited thought the movement was by his IVs.  “I know that you guys aren’t happy with what happened...but this is between me and her.  I don’t know if I’m going to let her back in or not…” He took a breath, both for rest and to steel himself for whatever arguments they might give.  “But I am asking that you trust my judgment, whatever I decide.”

“She let you deploy fresh off a breakup, and look at what happened,” Sonny insisted, his hands grasping at the bedrail and tightening.  When Clay looked up at him, the Texan was staring at the floor.  When he spoke again, guilt softened his tone.  “You took a stupid risk…”

Clay wrapped his fingers around Sonny’s wrist and waited until the older man met his eyes to respond.  “I recognized a threat to my team and a chance to protect my brothers.  I was first in the door, I looked most like just another tourist...I knew things wouldn’t have gone well if they were able to grab anyone else.  Breakup or not, I would do the exact same thing in any circumstance.  Stella had nothing to do with it.”  He squeezed until Sonny nodded his understanding, and then Clay glanced around to make sure the others heard him as well.  “I would gladly lay down my life for you, and I know you would do the same.  What happened with Stella...she tried not to have the conversation before we left.  I was the one who wouldn’t let it go until she told me what was bothering her.  It was just as much her fault as it was mine…”

“We’ll follow your lead, Spense.  It’s not an easy life...we don’t always get it right the first time around.  If this didn’t scare her off...not really sure what would,” Jason assured.  The rest of the team nodded their agreement, albeit reluctantly on Sonny’s part.  “Just be sure she’s back for the right reasons.”

Davis stood with a genuine smile.  “I’ll give her a call.  Looks like it’s time for you boys to clear out.”  She hesitated for a moment.  “Brock, you grabbed Clay’s stuff when we left Mexico, right?  Can you bring his laptop in here, give him something to do while he waits for her to get here?”  Clay narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, before he remembered her comment about the call he’d missed before being taken.

Ten minutes later, Clay was alone in the hospital room, laptop resting across his knees as he pulled up the video message that he’d never gotten to see.  He watches as the face of the woman he loved changed from forced optimism to guilt, tears filling her eyes as she apologized for hurting him and asked for the chance to fix it.

“I was so stupid for waiting so long to call you after Naima talked some sense into me the day you guys deployed.”  The blonde SEAL looked up to see Stella leaning against the doorframe, eyes red and watery. She refused to look anywhere but his face. “I knew within a few hours what I was going to do...but I was too embarrassed.  Maybe if I’d called sooner, things would’ve been different…” A tear slid down her cheek, and Clay closed the laptop with his good hand.  

“Stella, what happened wasn’t because of us breaking up.  What happened was because I needed to protect my team...my brothers.  I would’ve done it no matter how things were with us.”  He hesitated, knowing that this would be the defining moment for them.  “That’s not something that will ever change, Stell.  It’s my job to protect them, and I will do that with my dying breath if I have to.”

Fresh tears dripped to the ground as she dropped her gaze to the floor.  “I...I know,” she murmured, voice surprisingly certain.  When she returned her eyes to his, determination shone through.  Hesitant steps brought her to his right side, and when he canted his head towards her, she sat gingerly on the bed near his hip.  Clay refused to break her stare, reading every shifting emotion as it crossed her face, and instinctively laced their fingers when her hand settled over his.  Stella sobbed, and the vice grip around his heart eased.  “I love you for your devotion to your brothers, Clay.  I would never want that to change...and I’m sorry that I ever made you feel otherwise.  Bravo is your family...they’re part of you.  I regret giving up even a second of time being with you out of the fear of what might happen...but it’s shown me that I need to make the most of what time we do have together...to be grateful for every moment we are given together, and support you through every step, good or bad.”

Clay smiled softly at her, squeezing her fingers.  “If we do this again...I have to warn you, the guys are going to be hard on you for a while, until they feel confident you’re here for good.”  Hope swelled in his chest at her responding look of tenderness and the warmth of her hand against his cheek.  

“I would expect nothing less from the men who watch your back in life and death situations, as well as every other facet of your life.  I am prepared to do whatever it takes to prove to them that I’m not going to let my fear drive me away from you ever again.”  She stared into his eyes for a long moment.  “Are you willing to give me a chance to make things right?”

In lieu of responding verbally, Clay eased his hand around her waist and tugged her close to press his lips against her.  Finally, he was home.  Finally, he was whole again.  This woman, who’d already proven time and again that she belonged in his world, had come back to him even after the next worst thing to him actually being killed in action...and he would make damn sure she wouldn’t run again.  If her response to his kiss was any indicator, that wouldn’t be an issue; the SEAL drew back with a low hiss when they got too caught up in the moment, and she bumped his injured arm.  

“Shit, sorry, I’m so sorry…” Her hands hovered over his shoulders, wanting to fix it but not knowing what was safe to touch.  Clay chuckled at her and kissed her again briefly, wanting to assure her that he was okay.  Stella sat back, now serious, eyes tracing every visible bruise and cut, the bandages and outline of his casted leg beneath his bedsheet.  “When that video came on…”  He cradled her face when her lower lip began to quiver, and she leaned into his touch.  “I was out at the bar, and it didn’t even connect at first that it could be you.  One of the others, maybe...but my mind didn’t even let me process the possibility that it would be you.  I’ve never been so scared...and then Naima called me, within minutes.  Even knowing we’d broken up, not knowing I’d changed my mind...she didn’t give me a choice, I wasn’t going to be alone while you were gone.  I don’t know how I would’ve handled everything without her and the other wives.”

Clay made a mental note to thank Naima for calling Stella out when she’d needed it, and being the support she needed and never would’ve felt comfortable asking for.  “Ray’s got himself a special lady, and I’m glad she was there when you needed her most.”  Idly twirling a strand of brunette hair around his finger, the blonde took in her beautiful face and once again remembered when it had come to him in his darkest moment.  “You know, while they had me...there was a point where I hallucinated that you were with me.”  She tensed under his touch but didn’t respond, so he continued.  “You encouraged me to hold on, reminded me that the guys wouldn’t give up.  It gave me strength, got me through til they showed up.”  The sudden tears streaming down her face startled Clay, and he narrowed his eyes.  “What?”

“I...I had a nightmare the second day after you were taken...that I was with you.  I could smell the blood…”

The meaning behind her words tightened his chest, and he couldn’t help a grin.  “My very own guardian angel.  Hey,” he waited until she met his eyes again.  “I’m home, I’m safe, and most importantly, you’re here with me.  I love you, Stella; getting over this is going to royally suck on many levels, but I know that we’ll get through it together.”

[runa-stuff]

Here be spoilers!

My jumbled thoughts on season 4 and the differences now that we’re on Netflix.

Alright, I’m somewhat back to the land of the living after binging season 4 two times. I have never been this emotionally drained after watching a show/movie. So much PAIN.

Things I loved and other thoughts:

- That opening song! I never liked that song but this version I adored!! Those lessons are paying off, Tom flippin nailed the high notes.

- The focus being on the characters instead of the case. This season makes it very clear how much fox pushed for this being a pure procedural. I mean we knew that the lucifer team had to fight for every scene that had nothing to do with the case of the day, but look just HOW MUCH! Most of the time during s4 I even forgot there was a case going on, and most importantly, the case’s sole purpose were to enrich and advance the character’s own storyline. It felt organic instead of forced.

- The costumes. They all looked so bloody good this season.

- The fight scenes were out of this world!!

- More supernatural stuff!! For once Lucifer was allowed to show he is more than human! He has more freedom because Chloe knows now, yes, but he was never allowed to show his strength before at all, except for the occasional door-handle crushing or chain ripping. That car scene was everything! Let him be a BAMF every once in a while, he’s the rebel angel!!

And Demons! More of that please! Love the zombie-esque way they handled the possession business.

Also Lucifer starting that boat cracked me up. Of course, he can turn everything on. 😂

- Things like racism, police-violence and mental issues being acknowledged and taken seriously.

- The way the triangle was handled. After the Pierce fiasco I was very, very worried about this being another generic love triangle. Honestly it wasn’t even a love triangle in my eyes this time, because it was painfully clear the whole season there’s only one Lucifer loves. It was more about him being torn apart by what Chloe and Eve represent, and that was brilliant.

The women didn’t “fight” over the guy. All of the involved characters learned from it, and it didn’t end with Lucifer “choosing” either side of him, but with him realizing that he wants to be HIMSELF. That he shouldn’t have to choose a side and change for others.

- Deckerstar! THAT AXE-SCENE!! That was intense and charged  and holy carp, all I can think of is: if she had wanted to push that axe down, he would have let her, wouldn’t he? He is vulnerable around her, and every time he chooses to be around her he puts his eternal life in her hands, and Chloe finally knows that. Ahhh! There were so many amazing scenes between them. Both their hearts got ripped wide open again and again, and it brought them closer than ever.

I also love how they keep playing with the fact that he’s vulnerable around her (the bar fight, him flinching when he slips with the knife before realizing Chloe is not there etc). Crying about the ending scene later.

- Chloe babe!! She’s back in the game! Lauren killed it this season, she was finally allowed to shine. Her post-reveal journey to acceptance was handled perfectly (I know many liked to believe she’s gonna accept and love him for what he is like two seconds after seeing his face, but that’s the stuff of fanfics).

I don’t wanna see anyone shitting on her because of what she almost did! Her whole world was turned upside down and she was manipulated in that vulnerable time, if you wanna shit on anyone, shit on Kinley. I’m so proud of her breaking out of that and realizing Lucifer ‘is who he is’, after all. The most important thing is that she didn't do it, in the end. And maybe that wine glass breaking was a bit of divine intervention, because the music being loud enough to break it alone would mean she’s at the very least deaf now. (don’t overthink it, I know) just rewatched the scene and saw she actually topples the glass over so nevermind.

- Lucifer finally found his brain again. I was getting tired of him getting more and more stupid and regressing for no reason. Also that dark velvety edge is back in his voice.. my voice-kinky ass is very happy with that, since his voice somehow got higher and higher with each season lmao. Oh and that scene at the end of 4x08 in Lindas office. Holy shit, guys. Tom ripped out my heart, trampled on it and threw it into the trash. The growth in the last few episodes!! And how is no one talking about the voices-in-his-head bit?

- My devil kink has been fed very well. Phew. Perfect eye-flashing moments, and use of distorted voice.

- STEP-SATAN HAS RISEN. Seriously that was awesome and cute. And finally some acknowledgement that he DOES love that little urchin too.

- Dan. Some of those scenes were painful to watch for my Douchifer heart. I hope he is the next to get into the Know… I don’t see any other way for him to change his opinion on Lucifer again any time soon.

- That whole Baby plot line? I usually hate baby plot lines with a passion, but this one wasn’t so bad. 'Aminidiel’ still cracks me up though. Still, my least favorite part of the season I think. Not a fan of Remiel either. That felt a bit wasted, probably because of time reasons.

- Eve. I was skeptical because there was way too much focus on her in the promos, but she is super cute. She also tackled some fe/minist themes that I believe has a lot of potential for the future. I hope she comes back next season, Mazeve all the way!

- Michael and Lilith hinted!! Very interested in the tension I smelled between Amenadiel and Michael, and more of Maze exploring the feelings for her mother please.

- The humor. It’s a bit darker, but still like we know and love it from past seasons. I’m still giggling over the “he got tired” pun. Heh.

- I am now more convinced than ever that at least one of the writers is very familiar with fanfiction, because some of that stuff was grade A fanfic material. Hell, some of the stuff WAS almost straight out of fanfics I read, and that I had never imagined to see on screen! I love it!

- The CGI was.. nice actually. At least the devil bits. So crispy. The wings were consistent this time and pretty good too. I’ve always been proud of this show going the full on CGI way instead of the lazy/cheap supernatural-way, as I like to call it (no offense, I loved that show back in the day), so I’m not complaining about weird wings and stiff movements too much anymore. I don’t expect Legion level wing fights ( https://youtu.be/Mp6aKCE3jSc ) but I do wish they would make the feathers look a bit less looking like.. plastic. A bit less feather-duster, at least - a proper look at real wing anatomy wouldn’t hurt. Ok I shut up about that now, I promised

- Tom Ellis’ new devil-bod. Thanks Netflix. But they didn’t overdo the nudity either, it was just right.

- Sex positivity! Open relationship! Bi! Yes! Just disappointed Lucifer still didn’t get to snog a willing man properly. What’s the hold-up? Once again only women kissing other women on screen. Not that I’m complaining about Mazeve or that Eve/Ella kiss. Damn, Ladies.

- THE ENDING. OH MY GOODNESS, THE ENDING. Final episodes of Lucifer have the tendency to build up and up and up until you think this scene HAS to be the climax of the episode, but it’s NOT. Because there’s always one more scene that punches you in the feelings until the end (and you know it’s gonna happen when a way too amazing song starts playing). And boy, did they deliver again.

I knew Lucifer is going to say something stupid the very moment I saw his face at the beginning of the scene. I could fangirl over Tom’s incredibly expressive face and eyes all day long, but I’ll spare you. I just KNEW, you know. Lauren killed it again, I felt every bit of pain and despair from both of them. I have never been/will probably never be in love in my life, but I imagine what I felt during that scene is somewhat what love feels like. It hurt, man.

A bit of angsty goodbye love-making would have had the perfect timing here and made it all the more bittersweet, but we can’t have it all.

Earlier I had the thought that Chloe probably feels guilty about conspiring with Kinley… would be cool if they used that next season when she’s going to drag his devilfriend out of hell. Also very much looking forward to some Hades + Persephone vibes - because it would be stupid to drive them apart again.

All in all I think the cancellation really was the best thing that happened to this show. I believe it would have only gone downhill on fox with the amount of episodes and all the restrictions and hiatus. Iirc, the cast themselves said they always felt like the ugly duckling there with how the show was treated. On netflix we finally have promo, freedom and a storyline how the writers imagine it. I’m so proud of this fandom, and I can now safely say that the month with barely any sleep was worth it (even though it made me kinda addicted to twitter, damnit).

I hope netflix doesn’t wait too long with the renewal - while I have no doubts we’ll get s5, I still hate this in-limbo feeling lmao.

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @high-king-margo​

Every week we interview a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

Hey there! I'm Lexi (or some people may know me as Nell). I'm in my early 20s, recently graduated with a creative writing degree and certificate in publishing and still trying to learn how to navigate the real world! I love all things creative and when I'm not writing, I'm doing art or playing music or spending time with my pets!

How long have you been writing for?

I started taking writing seriously in seventh grade, but I didn't start writing fanfiction until tenth.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

The characters, for sure. I love the world and the story, but the characters are all so complex, so beautiful and ugly in their own ways, it's just thrilling to write about them regardless of context--especially the way they interact with one another.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Margo 100%! Her voice just comes easily to me, and I love the depth of her character. We're all familiar with her armor at this point, and since I watched the show this past summer I've loved poking under the hood at all the soft mushy bits. She has an incredible capacity for love and my favorite thing is to drag that part of her out into the open.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

I generally prefer to write canon-compliant stuff, so my favorite point to write about is after whatever the last episode to have aired was! Easy between seasons, not so much during them. As for a particular season, I haven't actually written anything taking place during season 2, but I would really like to!

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

Yep, I'm working on Timeline 25 off the 39 Graves Project! I don't have a real title for it yet, but it's currently the longest thing I've ever written, so it's a lot of feeling around in the dark and experimenting for me. It's in two parts: Julia and Margo. They're two very different sides of the same situation.

How long is your “to do list”?

Not very long, but that's probably because I don't keep a real list, just random ideas floating around in my head! I do have three fics in progress that I may or may not ever finish, but other than that I have maybe two or three more ideas.

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

"Just to Bring You Home." It's the longest oneshot I've ever written, and I did it based on an ask from the prompt exchange thinking it would be quite a bit shorter than it was. I love the dynamic (what little of it there is) between Margo and Kady, so I took it and ran, and it ended up being something I was really proud of!

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

I've only written three fics, but for this I'd say "So Far From Where I Want to Be." It's a His Dark Materials (or The Golden Compass) daemon AU, so that probably put people unfamiliar with it off, but I think daemons make character studies ten times more interesting, so I went for it! It was the first fic I wrote for The Magicians, and it's a little outdated now that we've had Margo's big episode in 410, but it's how I saw her and her relationship to sex, and it honestly probably always will be.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

It's a struggle. It's hard for me to start working and it's hard for me to keep working, even if I enjoy the work, so if I want any hope of getting anything substantial done I have to completely block my internet. If I'm feeling extra focused I'll put on instrumental music in the background, but usually I need as few distractions as possible, and boy is that hard when your own mind is a distraction!

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

This is my first year in the fandom, so most of my writing has been done during the season, but I definitely prefer to wait for hiatus and I'll feel a lot more at ease writing fic once the season ends! I'm not really sure how the development of canon influences me, though; I take note of new details about the characters, but since I tend to write based on the most recent episode or outside the canon timeline altogether, it doesn't affect me that much.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

I know I'm still in the middle of it, but Timeline 25 by far. It took an amount of planning I quite frankly wasn't prepared for and several structural revamps, and even now that I know what I'm doing, it's a lot of work keeping everything consistent and flowing well.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

I have a thing for feelings confessions. I just think the point at which characters admit to themselves and to other people who they love and how they love them is really interesting, so I tend to explore that!

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I'm gonna be honest, when I read fanfiction I kind of...forget to look and see who wrote it? I leave kudos and comments, but I'm just now realizing I have no idea who my favorite fic authors are! The one I'm sure of is OurLadyOnTheOtherSide, because they're The BattleKing writer and I fell into the ship deep this season. I don't do a lot of reading in general anymore (it's bad, and I'm trying to fix it, but it's gotten a lot harder since high school), but as for published authors and screenwriters, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and Mike Flanagan are the ones who come to mind.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I started "The Forest Queen" by Betsy Cornwell in January and haven't gotten past the first few chapters...oops. I have a whole pile of books I should be reading, but I haven't.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Don't stop to mull over small details or even whole sections if it's slowing you down or keeping you at a standstill. If you can't think of a word, put something random in brackets and search the document for brackets after you're done writing to get those words right. Highlight things you're unsure of to come back to later. Put a line break with the word "SKIP" in all caps if you can't figure out how to get from one scene to another. Anything to keep going! Doing these things has honestly saved a lot of my writing from collecting dust because of getting stuck on something insignificant.

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

I think very cinematically when I write, so I usually see and hear the characters pretty clearly, which means a lot of sighing and shrugging and glancing etc., because that's what human beings do. The thing about writing is that you've got to shave down some of those human things or it gets to be too much, and I struggle with that.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

It was a crossover between Victorious and iCarly and...the Portal games. I think I could find it if I tried, but I'd really rather not.

Rapidfire Round!

Self-edit or Beta?

Self-edit

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

Comments and reblogs every time!

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

Angst with fluff thrown in, but I'd like to try smut at some point.

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

Quick & Dirty, because I almost exclusively write oneshots.

Favourite Season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

4x10

Favourite Book?

Haven’t read them.

Three favourite words?

sweetheart, haunted, murmur

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[snkpolls]

SnK S3E12  Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 487 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that this is the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!

RATE THE EPISODE 481 Responses

The final episode of the first half of S3 was another banger with positive reactions. Compared to earlier in the season when manga readers seemed more dissatisfied with the adaptation, we are happy to see that the final episodes of the arc turned out to be a much more positive experience!

Considering this episode was essentially just the calm before the storm, I was pleasantly entertained by it. Not the best episode because not a whole lot happened, but still it did what it needed to do.

I was super worried they would change something in this episode but thank Ymir-sama it's okay.

IT WAS AWESOME AND THAT ENDING IS ONE OF THE BEST THING THIS ANIME HAS EVER MADE!

This episode was so good! And funny! And angsty at the end! All the ingredients that make a good AOT episode

Very good, the preview was spooky and the whole episode had humor to lighten the mood, some emotional stuff and High Anxiety Cliffhangers to finish us off. Its gonna be a long 6 months.

HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE FIRST HALF OF SEASON 3 AS A WHOLE? 481 Responses

Overall, the first half of season three was satisfying for manga reading poll takers despite the changes.

All in all, absolutely stunning season. From the bottom of my heart, thank you WIT.

It was a really good episode. It followed manga perfectly. Every ep. of Uprising should has been like that. Too bad it wasn't, that why I rated the whole series pretty lowly. Honestly, I expected something better. But that was fine, not the worst. Yet, I would have changed a lot.

Really good way to end this half of the season. Can't wait to see the next half. It was nice to see a "calm before the storm" episode.

It was a brilliant idea to end the first part of season 3 right there, by doing this we were given proper construction to this arc.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SEASON TAKING A BREAK UNTIL APRIL? 481 Responses

About 37% of respondents are sad to see the anime take a break, but nearly half of voters are fine with the break stating that it’s not too bad of a wait, with some who are even looking forward to the breather for a bit (we’re looking forward to having a good rest as well although we will miss the anime!).

I'm okay with it since it means that we will a get a really well made RtS arc. But they really should've said that the break was going to be this long earlier. Or just called it season 4

Waiting is something we SnK fandom know how to do, unfortunately

As a manga reader it's easy to not be too upset since we'll have plenty of chapters during that time.

It's nice to get a breather before shit hits the fan.

I don’t mind waiting 6 months when I know it means the animation will look a lot nicer as a result

I feel like i would have been less upset if they just told us from the start how its gonna be... I hated the uncertainty

If it means a fantastic second cour then I'm all for it. I mean my life is empty and I wish I were dead, but other than that I've accepted it!

6 months for preparing myself to let Erwin rest in peace

I AM NOT READY FOR RTS THIS IS LITERALLY THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO A HIATUS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WIT

WAIT Studio

Does Annie have some space next to her for the next 6 months?

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENES WERE YOUR FAVORITES? 480 Responses

The Survey Corps’ sendoff was the most favorite moment of the episode, followed closely by Eren and Jean’s nostalgic fight. Levi and Erwin’s talk after the meeting made it to third most favorite scene of the episode, followed closely behind by Eren, Armin and Mikasa’s conversation. Everyone losing their minds over meat was another favorite.

Erwin was so perfect, I loved his little laugh, I thought the whole interaction with him and Levi was done so well... god, I'm gonna miss him so much, it actually hurts.

Good breather episode, comedy gold with the dinner scenes, and the send-off was just as fun as it was touching. Also, the extra scene was creepy and great, but I hope anime-only watchers don't spoil themselves trying to find the meaning to it...

I think they did a really good work with the Erwin x Leviv talk, and EMA talk... Since enfatizing Erwin's reasons, and showing Armin's, It became more clear Levi's choice in future

I loved EMA talk... it made me pretty sad because of the events which now are taking place in the manga. That was good to see them together in the anime.

My Eruri shipping heart was in tatters, I tell you. I've been looking forward to the ""I'll break your legs"" scene for ages now, and shit, watching it was a literal punch to the gut. Erwin's beautiful roar of victory on the wall, his final ""SUSUME"" just... I was in awe.

Sasha nomming on Jean’s hand was even funnier animated

The 104th dinner scene was just perfect! It's been so long since we had a scene of such warmhearted camaraderie, it really brought back all my season 1 feels for the babies. Beautifully done.

Overall great Episode, really liked how they foreshadowed Erwins Demise and his conversation with Levi, EMA talk was great too, and the serumbowl scene made for an amazing cliffhanger

DID THE GLITCHED ENDING SCARE YOU? 483 Responses

The abrupt reminder that SNK is a horror anime definitely seemed to work!  The majority of people were scared by the ending at least a little bit, and some were thoroughly terrified.

"Blink and you'll miss it" my a**

Honestly it reminded me of how horrid the show actually is. I forget it's not all cute and funny scenes with a tinge of "yikes" that happened, but instead vice versa

I knew it was coming in the ED but didn't know WHEN and I was just anticipating it like a dark corridor in a horror movie XD

Moreso that scare me, it got under my skin and just stayed in my head the rest of the day.

Scare is not the right word. The option I'm looking for is FUCKING WRECKED

I learned that apparently a lot of you watch shit alone in the dark. But to answer the question, no, not at all.

It thrilled me to see them cleverly setting up the next half of the season this way

Only the Levi's distorted "you guys". The glitched ending was awesome

I saw some screencaps of it prior to watching so I was somewhat prepared but it was way creepier than i thought it would be, it spooked me

It wasn't actually SCARY, but I fucking loved it. So twisted and creepy

rip ears in that ending, it makes for some great youtube reactions though lol

Well, mark me down as scared and horny

SHOULD ZACKLEY’S ART BE REALIZED? 478 Responses

We suppose the real question is, when will Zackley’s “art” stop becoming something we ask about? :P All in all, most of you agree that it should not be seen or talked about. 21% of you are still finding humor in it.

HOW MUCH DID YOU ENJOY THE SEQUENCE OF EREN AND JEAN FIGHTING? 483 Responses

Most of the viewers enjoyed Eren and Jean’s antics with 84% rating the scene with a 4 out of 5 or higher. 

Mikasa letting them fight and not dragging Eren way is the best part! It's such an important character development for her. Also this Episode was full of parallels to their training days. Great episode.

Eren and Jean bringing the Drama™ (as expected of Eren and Jean)

THE SURVEY CORPS HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED A SEND-OFF LIKE THEY DID IN THIS EPISODE - FAVORITE PART OF THIS SCENE? 481 Responses

The surreal experience of getting a positive send-off like this made Erwin’s smile and shout the overwhelming winner here, and for good reason!  A smaller portion of respondents enjoyed Springlestein being themselves and a few called out Levi’s face in the comments:

All of it. Because it will be the first and the last time we'll see it

YYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

Levi looking at screaming Erwin like "WTF Erwin"

Hange smile

LEVI'S SOFT LOOK

I like the manga version better because Levi's smile was softer there

Levi's expression when Erwin did his triumphant shout.

literally everything about it was perfect

WOULD YOU LET LEVI BREAK YOUR LEGS? 480 Responses

While 58% of respondents cannot understand why anybody would want their legs broken by Levi, a small percentage were even asking for it.

THE EPISODE WENT EXACTLY AS THE ORIGINAL MANGA! 478 Responses

So, the story behind this one is that one of the pollsters posted this “question” on our original document as a joke while another one of us was at work. When the one at work got off, they put the question onto the poll form while the person who created the “question” was not online, not realizing it was meant to be an unpublished joke. This was completely overlooked during the final proofread. It was never actually intended to make it onto the poll but since one of us always tries to rush through things, here we are! In any case, we hope you guys had a good laugh, because we all collectively lost it when we realized the mistake much too late!

wow y'all throwin shade with this Q huh

Yes, it is Erwin's birthday celebration after all

Glad that Erwin and the crowd’s screaming was a ‘dialogue’ and that he screamed again.

Makes sense, given how its purpose is to set up the new arc. Not much need to leave things out for the sake of pacing.

They done it so perfectly! I love that episode and love the hope in the air, my man similing and being happy, I love they see people cheering for them. THAT was earned.

It still modified some moments like Armin thinking of Eren and Mikasa instead of the bullies in the manga. Maybe it's better and more consistent with the following events.

Thanks God! The whole series should has been this way. Compared to the sad 1st episode of Uprising, this one was a true masterpiece.

u people need to get the salt in your blood checked, let others be dissatisfied with something they care about? please and thanks

i don't care if it went exactly as the original manga or with some changes as long as the episode is good

THE CHAPTER SIGNIFIED THE START OF A NEW ARC, BUT THE ANIME USED IT TO END THE FIRST COUR, WAS THIS A BENEFICIAL DECISION? 478 Responses

The majority of folks thought shifting the send-off to the end of the cour to create an uplifting cliffhanger was a good way to end the season.  Several people called attention to how much contrast was felt between such a positive ending and the credits scene.

I think it works great, especially the triumph of the send off and the "oh shit, what's happening" moment in the ED

should have been the first ep of the next arc, with the send off as the cliffhanger

It was a nice, fun send off for the arc. Has the suspense of the scouts going towards the foes. The next episode with the next chapter/s will be perfect for getting back into the series after 6 months

WAIT Studio used it as an effective cliffhanger but from an adaptation perspective it's just like the Wall Titan. Something to keep the audience's attention at the cost of the narrative's flow. If the season was going to be split then rushing the Uprising Arc at breakneck speed resulting in one extra episode was pointless.

The opening of 73 is a perfect opening for the second cour, so I knew from the beginning of the season that ending in this chapter would be their aim. The second half won't struggle for content, and they can either push ahead flashbacks (I expect some of Bert's parts from 96 making it into the adaptation of 77) or content that didn't make it in the first half used to extend other parts (Eren's experiments for Armin realizing how to beat Bert in 81)

I think this will help the second part by being on the way to Shiganshina to start it off.

Heck cliffhangers!

LEVI WASN’T EXPLICITLY SHOWN EAVESDROPPING UNTIL THE END OF EMA’S CONVERSATION, DO YOU THINK THIS DIMINISHED THE FORESHADOWING? 478 Responses

The vast majority of respondents agreed that as long as we saw him listening to them, that’s ultimately all that matters. A small few believe that not showing him listening in on them earlier will diminish the overall impact when he makes his decisions later, however.

I don't think it matters, especially if the anime includes a flashcut to this moment post-decision, which will make its important even more obvious for viewers who may not remember this scene at all.

I'm not sure, I guess it did seem more ambiguous here. They'll flashback to it when serumbowl happens though.

Wouldn’t have spent more time on it. This show is about subtle details. I think its ok.

It still worked, but I would have liked it to have been made clear that he saw Armin's expression when he was talking about the ocean

No, but i think it was nice in the manga to see that at the beginning of the conversation he was standing and ended up on the floor by the end of it. Small detail, but i took it like he didn't mean to listen in the beginning but decided to stay in the end because of what he was hearing?

No, because it was a detail it meant a lot more. Subtle details have greater impact in visualities, manga is a different medium and the scene was used properly for its medium.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WIT SHOWING *THAT PART* OF THE RTS ARC AS A TEASER? 480 Responses

38% of respondents believe that the teaser was a great way to keep interest in the series high. 20% specifically feel that it will keep the anime only fans invested. About 21% of respondents combined don’t think it was the smartest choice on WIT’s end while almost 10% are just not ready to see that animated at all.

Even though I already know what will happen, my body *isn't* ready for this shit to come, except for the lightning spears

Honestly, I thought it was stupid as fuck and a cheap way to keep hype up for anime-only people. I would've preferred my anime-only friend to go into RTS completely blind.

I think it's great because it lends itself a lot of hype for the next half as well as leaving it very open ended. Especially because they cut out lines about the serum.

I think this teaser shocked more the manga readers than the anime onlines.

It's the worst part of the manga they could spoil. I'm not sure what they intend to do by showing such a controversial moment

It was brilliant. Anime only watchers don't often get the experience of agonizing over certain cliffhangers monthly, but with this flashforward looming in their head, they have a whole season of suffering ahead of them. SUFFER LIKE US, ANIME ONLIES!

I really liked it but I think they could have shown a part of Bert/Reiner/Zeke’s convo since we saw Bert and Reiner at the end of the episode, and it would have anime-onlies wondering who the glasses guy is

I was shocked and hyped at seeing them include this scene, but at the same time I’m sad that anime-onlies were spoiled that at the very least Mikasa, Eren, and Levi will survive until this scene, destroying any tension of them dying

I'm really conflicted; on one hand, I was very surprised in a positive way, cause it was a ballsy and unexpected move. On the other hand, I understand that anime viewers might be sick of spoilers bc of the scene at the beginning of ep1.

It gave me anxiety lol. Please someone save my babies from their horrible destiny

One hell of a cliffhanger and I can't really imagine anything better to show everything going wrong (Colossal nuke is way too obvious, for example), but the people complaining about spoilers do have a point...

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR RTS’S ADAPTATION? 480 Responses

WHAT SEGMENTS OF RTS ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING ANIMATED NEXT COUR? 481 Responses

Over half of respondents feel that the Return to Shiganshina arc will be delivered just as well as Uprising was. 37% of respondents feel it will be much better than Uprising’s adaptation. A small few don’t have much faith in the second half of the four.

FUCK ME UP!! R.I.P. ANIME ONLIES

GIMME THE 2ND COUR NOW!

I don't know if I'm emotionally prepared for this arc

I’m going to have 6 more months to mentally prepare myself for the return to shiganshina arc and I still won’t be ready

from an adaptation perspective it's going to be the same as the previous seasons. WAIT Studio excels at certain aspects of packaging SnK into anime, but as a whole it's a bad, rather than amazing, adaptation.

Is there a "NOPE I am not ready for RtS arc" in the questions?

WHAT SEGMENTS OF RTS ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING ANIMATED NEXT COUR? 481 Responses

The most anticipated segment of the Return to Shiganshina arc is the suicide charge + Levi totally wrecking Zeke. Following closely behind are the basement reveal, the serumbowl, Grisha’s diaries and flashbacks, the ocean and the showdown with the 104th and Reibert. 

Kill me! I cannot believe I have to wait 6 months for RTS. 6 months until I can see Reiner and Bertholdt in action and the FREAKING BASEMENT!!!! I was fine with a 3 months break but 6 is too much ;____; I want to see Grisha's past animated

What everybody is waiting for the RtS Arc: the basement, Reibert fight, Levi soloing the beast titan, the ocean. Me, an intellectual: THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS THUNDER SPEARS (and Grisha's backstory)

can't wait to see historia looking graceful as hell in front of the sunrise while the SC goes off to fuck reibert and zeke up

The only thing I can think about is Zeke.... *screams* ZEKE AND EREN! THE JAEGERBROS! AND THE GRISHA FILES! SO MANY JAEGERS *dies*

I'm definitely looking forward to RTS okay, but I'm dreading it more, honestly. But the one thing I'm looking forward to, and really hoping they'll animate, is Levi taking down those Titans on the way to Zeke. I know the focus is on Erwin's last charge in the manga, and rightly so, but DAMN, I want to see Levi do that -I honestly don't think anyone, even Mikasa, could do what he did there.

I have a fever, and the only prescription is Season 3 Part 2

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

A pretty decent choice for a midseason finale. But most important, a pretty good choice for episode 49. Once we're back in April, the series will be celebrating having made it to 50 episodes. Just 2 years ago, we were wondering if we'd ever get episode 26, and now we're getting to a landmark episode that will be exciting and memorable! Nothing between chapters 70-72 could've worked as such a landmark, in my opinion, but chapters 73-74? Absolutely perfect for it.

And my ship finally got some screen time

But damn wit... I almost got a heart attack because of the glitched ending!! Please, I at least want to survive to see manbun Eren animated

For anime watchers: I enjoyed watching your confusion over that ED. May you all be prepared by April 2019.

My heart is filled with so much Eruri that I may cry. You could literally see how much concern Levi had for Erwin in his eyes.

I love Bertoto and Raina more than myself. Guess, I'll die in April.

I'm an Erwin Lover™ and the show is gonna come back right around my birthday so this was Great and I'm Fine

It was out of character to see Eren fully clothed.

The moment when SC were cheered up and Erwin was so confident and happy and then they left into the sunset gave me goosebumps and almost made me cry :') it was a beautiful, strong, encouraging moment for SC!!

Let me just tell you how fucking HYPED I am for the next season after those previews during the ED. HYPED. And Jesus fuck yes, Armin looked like a charred French fry that got left behind in the oil. THANK JESUS. I was afraid WIT might downplay that, but no, my boy gonna be the CRONCHIEST.

The glitches were great and not too spoiler-y but WIT absolutely ruined it with the Eren/Mikasa/Levi scene. They showed too much.

rip ears in that ending, it makes for some great youtube reactions though lol

Erwin looked fine as fuck

Wit, you better be paying for my doctor visit. My ears were bleeding with your little trick you pulled at the end.

This episode. THIS FUCKING EPISODE. Man what a way to end the cour. REALLY, standing ovation to WIT. That glitch ending was just like that tiny Titan-in-the-wall scene at the end of season 1 that made me go looking for the manga. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

Thanks for these polls.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 446 Responses

Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming Uprising Arc poll!

[dcarevu]

The Last Laugh

“When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!”

Hey, guys. This is Collin. I know that we’re only four episodes into this blog now, and things are just starting to roll…but unfortunately, I’ve decided that the stress of college and work is too much, so I’m going to have to go on an indefinite hiatus…

April fools!

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

Villain: The Joker Robin: No Writer: Carl Swenson Director: Kevin Altieri Animator: Akom Airdate: September 22, 1992 Episode Grade: B

The Joker’s back on the show already, and again, he has formulated an overly-complicated plot which seems to be designed specifically to lead Batman directly to him. We start by seeing a boat full of repulsively green trash chugging through the Gotham river. It’s emitting an absolutely foul stench, and while we aren’t sure if this is a typical occurrence, knowing this city, I wouldn’t doubt it one bit. Char, my girlfriend and watching-buddy got the impression that Gotham is indeed an old, dark, gothic city, but this was her first exposure to the griminess that is often associated with it. This time, however, the griminess seems to be a little bit more pleasant; in fact every citizen who notices it seems to burst out laughing! The garbage is emitting a powerful laughing gas that doesn’t just cause a rush of giggles, but it also seems to send its victims completely out of control, and they start ignoring all of their surroundings altogether. It’s like they’re not even aware of their laughter, as the fumes get them as high as a kite.

Meanwhile, still in Gotham, but away from the city, we cut to a really great shot of Wayne Manor. Inside, Bruce is sprucing himself up, and we discover that it is April Fools’ Day thanks to Alfred once again being the lovable savage that he seems to be. Offering to “draw” Bruce a bath, he quite literally draws him a picture of a bath, hoping to at least get a smile out of him. But alas, when he’s not reaching for his rich playboy persona, we see that Bruce is actually quite the stick in the mud. I love Kevin Conroy’s way of creating two voices for the character, something that had never really been done before this show. I actually believe this was Kevin’s idea, which is no surprise given his acting background. He somehow does it in a way that makes the Bruce Wayne persona seem even more fake, despite that voice being closer to Kevin’s actual voice.

Bruce Wayne dedicating himself to living a lie like that must truly be tough. Think about how that must hamper his relationships, and it starts to explain the social state that he finds himself in later down the DCAU timeline. I’m someone who is an introvert, and sometimes the amount of energy required to socialize is more than I would like to admit. But if I had to pretend to be someone I’m not every day when my true self is as dark as Batman’s character (and let’s be real, Batman is our main character, Bruce Wayne only exists as a name on his legal documents), it would be a lot worse. The seeds were planted this early, and it shows the thought, consistency, and understanding that Radomski, Timm, and co had for the character right away. This wasn’t your average Saturday morning version of Batman.

Obviously as more and more people throughout the city begin to become affected by the laughing gas, it does not go unnoticed by news outlets. Bruce immediately comes to the same conclusion as many of us watching; The Joker. It’s merely a matter of finding him and figuring out what he is up to. Meanwhile back in the city, we find out just that; The Joker and two of his goons are using the gas-induced obliviousness of the citizens on the street to rob them right under their noses. Even police officers are in tears, not paying the least bit of attention. The Joker, of course, is cracking comments and laughing his ass off the whole time. Some of his lines are legitimately hilarious in this episode, I’ve gotta say! While he was entertaining as all hell in Christmas With The Joker, it was more in a simple whacky, over-the-top, cartoon way. He still has some of that aspect here, but a lot more of it comes from genuinely clever writing. Some of his most well known lines from the show come from this episode. “So we’ll just punch some air holes!” and “YOU KILLED CAPTAIN CLOWN!” to name a couple, the latter being downright legendary.

So far, this episode gives the simple vibe of a fun Joker romp without much meat on its bones, and much of it is. But the stakes do raise as we cut back to the Batcave. Batman is analyzing some of the gas, and learning that it causes “permanent insanity”. We’ll come back to this a little bit later, but obviously he has to do something. Not just because of the robberies and accidents happening, but also just because of the mental health factor. Insanity? Not particularly good for you. All of a sudden, however, we hear a crash come from upstairs when he attempts to call Alfred down into the cave. He runs upstairs, and here we see Alfred, smashing artifacts and furniture with a broom as we hear him belt out cackles unlike anything we have heard from him. The gas is inside the house. Batman immediately dons a gas mask and heads out to stop it, presumably taking care of Alfred first. Alfred, and Wayne Manor in general, being the thing in danger isn’t an element the show does a lot, and I think the moderation allows it to stand out a lot more. It can immediately turn a silly episode like this into something much more serious. Char was gasping and worrying the entire time, not wanting Alfred to be hurt. I think she’s growing to really like him. This is helped by the fact that Alfred was recast for this episode, and his new actor, Afrem Zimbalist Jr (unfortunately no longer with us) would remain for the entire rest of the DCAU. Both of us like this change a lot. I think this new voice helps with Alfred’s miniature character evolution, as it just suits this personality more. The first voice (Clive Revill) wasn’t bad by any means. Paired with the version of Alfred that’s a bit more stereotypical “5-star restaurant waiter”, it felt pretty natural. But Afrem…he brings the character to life like no one else can. There’s no way I can picture Clive laughing maniacally the way that Alfred did here. Also…and maybe it’s just me…but even though for the first three episodes Alfred was voiced by a man who was actually English, it sounded more like a fake accent than Afrem’s! And maybe this is because I’m an ignorant American who doesn’t hear English accents every day, nor am I aware of all the regional variations. I don’t know. But virtually everyone who talks about this new portrayal absolutely loves it, so I’m likely not alone with this aspect either.

Back in the river, we see that the garbage boat is fake. Below the water, what looks like the top of a boat is being carried by a submarine. Looking through the periscope of the sub, the Joker catches sight of Batman’s eyes, staring back at him through the lens. Then, BAM. Batman smacks it, causing the entire thing to rattle, and sending the Joker to the floor. Boy are we getting some great drawings in this episode. Batman’s face through the lens looks amazing! We also had some fun, yet purposely ugly shots of people laughing on the streets earlier, and then the Joker getting knocked away from the periscope is gold. After this, we see that Batman is towing around the “boat” with his own Batboat (its first appearance), which pisses the Joker off. So we get a fight scene between the goons and Batman, which is one of the better action scenes we’ve gotten up to this point. Is it still a little bit stilted? Yes, most definitely. But is it Spider-Man the Animated Series level? Not a chance. I did get some excitement here, and the big hunk of metal known in this episode (and throughout the Internet) as Captain Clown is a robot, so we got a little bit of extra fun here. The Fox censors were not as sensitive if the beating was not being done to an actual human being (even if it’s hard to tell whether or not it's human just by looking), and we got to see Batman throw an actual hard punch. The fight against the other two gives me the impression of martial arts and self defense, which also makes sense given Batman’s background (which will be covered later). The scene ends, however, with Batman being locked in a container and thrown into the water, with the container leaking in through the many holes that the Joker stabs into it with a knife. Seeing the Joker whip out a knife like that and puncture it with Batman inside is really jarring given that this is episode four, and we hadn’t really seen that kind of near-violence prior. Yeah, Batman dodged the stabs, but if one of those had hit, he’d be done. Another glimpse into the dangerous psychopath aspect of a character you don’t always expect to fear. To be clear, this was jarring in a good way.

Situations like this are hard to write for, because you have to be able to come up with a solution that isn’t anticlimactic or complete bullshit. Here Batman calls his Batboat with his utility belt and has it slice the container up with its laser gun blast. It was thinking outside the box a little bit (no pun intended), and having the laser miss during the first shot was a good touch. Granted, I also don’t recall this laser getting much use later down the line (you would think a powerful tool like this would be heavily utilized, hinting at it being added just because of this predicament, but then again, welcome to the world of Batman’s gadgets), so overall I don’t think it was perfect. Pretty cool, though, and I’m not gonna complain. I wasn’t expecting it, and I did find it exciting. Also, 12 words: Batman’s anger once he manages to swim back up to the surface.

To speed things up a little bit, Batman gets to the service, finds where the Joker has gone, defeats the thugs by exposing them to their own laughing gas, and even manages to decimate Captain Clown in a trash compactor. After this, the rest of the episode is pretty much just a chase sequence, and it almost reminds me of a video game. Batman is basically going through an obstacle course. We get a couple more really great shots here, one of the Joker creepily riding a conveyor belt through the shadows, and one of Batman sliding down the garbage shoot. I’m surprised this was animated by Akom, as I specifically remember their animation being generally C-tier when I watched the entirety of Animaniacs (with TMS obviously being the best). Perhaps it was all in the storyboards. The more detailed they are, obviously Akom has more to go by with less room to mess things up. Batman ends up confronting the Joker on a walkway above a vat of molten metal, where Joker throws some razor sharp playing-cards at him. He misses once, and then for the second card, Batman manages to catch it. This is a scene that makes you audibly go, “Awww shit”, and you can tell Joker is thinking the same thing. Char brought up something interesting here. The Joker constructs these incredible plans to disrupt Batman’s day. I swear, he plans everything. But only up until a certain point, because he banks too much on certain aspects. He swore that throwing Batman into the river would have finished him. It’s like the SpongeBob episode where Plankton says something like, “I never thought I’d get this far”. Once Batman makes contact with that card razor, Joker panics and immediately tries to run away, ultimately defeating himself as he trips himself up with a rope. He plays with Batman one step too far. He doesn’t realize when to stop. He pokes the bear, and although he may ultimately be a glorified, crazy mobster, he’s not a fighter. Despite this realization of Char’s, which I totally vibe with, just two episodes ago we had the Joker tripping, falling, and being caught by Batman. So overall I do consider this ending a little cheap. A low point to an otherwise entertaining episode.

Well, I guess it’s not quite the ending. Because after this, we are back with Bruce Wayne and Alfred. Alfred seems to be feeling healthy again, but he is distraught since he broke a priceless artifact earlier when he was exposed to the insanity gas. Bruce tells him not to worry, and that it can simply come out of his paycheck, but also assures him that he’s joking, and it’s all an April Fools’ joke. Bruce even chuckles about it. I love this segment, and even though Bruce can be a stick in the mud as I said, every once in a while he can let himself have a little bit of fun.

For some additional things that didn’t quite fit in with the previous paragraphs, I found myself wondering what Joker was exactly planning on accomplishing after the robberies. I almost think that he was honestly expecting to be caught by Batman, or he was at least not planning past the stage of killing him. But I guess with such an unpredictable maniac, you’d have to be able to read his thoughts to really understand a lot of it. Also, Batman’s computer specifically said that the gas causes permanent insanity. Yet at the end, everyone seems to be fine. Does it require more exposure? Does it mean that it’s permanent for just as long as it’s being inhaled? Was it simply wrong? I was a little confused by this. Mark Hamill’s performance was amazing as always, and as I explained the way that Mark tends to almost visually morph into the character while he voices him, Char mentioned something about him and the Joker becoming one like with the Venom symbiote and Eddie. Accurate observation. And lastly, she mentioned something about how this Joker is someone where you never know when you’ll be on their bad side. I got flashes of a certain early scene from Return Of the Joker here, and I cannot wait for her to see that film.

Char’s grade: A

Major firsts: The Batboat, a form of Joker’s laughing gas

Next time: Pretty Poison

By the way, I’m still messing around and trying to figure out the best format for these blog entries. I don’t think I’ve quite found something that works for me yet, so for a bit, the posts may be a little inconsistent in how they’re laid out. Experimentation! I want to try and make them a little bit less like summaries, and more discussion/reaction-based. Thanks for bearing with me! Also, any constructive feedback is appreciated!

[weliveourdream]

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog. Sorry for being gone for a bit, but what I’m about to share with you today was worth the wait – at least for me. Because the past weekend, I got to spend two nights with my most favourite smol beans in the world, also known as Tyler and Josh, also known as the band Twenty One Pilots.

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I mean, I know that I don’t need to tell you or explain why I love this band so much and why they are my favourite band, because if you’ve been following my blog for quite some time, you’ll pretty much know all of these things and reasons already. I can just say that they are eternally special and that their music is out of the world. And it might sound a bit crazy or exaggerated for other people, but for me, Ty is pretty much the most creative and most genius artist I know. What they created with Trench can’t even be put into words, it’s just so special and meaningful and unique. And that’s just one small reason why I adore them this much.

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As you can probably guess by now, this post is about the Bandito tour, which they are currently on, and the two concerts in London that I went to. Originally, it was only meant to be one, but as soon as the first show ended, I knew that I had to see them again. I would have just sat at home, drowning myself in self-pity and post-concert-depression, if I hadn’t gone to the concert the next day and I know that for a fact. Let’s just say that it wasn’t a surprise, to anyone. So, as soon as I got home, I went on the hunt for a ticket for the next day and then thankfully found one. This is the part where I have to thank Graham, the guy who sold me the ticket, because we just met up at the venue and it was all super easy and quick and just overall a really chill and nice experience. I’m usually a bit nervous about buying re-sold tickets, but this time it couldn’t have been any better. And honestly, I know people might think it’s a bit mad to go to the same concert twice in a row, but firstly, they are my favourite band, so why would I not want to see them again, secondly, the show is freaking amazing and absolutely mind-blowing, I could literally watch it every single day and wouldn’t get bored, and lastly, why the hell not? If your favourite band is playing in your town and you have the chance to see them twice, please just do it, seriously. You won’t regret it.

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And, as I’ve got all of these amazing memories now and crazy experiences from two of the most fantastic nights of my life, I thought it would be best to just split them up in day one and day two. I’m also kind of doing this for myself because I loved it all so much and still have so many emotions and happy feelings trapped in my body, that I need to get them out and just tell the world what happened. So, here you go world. Do whatever you want with the information, but most importantly, please enjoy.

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Night: Number 1

Okay, so, it would probably be best to just begin at the very start of the day, because oh boy, what a day it was. So, first, I got dressed in my specially created Bandito outfit, that I prepared a few nights before the show. It’s basically an all-black outfit with yellow tape stuck all over it, but there honestly haven’t been a lot of outfits in my life that I’ve been this proud of. It just looked so damn good. I’ll insert some pictures down below so you can check it out. I absolutely love it.

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So, with the outfit ready and in full Bandito mode, I went to uni in the morning and then took the train London right after that. The initial plan was to head straight to FOPP, a super cool music store in London, where the HMV signing was being held. I had seen online that the guys had gone out to the fans the day before, so I was hoping for that to happen again. So, the plan was: go to FOPP, wait outside and hope for the best. But as soon as I got there, I knew that this day wouldn’t be going as I had planned it. Because the moment I looked through the window of the store, my whole system basically crashed down. You want to know why? Because Tyler ‘smol bean’ Joseph and Josh ‘other smol bean’ Dun were sitting inside the store, just about two metres away from me and I was straight looking at them. I felt like I was dreaming. After not seeing them for nearly three years, that felt like the biggest shock ever. But the funny thing was, all I could think was “Ty, why are you wearing sunglasses inside, you idiot”. Small disclaimer here: when I call someone an idiot, it’s basically me saying I love you. I’m like Robin from HIMYM. So, just so you know, Ty isn’t an idiot, but I call him one because I love him. And then I thought how freaking cute they both looked and how damn good Josh looked. I’m not going to lie, they are both super good looking, so props to Jenna and Debby. Well freaking done. They all definitely count as some of my most favourite couples out there. They’re just way too cute.

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So yeah, there I was, standing outside the store, surrounded by other clikkies, and Josh and Ty sitting two metres away from me. It was quite a surreal experience. So, as any normal, sane human being, I called my mum. And then I called Leni. And then, as soon as the security, who were all super nice, just to mention that, started to get a bit fidgety, I secured myself a good spot next to their car, as by then, it was pretty clear that they would be coming out. But then they told all of us on my side of the road that we had to move, so they basically – in a non-violent way – pushed us onto the other side, which ended up in me suddenly being front row, right next to the car. You can probably guess that by now my heart was basically running a marathon. Which was quite weird, actually, because I wasn’t nervous when I was standing outside the store, looking at them. But as soon as I knew that they would be walking past me, in real life, as real people, I started to freak out.

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And then the moment came. First, Mark, their creative and content creator came out (if you ever see a cool vid of them online, it’s basically done by him), and, obviously, we all cheered. And then the two beans finally came. And then Ty, as cool guy he thinks he is, decided to throw up his hands and do peace signs while walking past us, with Josh laughing behind him. And again, I thought ‘omg you idiot’, but god damn, I loved them so much at that moment. Also, maybe I was just the only one who felt like that, but for me, it looked as if their skin was glowing, they looked so good. No wonder Ty had to keep his sunglasses on.

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So, that was the first half of my Friday. It was only just 3 pm and already so much more had happened than what I had expected. I can just repeat myself, I felt like I was in a dream. Still do, actually. I then basically spent the day wandering around London, having dinner – which consisted of me following my mission of finding the best ramen/pho in London – and then heading to the venue. I had a seating ticket, which meant I didn’t have to worry about getting there super early, which was nice. I obviously had to buy some merch, so I got myself the tour shirt, which looks freaking amazing. I can’t wait to wear it. And then it was already time to head to my seat, which turned out to be crazy good. I was in the upper section right next to the stage, so I could see everything. Then the support band called The Regrettes came on stage, and although they weren’t really my cup of tea, I have to say that they indeed are a perfect support for TOP. They really managed to get the crowd hyped up and I was very thankful for that.

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And just half an hour later after the support had ended their set, it was finally time. The lights went off, some super mysterious music came on and all my thoughts basically vanished. It was just me and them. And oh my god, I can’t even begin to tell you happy I was to see them. It’s so crazy because, during the hiatus, I really did miss them a lot, but only when they came back with Jumpsuit and the video and Trench, I noticed how much I had really missed them. And suddenly there they were, playing that exact same song and I just couldn’t stop myself from crying and smiling like a maniac. When I think about it, that was actually how I mostly spent the two hours of the first night – either crying, or smiling, or just doing both. In short, I was an emotional wreck. But a happy one.

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Before I get started on the highlights, I just have to mentally bow down to Ty and Josh for creating Trench and this tour. I’ve been to quite a lot of concerts in the past, but only a few can compete with the absolutely stunning and breathtaking production of their shows. The lights, the lasers, the stage design, the graphics and videos for the screens, the whole concept of movement and most importantly the interaction with the crowd, it was all so out of this world, honestly. I’m not going to go into much detail, because some clikkie might just be reading this right now and actually trying to avoid spoilers, just like I did, so I really want to keep the surprise. All I can say is that it’s a jaw-dropping show production and I cannot even put into words how extremely impressed and proud and thankful I am. Being part of the clique and getting to experience this, even twice, feels like an absolute honour.

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When it comes to highlights, there are a few things that I will never ever forget. The most important one has to be the moment when they started playing ‘Bandito’. Just for the context, ‘Bandito’, for me, is the most beautiful song of Trench and it just really means a lot to me. When I first heard the Sahlo Folina part, I felt like it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. And like I said, I didn’t know which songs they were going to play, I had just heard that ‘Bandito’ was kind of being slept on, which worried me a little. So if I was hoping for them to play one song, it was that one. And then Tyler suddenly started playing it on his piano and, basically, all the emotions trapped inside my body came flooding out of me, all at once. Like, I literally cried so much, my whole body was shaking. I had this kind of weird family sitting next to me and they were looking at me like I was some kind of crazy person. Yes, I know all the lyrics by heart and yes, I will cry my eyes out now, thank you very much.

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So yeah, that probably has to be the most special moment. And straight after that comes the moment when Ty played a bit of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” on his ukulele and dedicated it to all the women in the room, as it was International Women’s Day. Most of you will probably know the cover they uploaded a few years ago. I’m one of those people who listen to it once in a while, just because it’s so beautiful, so I actually felt a bit blessed when he started to play it. I wasn’t expecting it all.

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And besides that, it’s just how incredibly talented Josh and Tyler are and how they interacted with us fans that made it all feel so personal and special. The jokes Tyler made in between and just the overall stuff he said during the shows, like “good to see you, my frens” or “let’s show them how we end the show”, it all made me feel very loved. If you’ve ever been to a show of them, you’ll probably know that Josh never speaks. I’ve actually never heard him talk at any of the shows I’ve been to (it’s now come down to 5). But that never ended up in Ty being the guy everyone focuses on because he makes sure that his best friend gets his moments as well. There are thorough introductions to Josh, once done by a voiceover, once done by Ty himself. And let’s not forget the floating ‘catwalk’ they have at their shows now – which is the coolest thing ever – and the moment when Josh gets to walk over it and casually opens his jacket, which isn’t sexy in any way, I don’t know why you would think that. Hell, Josh, we know you’re good looking, stop it. So, overall, they both get their moments. Also, I just saw a video of Ty actually hiding underneath his piano while Josh has his drum solo and I don’t know if I’ll ever get over how adorable that is.

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Besides that, it’s just so cute when the camera focused on both of them during moments when they slightly got out of their serious characters and started to grin like the happy little beans they are. It just cannot get any more adorable than that. And also, there was this one moment when the camera was on the fans and Tyler looked at the screen and blew kisses at it. I know it was one of those things that usually get lost under all the crazy action that is going on, but I will forever remember that exact moment. It’s just so beautiful to see how much they love us, because of how much we love them. That’s why I always say that they’re something special. Their music, their fanbase, their ways of doing things, their incredible talent and their relationship with the clique are just all so unique and make me love them even more. Also, I might just add now that Ty’s sassiness is always part of the show and I honestly wouldn’t want to go without it.

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So yeah, overall, that was night one. I can still see myself standing there, singing to Trees, the last song of their set, as always, and bawling my eyes out like crazy because I was so emotional and happy and also a bit sad and just very overwhelmed. It was then that I noticed how much they really meant to me. And how much I wanted to see them again. I remember sitting down after they had gone off stage, tears still rolling down my cheeks, and deciding that I had to see them again. Which is exactly what I did and which is also the exact part at where I will end this post. I know it has already become incredibly lengthy, so I’m super thankful if you made it until here. You’re the best. Please do stick around for part two, which I will upload shortly. And until then, I really hope you enjoyed this post. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your comments down below. And, of course, thanks for reading, my frens. x

I’m a Bandito //-// Part 1 Hola everyone. And welcome back to my blog. Sorry for being gone for a bit, but what I'm about to share with you today was worth the wait - at least for me. 2,684 more words

[kbaldwin0609]

'The Bachelor' episode 3 recap: GLOW with the flow

Photo: Splash

Warning: This recap for episode 3 of The Bachelor contains spoilers. 

Happy week 3, rose lovers! We’ve reached the point in Arie’s “journey” where a previously invisible contestant suddenly gets thrust into the spotlight. Case in point:

Photo: ABC

Literally who is that, and what is she doing on a one-on-one with Arie?

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The episode begins with Harrison dropping off the date card, which Jane Doe (pictured above) promptly snatches. Maquel, Jacqueline, Lauren B., Tia, Marikh, Bekah M. Bibiana, and Krystal, you’re going on a group date — and clearly someone on The Bachelor’s Date Planning Committee binge-watched GLOW over the hiatus:

Photo: ABC

That’s right, “ladies” — you’re all about to audition for G.L.O.B., the “Gorgeous Ladies of the Bachelor” Wrestling League! (Side note: Please, Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, establish an “Outstanding Use of an Acronym in a Television Reality Show” category before next year’s Emmys.)

Angela and Ursula take the women through their paces, teaching them how to do forward rolls, how to bounce off the ropes, and how to “sell” the pain of getting (fake) kneed in the solar plexus by an opponent. Unfortunately, when it comes to the “selling” part, all of the women suck — and Angelina doesn’t hesitate to let them know it.

Photo: ABC

For the love of all that’s holy, Bibiana, why are you talking back to the former professional wrestler? Sure, she’s staying in character and just took a pot-shot at your mother, but you voluntarily signed up for a reality show that pits women against each other as they fight for a husband. If you have no righteous indignation about that, then you should probably just zip it.

Raven 2 is next to spark Angelina’s wrath when she refuses to expend any effort during a “lock-up” demonstration.

GIF: ABC

Bish, please. Weren’t you listening when Arie told Team Bachelor that he’s “looking for somebody who can kinda have fun in any situation”? You and Bibiana can take your sour pusses and your eye rolls and go cry in the corner. Meanwhile, Maquel and Baby Bekah are totally rolling with the punches, as it were.

GIF: ABC

Next, it’s time for the “ladies” to get their assigned pro-wrestler persona, and man, are they are on brand.

Krystal:

Photo: ABC

Bekah:

Photo: ABC

Marikh:

Photo: ABC

Raven 2:

Photo: ABC

Bibiana:

Photo: ABC

And how could Team Bachelor throw a wrestling date without inviting back the fan favorite who apparently does this for a living, Mr. Kenny “The Pretty Boy Pitbull” King?

Photo: ABC

Hey, at least it’s not Rated-R. Basically, Arie’s “match” with Kenny consists of the Bachelor flopping around limply while the Pretty Boy Pitbull pounds him repeatedly into the mat. Naturally, though, Kenny is enough of a gentleman to let Arie win — after all, his harem is watching.

Bekah and Maquel (“The Lunch Lady”) are summoned to the ring first. Just as they did during rehearsal, both women do their best to put on a convincing show, and it isn’t half bad. The Cougar faces off against Jacqueline next, and The Prom Queen definitely gets her bell rung.

GIF: ABC

Not really sure what was supposed to be going on during Marikh and Lauren B.’s routine, but if they were going for a “sleepwalking porn stars” vibe, they definitely succeeded.

GIF: ABC

After moping and whining their way through rehearsal, Bibiana and Raven 2 actually demonstrate some enthusiasm during their bout, which features headlocks, arm twists, and some almost decent trash talking. It may have been a merely moderate effort, but the Bachelor LOVES it.

Photo: ABC

Quiz time! If I were to ask you, based on two weeks’ of evidence, who would try to steal Arie away first at the post-date cocktail party, which woman would you pick? Exactly: Krystal. So why are all the rest of the “ladies” shocked — shocked! — when she does it again tonight?

Photo: ABC

Close your mouth, honey, or your jaw might freeze that way.

The Bachelor certainly isn’t discouraging Krystal’s behavior. “You were damn sexy today,” he gushes. “You were driving me crazy… I had to check myself a little bit.” He goes even further, advising Krystal to “just come grab me and say, ‘Give me some attention’” if she’s feeling neglected. Not that Krystal needs to be reminded.

It’s right about now that Bibiana falls into the same trap that so many women before her have stumbled into as well: Thinking the Bachelor wants to hear anything negative about a woman he’s clearly into, in this case Krystal. “I feel like at this point I need to voice my concerns with Arie,” Bibiana declares. So she does.

Photo: ABC

Arie does his best to make Bibi feel heard, and then he heads off to make out with Raven 2 and Baby Bekah (separately) in the Airstream trailers. Krystal is “a little confused” when Arie hands over the date rose to Bekah, so she decides the best solution is to “be more aggressive.” (Not pictured: The producer nodding furiously in agreement from behind the camera.)

The next morning, Krystal sits on the couch and performs a monologue by the pool — about how women have always “hated on” her, how she’s had to “struggle” and be “so strong” and “work so many hours” doing plyometric squats on the beach, or whatever. She also confides to her audience of one — an impressively poker-faced Marikh — that she and Arie “know we want to end up together, and this is just a process that has to be done in order for us to be together.”

Ladies and gentlemen, it has not even been three weeks.

Onward, “process”! The only one-on-one date of the week goes to… one of the blonde Laurens.

Photo: ABC

Seriously, who? Not that it matters, I guess. Arie meets the Lauren at his favorite private airport, where their jet awaits to whisk them off to wine country. I will say, whoever this woman is, she looks closer to 21 than 31 — and the Bachelor does seem pleased that she’s “mature.”

Over merlot, Arie and Lauren chat about early bedtimes and his growing love of cardigans. But can this Lauren go deeper? Arie admits he doesn’t know much/anything about her, and Lauren admits that she might have some “guards up.” I think it’s too much to hope that we’ll see a woman sent home from a date this early in the season… or is it?

You see, Lauren can’t stop talking. Like, at all. Maybe she’s so worried about holding back that she’s forcing herself to go to the opposite extreme — but even she admits that during dinner she’s “all over the place.”

Photo: ABC

And then something terrible happens.

Photo: ABC

Yep. Arie’s so bored, he’s actually eating on the date. After word-vomiting for almost the entire meal, Lauren tries to rein it in and salvage the night. “I feel like I have not been myself this whole dinner,” she tells the Bachelor. “I like me, and I’m cool with me, but I feel like I’ve been a little all over the place.”

So does Arie. He holds up the date rose, and with a carefully assembled “sad face,” he gives Lauren the boot: “I really, really wanted this for us, but I’m sorry, I can’t give you this.” And with that, rose lovers, we are down to exactly one Lauren. Suitcase Ninja, do your thing.

Photo: ABC

The “ladies” are rocked to their core by this unexpected turn of events. Caroline bursts into tears; Bekah and Becca huddle together for emotional warmth; and Krystal — who, let’s face it, is pretty psyched — delivers a eulogy for her fallen sister, who she says is “an amazing, beautiful soul.” She concludes by telling the other women to live each cocktail party as though it’s their last, because time on this earth with Arie is simply not guaranteed.

When Ashley, Becca K, Brittany, Jenna, Caroline, Chelsea, and Annaliese arrive at the park for group date number 2, Arie assures them that their outing will be not involve violent smashing of any kind, or a significant budget. Instead: Dogs! And not just any dogs, Dynamo Dogs!

GIF: ABC

For today’s date, Arie and the women will be putting on a live show with these adorable trained pups. Pretty fun, right? Well, unless you’re Annaliese — her collection of traumatic experiences also includes a run-in with her grandparents’ cranky dog Sunshine, who bit her when she was a kid. “I almost lost an eye,” she says gravely. Naturally, we’re treated to another gauzy reenactment.

Photo: ABC

Speaking of comedy, Chris Harrison’s co-commentator for the dog show is none other than Best in Show star Fred Willard. And there sure is a lot of color to commentate — as none of the dogs seem interested in listening to their temporary trainers, and the kids in the audience are either crying our outright heckling the performers.

Photo: ABC

Unlike on the wrestling date, no one pouts or cries when the dogs make them look silly, and Arie deems the outing a success. Things continue to go smoothly at the post-date cocktail party, as Arie has comfortable chats and kisses with everyone… except Annaliese. By the time she sits down with the Bachelor, she’s so wound up and tense that she can’t think of anything to say. “I feel like I’m going home,” she whines to the other women later. “His body language was so different.” Hmmm… let’s go to the videotape:

Photo: ABC

Yeah, it’s not looking great for Annaliese.

The date rose, by the way, goes to Chelsea.

When the final cocktail party of the week rolls around, pretty much every woman but the ones holding roses (Chelsea, Baby Bekah) is worried that she’ll go home. Side note: I like that Arie is starting to preempt any “she stole him right away” drama at these parties by choosing the first woman himself. (Watch and learn, future Bachelors.)

Bibiana can’t wait to get her alone time with Arie, because she’s arranged for the interns to set up a “private” (except for the cameras) cabana in the front driveway, where she and the Bachelor can relax and gaze at the stars.

Photo: ABC

Unfortunately for Bibiana, Arie and Lauren B. just happened to stumble upon this romantic star-gazing setup first. Even more humiliating is the fact that the Bachelor sends Bibi away when she comes to interrupt.

Photo: ABC

“Uhhh… the struggle is real,” sighs Bibiana in her confessional. “The devil is working OT, man.” Hey! Mike Fleiss may be an evil genius but I think calling him “the devil” is taking things a bit too far.

Having discovered the driveway daybed — aka the perfect make-out spot — Arie starts bringing other women there, including Crystal and Baby Bekah. Speaking of Miss Junior Varsity, she’s trying a little too hard to come across as the carefree, independent woman: “I think you know that I don’t need you,” she purrs to Arie. “You’ve been attracted consistently to people who need you more than you need them, and it’s scary to be with somebody who doesn’t need you to complete them.” It’s almost believable — but those of us who’ve experienced the hell that is being a woman in her early 20s can see that Bekah’s really a swirling mass of insecurities masked by a perky bod and a pixie cut. Still, Arie is just eating it up. “Gosh, you’re blowing my mind right now!” he marvels, before commencing yet another make-out session.

Our Bachelor also lavishes attention on Raven 2, who doesn’t seem to mind that the “special” set-up he had made for her is just a pair of redneck stereotypes: Hay bales and moonshine. But perhaps the most awkward moment of the night is Annaliese’s sad attempt to get a kiss from Arie. Maybe it’s because she always looks like she’s about to burst into tears, or maybe it’s simply because he’s just not that into her, but the encounter is not a success.

“I’ve really wanted you to kiss me,” Annaliese begins. “And I hear that girls have to go in for the kiss first — and I’m not really that type of girl.”

“So… are you asking me?” replies the Bachelor, clearly annoyed. And then he drops the bomb.

Photo: ABC

Man, could there be anything more disheartening than getting rejected by the kissing bandit? The man will lock lips with almost anything that moves! Anyhow, dear Annaliese, you should probably prepare to take a moment and say your goodbyes.

What’s that? You’re going to hunt Arie down and ask him point-blank if he’s into you instead? Sounds like a totally solid plan. “I literally can’t watch this,” groans Bekah, speaking for all of us. So, Annaliese asks —  and Arie answers.

Photo: ABC

“I’m sorry,” he says. “Can I walk you out?”

Who will join Annaliese in the Reject Limo? Let’s find out! Arie doles out roses to Caroline, Kendall, Ashley, the Last Remaining Lauren, Brittany, Becca K., Sienne, Krystal, Raven 2, Maquel, Jenna, Jacqueline, and Marikh — meaning we must also say goodbye to our favorite Miami firebrand, Bibiana.

“Someone needs to just give me a break,” sobs Bibi. Someone will, mami — as soon as it’s time to start casting for Bachelor in Paradise.

Welp, rose lovers, what say you? Did Arie send the right women home? Is Krystal right in assuming she’s his favorite? And what, exactly, is wrong with Jenna?

GIF: ABC

Post your thoughts now! And be sure to check out Chris Harrison’s exclusive behind-the-scenes blog right here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to pitch American Horror Story: Annaliese’s Childhood to Ryan Murphy and FX.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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[so-caffeinated]

You are the first and only writer I have read for this fandom. I love your work so much, I've re read all your Arrow stories twice (even the Firefly one even though I've never watched it). Do you have any favorite Olicity fics to recommend to keep me from going crazy my first hiatus? (I binged the first 4 seasons last year)

This is awesome!! Thank you! I’m super honored. And do I have recs? Oh yes, I have recs. 

First rec isn’t actually a fic, it’s a resource… @theolicitylibrary. If you want recs, they’ve got ‘em. If you want a specific trope or rating or genre, they’ve got that, too. Have a hankering for a fic where Oliver and Felicity are business rivals? There’s a link for that. Where she’s the vigilante instead? There’s a link for that, too. Where one of them is a werewolf? Yup. They’re an amazing resource and you can lose days (and weeks and months) going through lists of alpha/omega tropes and rockstar AUs and friends-to-lovers fics. 

But more specifically… how about I rec some authors, too? I haven’t been reading much lately - I spend all my time writing - so I’m more comfortable reccing authors I know are amazing and whose works I’m looking forward to catching up on. They’re all consistently excellent. This is by no means an all inclusive list.

@dust2dust34 - My co-writer for FiCoN and personal fav (though I admit to no small amount of bias). If you want smut and you want details and mining a scene for feelings, Bre is your girl. She has plenty of oneshots to choose from as well as some multichapter fics.  

@machawicket - Look, I can’t overstate Danielle’s skills as a writer. My husband doesn’t even read my fic but he likes hers. Her writing is funny, sweet, sexy and heartbreaking in turn but it’ll never leave you unsatisfied. She’s a master. 

@anthfan - Nikki is one of those writers that’s so good she makes you forget you’re reading a story, because it’s just something you’re living. It’s an experience. Her characterization is spot-on and her plots are super engaging. She writes both one-shots and longer stories. They’re all worth your time.

@hannasus - Susannah’s writing is the perfect balance of detailed exposition and tight narrative that lets you feel like you’ve experienced the whole setting in just a few lines. Add to that fully in-character characterization and interesting plots that keep you reading and you really can’t go wrong. I recommend reading her Something Like Fate series ASAP as she’s adapted it into the basis for an original novel (which she’s publishing later this year) and it may not be up on AO3 a whole lot longer. 

@rosietwiggs - I can always tell Rosie’s work in just a few lines. Her narrative voice is so very distinctive and so gripping that it pulls me in effortlessly. I don’t believe she’s writing for Arrow anymore, but even her unfinished works are worth a read. I especially recommend The New Normal, Lengths and How The Mighty Fall In Love.

@supersillyanddorky06 - I’d be surprised if you hadn’t heard around about Matty’s writing because she’s right at the core of the Olicity fandom’s best known fanfics. With good reason. She’s prolific, plotty, smutty and evocative. If you have a weakness for Bratva!Oliver, I’d start here. 

@jsevick - I first met Jaimie after reading her Jurassic Park AU (really!) and being both delighted and amazed that she could make it work. I’m extremely lucky to have had her help as my beta pretty much ever since. If you like my writing, she’s a big part of it (along with @alizziebyanyothername). While she hasn’t posted in a while, her stories are just fun and if you like Gilmore Girls, her Arrow AU for Gilmore Girls is a treat!

@realityisoverrated-fic - I have no idea how you would feel about Smoaking Billionaires, Anon (I personally love it), but I’ve got to very highly recommend her Infinite Love series. At 110 parts and counting, it deals extensively with Oliver, Felicity and Tommy’s family longterm, including their kids. It’s alternately hot, sweet, and heartbreaking. But, most of all, it’s just well-written and interesting. If you’re willing to read them as a triad, I cannot recommend this strongly enough.

@geneeste - I would pay for more of Caught a Long Wind. Quite literally. But, that aside, Genie is a top notch writer. Whether her one-shots, WiPs or brilliant, ongoing epic co-written work with @machawicket, everything she writes should be devoured. 

@juliesioux - Julie uses the setting in a story as another character. There’s so much life to the world she puts her characters in that it practically breathes. Above that, she doesn’t shy away from hard topics. She will rush in head-first and dig deep to explore what her characters are going through. When you read her work, take her warnings seriously, but if you’re looking for a rich story to read that challenges you, she’s the perfect option to turn to.

@thatmasquedgirl - One of the most prolific Olicity fic authors (with 110 fics, including the absolute opus Technical Assistance). She’s consistently excellent, creative and she gives us as a fandom a whole lot to read. You can probably spent a huge chunk of hiatus happily buried in her work.

@entersomethingcleverhere - As a rule, I do not read first person stories. Not even when they’re published books sitting on shelves at my bookstore. I will break that rule for her writing. I like it that much. It’s heartfelt, moving, well-paced, and the connections between her characters are both real and evolving as you go. 

@arrow-through-my-writers-block - Shelby is… well, she’s just fun! She’s a solid writer who never disappoints. She’s got quite a few one-shots and a few ongoing multi-chapters. She’s probably best known for Starstruck, but all of her work is worth reading.  

@wagamiller - I just really love wagamiller’s work. Like a lot. There are very few authors I have on alert, but wagamiller is. Stories that make me laugh out loud are few and far between, but the 35B series surely did (as did @machawicket‘s Unbearable Hotness of Being, btw). Strong, sharp, witty writing that will leave you with a grin on your face.

@callistawolf - When I think of Callie’s work, I think of the fanfic version of sitting down with some hot cocoa and curling up with a warm blanket to watch a Hallmark Christmas special. She’s consistently excellent about finishing her work, which is lovely, and you can pretty much always count on a feel-good romantic ending. 

@hopedreamlovepray - Writing one-shots that stick with your reader is hard. Keeping a story to 1-2k and still being impactful is even harder. She absolutely manages it every time. Hope27 (as she’s known on AO3, so you can find her) has something like a hundred Olicity fics. These are, in my opinion, absolutely perfect if you want to lose yourself in a story on the train to work or during your lunch hour. 

@dettiot - Mel has a lot of great stories (like really great). My favorite is probably the “ink in my pen ran dry” series, but that’s a really tough call. Core Curriculum is super hot. The Felicity Stark series (crossover with Avengers-verse) is brilliant and fun and made me giddy while reading it. Beauty in the Breakdown is excellent. Jerry the EA series features one of the best takes on a relative OC I’ve read in fics. Love is Red made me squeal like a teenager with excitement (I’m not ashamed; it was warranted). And Two Men, Same Name (written with @melsanfo) is one of those that I am absolutely dying for the time to catch up on. While I’m at it, let’s rec Mel Sanfo, too. Her Masquerade is another novel-length fic absolutely worth a read. You really can’t go wrong with either of these ladies. 

@ash818 - Ash is freaking awesome. So, here’s the thing. Her Legacy series is mind-blowingly good. I have to admit, I’ve only read The Man Under The Hood in the series (this is intentional, for a reason you’ll see in a moment, but you need to read all of her work ASAP, okay? You do). This series… you’ve got future, married Olicity with teenage children as they continue their mission. There’s action, plot, heartbreak, angst, love, everything you could want. It’s in first person from their son’s perspective which is something I would probably never have clicked on in the first place had it not come highly recommended, but good lord is it amazing. All of her characters have life. All of them have depth. Her OCs are fully formed and vital to the story without overshadowing characters you already know. I haven’t read the later stories because after I decided to continue on with FiCoN verse, I didn’t want to inadvertently shade my views on Olicity’s growing family and continuing mission with anything she did in her series. If anything I do happens to run parallel to her work, I want to know beyond any doubt that it’s 100% coincidence. But her stories are something I’m absolutely itching to get to read… eventually. Her writing is excellent.  

@tinaday3w - I’m tempted to say “JUST READ IT” but that’s probably not enough… But really, just read it. No one does slow burn like Tina. Victorian era AU with pirate!Oliver? Yes, please. Hello. I’ll take two.

@emmilynestill - She’s just so good. And sooooo hot. I don’t know if you know this, Anon, but writing a good sex scene is hard. You don’t want your reader pulled out of the scene by wondering if a position is actually possible or when underwear came off (or if it did) or how gravity isn’t making them collapse. Like… smut is difficult. But it reads so effortlessly with Emmilyne’s writing. And, beyond that, she weaves it in beautifully with plot that keeps you wondering what’s next and emotion that builds and grows in an organic way. Orgasms and organic feelings. Honestly, what else could anyone really want?

@ruwithmeguys - Jess will gut you and leave you asking her to do it again. Indecent Proposal… just… read the warnings and be ready and read it with a lot of time on your hands and probably in chunks because ouch. But still… read it.

@academyofshipping - Sarah has this dry sense of humor that comes out in her fics that’s as clever as it is fun. Fluffy, funny, smart, cute and rich with feeling, Sarah’s writing is consistently strong. 

@someonesaidcake - Felice is fantastic for completed, multichapter AU fics. She has quite a few and I’m pretty sure every single one included smut at some point (if that’s your thing) as well as plot. 

And… I’ve spent like an hour and a half on this which was a lovely diversion for my day. I know I’m forgetting amazing people but I have to stop here. When in doubt, take the title of a fic you like, google that name in quotes along with “rec list” and find someone’s list where that story was included, then explore the others. Or, check the bookmarks on AO3 of an author you like, that’s a great place to mine for fics, too. And, again, I can’t rec @theolicitylibrary enough. That said… happy reading, Anon! We’ll get through this hiatus together… through fic and sheer force of will. ;-)

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Steph. There's a post going around arguing that our John doesn't love Sherlock but despises him (it's not an anti johnlock post tho) and it made me ridiculously sad. Can you give some examples of John loving Sherlock? :( It really bothered me

Yeah, Nonny, I saw that one too. While I can understand where the argument lies, Uhhhh I just don’t see it the way they do. I’ve written a similar meta before, but I never broke it down before. This isn’t all of them, just a short little list…for instance:

FIRST OF ALL: JOHN’S BLOG. If I didn’t know that it was official, I would have thought it was a fan-site. It’s terribly romantic and John essentially fawns over Sherlock in almost every entry. Read especially the entries done during the hiatus. They’re… just… JOHN, PLEASE.

Martin’s acting. Just, every time John is around Sherlock, his face does 300 different emotions, but the most blatant is lust / adoration / incredulity. 

Anytime the show is in John’s POV, it’s just… Sherlock is this ethereal being that John “can look but not touch”.

THE FUCKING PILOT. Just… The whole Pilot. John is literally one step away from jumping Sherlock in a back alley. And the really gay rooftop music. Just. Listen to that and be amazed at how gay that is. That’s ALL from John’s POV. AND John had this look on his face:

ASIP:

John had a limp until Sherlock came into his life and gave it new meaning.

John has trust issues – Mycroft confirms this and says John doesn’t trust easily – yet for some reason he was okay with Sherlock. “And the madman himself? He’s fascinating.”

He hits on Sherlock the first night. Granted this isn’t a sign of love, but dear god John had no idea that one little thing and rejection would start his endless pining.

Laughing against the wall together, and in awe at Sherlock curing his limp.

The eye sex. Good god, the eye sex. 

He stands up to Mycroft DEFENDING Sherlock and he has no idea who Mycroft is or what he’s capable of.

Even though he didn’t know Sherlock that long, he ran after Sherlock when the phone pinged.

He killed a man for Sherlock after knowing him for only about 24 hours, and had no guilt about it.

TBB

His PIN is “SHER”. Like at this point he’s only known Sherlock for a couple months and he already changed his PIN to “SHER”???? COME ON, JOHN, PLEASE.

He goes after Sherlock rather than protect Soo Lin, because he is worried Sherlock will hurt himself.

Spends his whole date with Sarah thinking about and talking to Sherlock. He constantly checks over his shoulder to see Sherlock’s reactions to literally everything.

And this was all after he just constantly lingers his gaze over Sherlock for the first half of the episode.

Eye sex.

TGG

He has incredible guilt about the blog post that causes the Yard to make fun of Sherlock.

“I thought you would have been flattered”. Literally John is hurt that Sherlock seemingly doesn’t like his blog. They had a fucking DOMESTIC because of a BLOG POST and John’s hurt feelings. Hashtag MARRIED.

John races back to Baker Street from Sarah’s AFTER SHE’S SUGGESTIVE WITH HIM just to make sure Sherlock is okay.

John’s jealousy towards Jim flirting with Sherlock.

*sighs* EYE SEX.

John was willing to kill The Golem for Sherlock.

John, strapped to a bomb vest, took an opening and grappled and held on tight to Moriarty, told Sherlock to run. Essentially, he was willing to sacrifice his body to a slurry of gunfire and an explosion if only Sherlock would be safe from Moriarty.

“People would talk.” Why does that concern you so much, John.

Then, John was willing to die with Sherlock, without hesitation. They shared one single look and it was done.

ASiB

John’s jealousy throughout the entire episode; he wouldn’t be jealous if there wasn’t some latent pining.

MORE eye sex and toffee eyes, or John looking like a kicked puppy for half the episode because he is sad that Irene seems to have taken his place.

John essentially gives up dating in this episode.

John goes on a case for Sherlock because Sherlock was too lazy to go on his own.

John checking out Sherlock in a sheet. 

Followed by them being silly.

The unnecessary tackle.

John had a date the night that Irene drugged Sherlock, but John stayed home to take care of Sherlock instead. Oh and the bum pat. JOHN, PLEASE.

John’s concern about Sherlock’s danger night has him teaming up with both Mrs Hudson and Mycroft.

John decided to try to pick up Sherlock again, only to be cock-blocked by Irene.

Even though he was with Jeanette, John consistently pays more attention to Sherlock at Christmas, eventually driving Jeanette to call John out on his obsession with Sherlock, naming Sherlock as her “competition”.

Irene knows EXACTLY what John likes. 

John confronts Irene and tells her to tell Sherlock she’s alive, because he hates seeing Sherlock upset; he thinks Sherlock was grieving about her, and not over his confused feelings John.

Irene essentially tells John HE LOVES SHERLOCK. She compares herself to him, AND JOHN DOESN’T DENY IT, but silently acknowledges that yes, he and Sherlock are a couple.

John wants to talk about what happened at Battersea, but Sherlock denies him because Sherlock’s scared of his own feelings and thinks he’s protecting John from Moriarty by keeping him at arm’s length.

John thinks Sherlock would be hurt to discover that Irene is for-real dead this time, so he chooses to lie, because John doesn’t want Sherlock to go into a sad fit again. John chose the “kinder” option, and then gives Sherlock what he wants when he asks for the phone even though it is not allowed.

THOB

John goes on a holiday with Sherlock. Just… they go on a holiday. There’s no argument about it, just… they go.

John doesn’t deny that he and Sherlock are together when the Innkeeper assumes they are together, rather he deflects, because it’s too close to the truth.

John pulls rank to show off to Sherlock for a change.

The cheekbones and the coat collar, essentially revealing that he stares at Sherlock all the time.

John forgives Sherlock for his brashness, experimentation, and ignorance of John.

TRF

Eye sex.

Another “people will talk” comment when they hold hands, and THEN John still holds onto Sherlock’s sleeve while Sherlock is babbling on.

John’s anger at both Kitty and Jim, defending Sherlock’s honour.

The rooftop exchange between the two and John’s unwavering faith in Sherlock (“I know you for real”).

John’s complete breakdown at seeing Sherlock dead.

The graveyard. Fuck.

Seriously, THE GRAVEYARD IS THE MOST BLATANT SCENE IN S2.

MHR 

Just the entire second half of MHR. John mourns like a grieving widower, needing a heavy drink and to be alone to watch the video of Sherlock again, holding back his tears as he watches Sherlock on screen.

In the blog entry, he talks about how charming Sherlock was and how much John himself understood Sherlock. The WHOLE entry is just one giant love letter to Sherlock.

TEH

John physically goes to Baker St. to “move on”. John couldn’t, in 2 years, bring himself to stay at Baker Street because it reminded him too much of Sherlock. Mrs Hudson calls him out on how he was “after” and John doesn’t say anything. Then he is angry about the comment that they were a couple because THEY WEREN’T. He blames himself for Sherlock’s death. 

To “move on”, John jumps into a relationship to get over Sherlock believing that his miracle would never come, only to have Sherlock come back at the worst moment and Mary manipulate John into a proposal.

Donde Estas, Yolanda? This song pretty much is John’s heart speaking.Actually, most of the music selection is really very “John” and his inner turmoil of trying to understand if he should try to make a move on Sherlock. Music in Sherlock is always important; it’s always projecting the feelings of either John or Sherlock on a subtextual level.

More eye sex.

John returning to Baker Street on his own, before the bonfire, dressed in his old outfit… It’s the only time in the whole episode he dresses like “pre-S3” John"… And his oscillation on the pavement and all that. 

And John’s RETURNS to 221b a second time. Because he can’t stay away.

I know it doesn’t look like it, but John forgave Sherlock.

“I was hooked. He’s like a drug.” JOHN, PLEASE.

#SherlockLives means #JohnWatsonLives. JOHN H. WATSON, PLEASE.

TSo3

SURPRISE! More eye sex and toffee eyes.

Stag night, pretty much all of it. It’s clear John is trying to loosen Sherlock up to make him more receptive to John’s advances. John tries to hit on Sherlock one more time before the marriage, but Sherlock was too drunk to understand what was happening. John assumes, with finality, that Sherlock doesn’t want him that way.

The obviously staged tumble forward to grab at Sherlock’s knee, followed by, “I don’t mind” and an indifferent shrug.

“I’m there if you want it.”

John’s first reaction to Sherlock’s adorable confusion after the best man speech was to hug Sherlock; he loves him so much that he is very moved by Sherlock’s admission to the whole of the room to how much John means to Sherlock. John even cried beforehand, and you can just SEE his FUCKING FACE glow every time he looks at Sherlock.

John ALSO grabs and holds Sherlock’s neck not once but twice in this episode.

John cluing in at the end of the episode that Sherlock does indeed feel something more for John when they share a look, and not being able to deal with his mistake, so he no-homo’d out of there because it hurt too much.

HLV

Only a month into their marriage, John is having wet dreams about Sherlock, and is visibly disappointed when Sherlock is not the one at the door.

John contacts Mycroft when Sherlock is overdosed.

Only to kick him out shortly after because he is upsetting Sherlock.

He tries to make Sherlock laugh and succeeds.

John’s jealousy once again, this time over Janine.

John’s longing looks to Sherlock.

John’s subtle “I want to come, too” when Sherlock mentions the case.

When John is searched at the flat, he makes a joke about his dick IN FRONT OF SHERLOCK to another man.

John’s immediate reaction to Sherlock being shot.

John’s off-screen acceptance to let Sherlock show him the truth about his murderer.

Mary knew that John loved Sherlock. It’s the whole reason she needed Sherlock gone, because John was starting to stray.

She didn’t want John to name the baby.

“John, you are addicted to a certain lifestyle. You’re abnormally attracted to dangerous situations and people.” [x]

Not really confirmed, but fandom assumes John left to stay at Baker Street during the 6 months we haven’t seen to care for Sherlock.

John’s acceptance at Sherlock’s plan for Appledore, even though it’s Christmas.

John not even flinching at the “damsel in distress” line.

John begrudgingly allowing himself to be flicked in the face just because Sherlock begged him to.

John’s horrified expression when Sherlock kills someone for him.

The Tarmac Scene, pretty much the whole thing. It’s set up like Casablanca’s plane scene, and John knows he has to let Sherlock go; he fumbles to find the right words to say to Sherlock. John, though, knew exactly what Sherlock was going to / wanted to say, and I think it hurts him that Sherlock never admitted his feelings.

TAB 

Because this episode takes place entirely in Sherlock’s head, I don’t think we should really include it in this list, but I’m going to anyway, since Sherlock actually picked up on John’s love for him. He knows that John will accept him regardless of his faults if he confessed his love for him. I think this is why S4 doesn’t sit right with me, because it completely diverted from this HUGE revelation that Sherlock had made in TAB.

Sherlock understands that John will always choose him, in the end. Again, another thing that makes S4 so OOC.

Also something that should be noted, running on the assumption that the modern scenes may possibly be real, John is concerned about the overdose and the fact that it could kill Sherlock.

Mycroft’s plea to John signifies that Myc knows about how much John cares for Sherlock.

And these are a crapshoot, because the whole series did a 180˚ with the narrative and John’s character. I’m so angry because I don’t believe for one second John would choose Mary over Sherlock. Anyway, here goes:

T6T

Sherlock is made Rosie’s godfather. I know that’s not much since there are two other god parents, but John absolutely insists to Sherlock needs to be there.

There’s speculation that the night texting is actually between John and Sherlock. I choose to support this theory because it is one of the few semi-in-character things in this series.

TLD

Ghost!Mary is supposed to be a projection of John’s inner thoughts, feelings and inner turmoil. Ghost!Mary often refers to how important Sherlock is to John, and that Sherlock is “his”. As shittily annoying as she was, it was REALLY insightful into John’s own thought process about Sherlock. 

The “romantic entanglement” speech. John is projecting here. He is essentially admitting to Sherlock that he lost his chance with Sherlock, and he regrets it.

John allows a moment of weakness in front of Sherlock, and allows himself to seek comfort in Sherlock’s embrace. As well, he allows Sherlock to touch him intimately; the neck is a vulnerable place and it’s very significant that John allows Sherlock this.

TFP

I’m not even going to bother with this one, since I think this is a fake episode. I think the closest is, given that I think this is in John’s head, he uses Molly as a stand in for himself, and he projects himself into Molly and his own fears for confessing to Sherlock.

Oh, and also if it is in John’s head, he pictures a life where he and Sherlock are raising Rosie; Sherlock has made effort to make 221b habitable for her, and John loves Sherlock so much that he believes and knows that Sherlock would do this for them.

Granted, it gets less and less obvious in S3 and S4; S3 because I believe that we are in Sherlock’s POV and he perceives his relationship with John differently, and in S4 because I believe that S4 is a false narrative and it literally took great pains to keep them separated for some stupid reason.

Finally, I’ve also written about why John loves Sherlock in past posts, because of similar discourse:

Why I Love John Watson

John Loves Sherlock!

People Severely Misread John’s Character in S3

John Was Scared of Losing Sherlock

Why is John Harsh in TAB?

Why Does Sherlock Love John?

I hope all of these help you feel better, Nonny, and please, everyone, I most likely will have missed many-a-point, so please add to them – I study Sherlock’s character more than John’s, so I have a harder time seeing John’s cues!

[magicgeekponsol-blog]

♛ (for mismatcheddoll. I swear I don't hate you. please don't kill me.)

Taken from meme: [x] ||Accepting|| ((Now why would I hate you for this. My back may be unhappy but i’m perfectly fine. lol))

Makes more sense to put both on one ask answer, yes yes? Third times the charm to answer two urls at once. //sob cry

@mismatcheddoll​ @tsundere-model​ @knights-queen​ (bc of your ask answer is here)

my opinion on;

character in general: Ahhh Mika, what a cute lil thing. So I don’t know too much about him because I don’t actually play Ensemble stars? I only know what I kow from what aoi or Izuzu tell me. lol If I’m remembering correctly, didn’t Shu find Mika in like a box or something? A dumpster? Whatever it was, he was alone. This would probably be a reason why he’s so attached to ‘Oshi-san’? I think he has a complex about his two eyes? Idk if it’s because of Shu or not, but he doesn’t seem to like them very much. 

Obviously he’s also just really... he’s just a meek child, honestly. Still he tries. I know he’s apparently got weak sense of feeling? So stabbing his thumb with a needle was like ‘oh there’s blood’. I know he’s very close to Arashi. I’m very sure I remember a part where it’s like he wanted to make a bouquet or something for Arashi as thanks? I could be wrong, but I swear there was something about that. So pretty much he’s a bit clumsy (I think?) and very awkward but he does try hard. He’s doing his best. He gets scared easily and what not but that’s understandable if you think about how he was introduced. Child probably went through a lot but he still tries to be happy and friendly. A good child. 

how they play them: I believe Izuzu is doing a fabulous job. Poor child makes my cold... dead heart... do a thing called skip a beat. Can’t be mean to him. I have a Spritz bottle on standby for when Ponsol is interacting. I’m warning you dude. You can see how he struggles and is very scared and insecure, but he is very earnest and very very honest to a fault. Even when scared, he will still try to do what’s right. This is Pre-hiatus but Mika, though Shugarl is a scary-ass dude was wondering if they should kiss because they both got caught under the mistletoe like ‘don’t you get bad luck if you don’t?’ Child, worry about yourself, don’t worry about him. He needs bad luck. I meant what? I said nothing. He’s just  a boy who needs guidance and love, that’s all. 

He’s written in a way that you can tell he’s got social and anxiety issues. He isn’t really down played. He’s a loving character and he’s fair. Though Vasco is scary, Mika could see that he’d hurt the guy and honestly could have left it at that, but didn’t. He does what is right. Just an all around ‘good boy’. So If Mika is supposed to be a good boy chara who is supposed to melt your heart with purity and also just all around general pity, then yeah, Izuzu is doing great. //sheds tear for Mika

the mun: Ahhh okay. Let’s do this. //cracks knuckles and stretches back. So I said this in a previous meme wwaaayyyyyyy back when, but Izuzu was the first and only one to answer to Vasco’s very first open starter. One that went ignored for a long while.Discouraged, but otherwise //shruuuuuuug. Izumi was well... Izumi, but I still appreciated the notion. Not too long after that was Monster Madnes, the first event I was a part of. Izuzu wrote up a heavy drabble and it honestly made me fear of Vasco’s life and I was more than willing to get Vasco out of there. lol. Izuzu already knows this, but i’m sure others are curious? I don’t do well with Yandere themes so I was just ‘ABORT MISSION!!!!!’ Though Izumi is pretty... tame for the most part. 

We talked a lot on im and I got to see many characters from her. Some who came and went and some who stayed behind and are here today. I do love interacting with Izuzu. If you have an idea there is a 98% chance she’ll say yes. Actively HC’ing with Izuzu is fun who also is very serious about characters. Izuzu, like myself, connects with her muses. Some more than others. I connect real well with Shugarl while I think Izuzu connects well with Izumi. It always makes for a fun thread experience and it just feels... natural? When Shugarl gets mad, I get mad. lol Now English isn’t her first language. She is learning, but even so she writes pretty well, wouldn’t you think? Perhaps a few minor mistakes here and there, but for the most part she writes well. 

I really like her use of vocabulary and descriptions. That was honestly what drew me to her in the first place. (I don’t think Izuzu knows this. hoh hoh) So we talk a lot about random things all the time. For some reason, idk why, but she really likes Ponsol. Like a lot. So I appreciate that. He used to get real neglected. OTL ALSO SHE KNOWS EYESHIELD 21 SO I CAN USE MY REFERENCES IN THREADS. YAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess one word of sorta warning is that Izuzu (like myself) can ramble a lot so threads can get real long... real quick. So if you can’t handle really long threads... exercise caution. Izuzu can certainly go short but longer is so much fun. I so understand. As for reply speed which may be another cause of concern, with a lot of blogs and groups, it’s hard to keep on top of things. If anything, Izuzu has a lot on her plate but still tries hard. I really respect that. 

do i;

follow them: Ye ye

rp with them: Oh yes, clover goodness.

want to rp with them: //chucks clovers at the question.

ship their character with mine: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL---- SAVE MIKA 2kINFINITY from Ponsol.

what is my;

overall opinion: ((Screw it i’m moving this to next section. This seciton is already so looooong))

my opinion on;

character in general: Did you mean the bratty egotistical shitstick? The one that I ironically love oh so very much? So from what I know, apparently at the start of things, he was just a regular lil dude, but things in Yumenosaki just really changed him with pain and treachery so he became more of a Tsundere. Starts to bully Kohai in order to make sure they become strong. Goes as far as to go to very extreme lengths and it’s like CHILD NO. WTF DUDE?????? //salutes a certain lil megane-boy. 

Still, with the things that went on with Knights and with Leo, you can tell he’s a loyal guy. He may not be the most honest, but he is very loyal. I’ve been told that he’s pretty much an insecure lil thing. He hides this behind his tough persona. He believes himself to be useless, to be a horrible person. Sure, he’s fucked up. He’s done bad things, but he does try to change. He does try to get passed that. He’s at the heart of things, trying to help. He wants to be loved, he wants to be useful. (I hear that he was the untalented one or something during Chess? idk. I don’t know too much of the whole thing but I think that’s what I remember. 

I mean he’s also got some issues with his mom, right? I don’t hear much about the dad so i’m guessing he’s aight. (or dead) He’s pretty complex with his personality and his complexes. He needs to be loved as much as the next guy. I really do adore him along with Arashi. Both of em are lil cuties and I love them and they are my faves. I bias over my faves hard and they are all I need. Mama has nice looks yes, but I’ll take Arashi and Izumi anyday. I do love the way these two look and I’ll fight for em. Watch me. 

how they play them: Ahhhhhhh So like, Izumi. Is a shit. A lil shitstain. Let’s be real. Izumi is hard to deal with and he really just--- angers me a lot. Goes so show Izuzu is doing a fine job, right? Ponsol and Izumi are like cat and dog tbh. Like, please stop making me feel how mad you are, Ponz. I don’t care. Stop synching your emotions. I don’t want to be mad at Izumi. STOP THAT. //spritz You see him a lot having a haughty attitude, and only ever so often do you see a crack in that armor of his. Izumi is often played as the powerful and confident guy. 

But at the heart of things, you see that he’s also but a human with flaws and fears. Like when he’s dealing with a whole hoard of girls. The reactions to such are not downplayed. The first time we did this (pre-chara reset) Izumi was just so pitiful like ahhhh child, come to Neo. She will hug you. SHUT UP ACCEPT THE HUG YOU LIL BRAT. Considering he’s been aged, there are likely some places where he may have grown, perhaps to learn to be just a bit more patient. Maybe to learn how to be a bit less rude (or hell, maybe even more rude, years of practice, and years of the sass fruit ripening). As I don’t really know Enstars personally, I do think that Izuzu is doing well. We talk about characterization a lot, so I know that she puts a lot of thought and effort into her characterization. You can see how Izumi changes with different characters based on how well he knows them. 

That takes a lot of character consistency and understanding. So I believe Izuzu knows what she’s doing. Though my word don’t have much weight as I don’t know the original media that he’s from //shrug.

the mun: I dun wanna repeat

do i;

follow them: Well duh, Izumi is my fave~ rp with them: Why yes indeedlywant to rp with them: YES INDEEDLYship their character with mine: ... //mings. As of right now... 50%? I still need to use Ponsol for my own evil deeds, but after that is over i’m 1000% willing to commit to this, yes.

what is my;

overall opinion:  Okay. Time for the big guns. So Izuzu at the core of things is a person who loves to write and talk to people. A very friendly person. I warmed up to Izuzu pretty quick. Very open and willing to pretty much give anyone a chance. Willing to give most things a try. It is good to have someone who is really open-minded about things. 

She also is very keen on character development with the way she’s always striving to become better and to write better. She tries her best to write and to learn new ways to write things out. It’s not easy writing in a language that isn’t your first one. So I really respect that of Izuzu.

Now to be honest, when I first joined RTRP the only threads I really saw for Izuzu were ahhhh nsfw threads so I will admit that I was squinting at the screen like ‘wait is that really... all you thread?’ I grew nervous, I won’t lie. On my main blog, i’ve seen a lot of people who literally only really rp smut and they reach out to you just for that. If you don’t give them the smut they get all nasty with you. It’s really annoying when it gets to the point of bullying. No one really touched Haru though. She’s often neglected-- which is nice but it also means I get so much... dry spells and it’s sad. I digress, so I was a bit nervous about Izuzu to be honest and was just //avoid. I won’t lie. This meme is about brutal honesty so here it is. 

So seeing her reply to a regular open starter and having Izumi be a brat was relieving. At least it was like ‘okay so you are totally okay with threading things that aren’t NSFW. Thank you. QuQ I saw way too many people who are just like ‘INTRODUCTIONS’ and then ‘I WANT IN YOUR PANTS NOW’. I just 0-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, does her interest in NSFW make her any less a great rp’er? No. Did it worry me though? Yes. Protect my son 2k16.

Izuzu has an interest in that, but she’s also interested in other things like fluff, angst, and daily life shenans. Really you can just send anything and she’ll probably be okay with the idea. A very adaptive rp’er. Like I said before, she can write a lot so sometimes she and I can have really long tangent threads, and then we both suffer because it’s so long. Why did we do this to ourselves? 

I’m just rambling on a lot, but in other words: Izuzu is a quality rp’er who often tends to think not so highly of her work. I personally believe she does very well for writing in a language that isn’t her mother tongue. You might not notice it at first when you first read her work. If you want a partner who is open to just about anything, and is serious about what they do, Izuzu is a good bet. 

Just note that Izuzu can be slow at times due to her being a part of multiple groups with many blogs. She’s got a lot going on so it would be hard to balance everything. Also a student so you know. Busy busy busy. Also normally writes a lot by default. So those are things to look out for and be mindful of if any of those bother you.

I think that will suffice. Gotta save some material for future memes, right? Can’t say everything now. Gotta wait for the next time. Ohohoho. This is how I make people come back because I’ll suddenly throw in more information/confessions.

**Note: Mun’s answer are all to be completely honest. Don’t send url if you don’t want brutal honesty.

[thecreaminhiscoffee]

-slides in my own URL-

[ ♛ ] send me a url (selectively accepting) and i’ll tell you the following;

my opinion on;

character in general: Well - River writes twenty-two different muses.  I’m not going to go through all of them in this meme because, to be quite honest, that’s going to take far longer than I think is fair to the other people waiting on theirs.  Also, for the purpose of con/crit, it is going to be easier to focus on the characters that have been around the longest (depending on your definition of longest) and then compare that with some of the newer ones and what looks like is happening and how best to expand on all of the above.  Varying stages of muses on a spectrum.

I’m picking five - Bedelia is the origin of the blog (and the longest running) and so therefore has the most character development over time (and in multiple partnerships), Scully is the character I personally have had the most experience with (consecutively speaking), Rey was a long runner during the Bedelia hiatus (and also has significant character development over time with a partner with who has that with another character so that leads to good comparison), Freddie is a frequent character (but not always a long-lasting one pre-multi and not one with a lot of consecutive threads so as to follow character development across them), and Hermione (who has less threads overall but still gives some idea of development).…my general opinion on Bedelia as a character is full of probably too much salt and not worth reiterating here.  I think the idea of her was solid, and I think Gillian did a phenomenal job portraying her.  She is also the only reason I made it past the first three episodes of the series - because I was watching it for her, and she didn’t show up until episode six.  End comment.

Dana Scully deserves the world and got hell instead.

I’m still undecided on Rey.  I think she has potential as a character and enjoyed her in Ep. VII (she’s not Finn, but she’s cool), but I reserve the right to make a decision as to my full opinion on her character until the end of this trilogy.

Freddie is the only character where I think Fuller considerably improved on canon material.  In the first two seasons.  We didn’t see her enough in s3 for me to make that claim.  But overall?  Yeah.

I remember identifying with Hermione very strongly when I read the series the first time through (at least initially, although I think I may have grown out of that by the time the last…two? came out - definitely by the last one).  I don’t think she was ever my favorite (I may be wrong on that), but I typically had positive feelings towards her.

how they play them: As a general rule, the answer to this question is well.  River is a fairly strong writer and has been for as long as I’ve known her.  This carries over to any character she writes, regardless of how long she may have been writing them.  Therefore, since the general answer to this question is a positive one, further consideration must be taken into individual characters, writing development, and general commentary.

Thus, a con/crit section.I do have a set criteria for what I’m looking into as a whole.  I’ll talk about the character and writing development aspects last.  First, I want to talk general writing commentary - headcanon, length of posts, grammar/spelling, etc. - because that’s the foundation for the more detailed aspects of writing seen in voice, theme, consistency, character as a whole.So, let’s get started. River has few issues with grammar.  In fact, the only one I want to point out (because it was a consistent bother to me), is this: when you start a new paragraph and the character is still speaking, it is not necessary to close out the previous paragraph with quotation marks.  Leave it open; the character is still speaking.  Only close when the character is done, or when you are going to have them do something else before continuing.  Outside of that, you’re golden.

(As an aside, you are not the only person I have seen do this, and it actually appears to be something you’ve picked up later, because you weren’t doing it in your earlier threads.  This may be a stylistic choice, but it is not a good one.)

River has no issues with spelling.  Occasionally there is a misstep in wording, but that can be solved with a brief read-through before posting.  Pretty much everyone has a tendency to do this - I do, anyway - so it’s not a big deal.  However, I’ve found it is more apparent when you’re in a hurry.  But, again, it isn’t necessary to fix, because this is RP.  Just a comment.River is good with any length of post (one-liner, para, multi-para), but she hits her stride particularly with paras or longer.  A vast majority of her characters are introverted or put a lot of thought into their actions, their manners of speaking, so although you do one-liners well (which is a praise in itself, considering the internal dialogue just mentioned), your strength is in longer stuff.  You know this.  From a reading perspective, all of your writing captures the character well, you just have more room to breathe there, which works best for your muses.  Again, you know this.You are also extremely versatile when it comes to thread genres (fluff, angst, tragedy, violence, romance, slice of life, and crack).  Most of your threads tend to focus on either romance (with a potential mix of angst, depending) or slice of life (albeit, plotted, but you know what I mean), and these are only your strong suits due to their more frequent use.  You do them all well, even violence, so I have no comment here.  Kudos.  (Although I will say, I personally have a strong preference for your fluff threads because they typically also include character development as well - but that’s just me.)Headcanon, however, I have a little more commentary on.  When you post them, your headcanon is more than on point and does a good job of elucidating your character.  However, a lot of them are found in threads, which runs the risk of not having adequate enough information on a character to lead to good plotting.  For instance, below, when it talks about shipping, half of these I only know would be cool ships because I’ve read your threads and understand your character better.  I can tailor fit a thread to your interpretation.  Without headcanon posted separately from threads, this becomes significantly harder, and most people (I would guess) are not going to read threads to get that information.  Also, it is hard to find your headcanon separate from your characters’ threads, so that they have a tendency to get lost within everything else.  There’s no easy route of access.  I’d suggest at least having a catchall headcanon tag, so that someone who is looking at your characters, who is thinking about potential plots, has a way of getting to them.As a general rule, you are extremely good at capturing a character’s voice, whether in dialogue or in narrative.  You know this.  It is particularly apparent in your Amelia blog (there was a link in one of your Freddie blogs, and I’m a completionist in most things writing-related where these are concerned) and in Freddie.  Amelia shows that this has always been one of your strengths, but I think Freddie is where you show your growth as a writer best - because you can physically read how your writing grows just from looking at her voice in your first blog for her (where it wasn’t bad) to where it is now (where you channel Freddie like nobody’s business) - and that’s with months or longer between actually actively writing her, so that means it’s just you getting better.  And that’s cool to watch.All of that said, we can begin to look into more specifics as far as individual characters.  I’m going to do this within aspect, so - consistency and themes first, then finish with potential for future development.Within threads with partners, all of your characters are consistent, and in that same way, they are consistent across different threads with multiple partners.  However, of these five, four deal with the theme of surviving vs. thriving (this is explicitly mentioned in the text for three of the four (Scully [x], Rey [x], and Bedelia [x]) and is a basis for Freddie, even if not explicitly mentioned), and all five deal not so much with strength as not appearing vulnerable or weak, albeit in different ways.  Scully deals with this through closing herself off, through appearing like her male peers; Bedelia does this by controlling everything and being intimidating (because surely someone like her has no apparent vulnerabilities - she is ice and cold and impenetrable because she is so high above the lesser mortals); Rey’s is more a need based on not being taken advantage of within the context of the other street rats (she would like to be but cannot be); Freddie’s is simply due to the nature of her job (”She wasn’t supposed to be this weak./She was a journalist.” [x]), and Hermione’s actually is a basis in strength, which is a welcome development.  It actually becomes an interesting dialogue among the characters (particularly across some of Bedelia’s threads - you have Alana specifically stating that she “never found vulnerability to be a weakness” and Bedelia’s remark against it [x] and in further development with Stella, you have Bedelia specifically noting that “Vulnerability need not always be a weakness” [x] - it has even shown up as commentary in the Scully/Jess threads, “she felt less of a need to/wear a mask, less of a desire to feign the/strength she lacked.  She wasn’t expected/to be invincible.  It was freeing, but she/could only embrace that so far” [x] and in the meme where you attempted to write Alana, “If she can weap-/onize her own pain, perhaps it will no longer be a weakness” [x]) - which gives you a consistency across characters, which is admirable.You have mentioned that you like survivors.  You write them well.  You also expand and expound and dive into what surviving looks like across various muses (in fact, a majority of your other muses could also be labeled as survivors) as well as the battle that the feminine must have with the ideas of vulnerability, weakness, and how that interacts with gender (of the five, this is most explicitly brought up with in Scully’s threads, as far as gender is concerned, but that battle of vulnerability/weakness is constantly present).  And, despite doing this so frequently, it never seems old, it never seems tired, it never seems out of character because it is so much in character for the muses you are writing.  And that is to be commended.

Now, as far as future development, I want to broach this in two different ways: personal development as a writer (which is really about character types worth exploring in the future) vs. character development (which is more tied into places to explore with your existing characters, ways of individually developing them further, which still leads to writing development, but on a much more minor scale).  I’ll start with the latter and work my way to the former, just because that seems easiest to me.With Scully, I would like to see her within the context of some sort of relationship (friendship works well for this, actually, because peer pressure and support is a thing) reach a point where she is comfortable embracing her more feminine aspects and vulnerability.  In one of your OOC posts, you said that what you wanted was for Scully to wear a dress.  That’s…pretty much what I mean.  Because so much commentary within Scully’s threads is focused on not being vulnerable and on needing to appear more masculine so as not to be judged wanting by her male counterparts in the Bureau, the best development for her is to reach a place where she does not have to be preoccupied by either of those things, even if it is never in her work sphere, even if this is something she is only comfortable with around certain people.  And, whereas with other characters their greatest development is in a low point, we see enough Scully abuse in the show.  Her best growth arc is in the opposite.

With Bedelia, I want two things: one, I want to see her somewhere where she embraces her darkness, instead of trying to force it out, and two, I want to see her somewhere with a complete lack of control, not by her own choice.  I’m more concerned about the former than the latter (as the latter will be hard to pull off well without an adequate partner, to pull off without further debasement of her character, and that’s not what I mean by this.  Only that in every situation where she has lost control, it is by choice and she still retains some aspect of control.  It has not been a full out loss.  It’s worth exploring, but harder to do well - not that I think you can’t, as I have great admiration of your writing and have no doubt you can, but that finding a partner up to the challenge without it turning into torture porn will be complicated).  Of course, Bedelia can embrace that darkness in a multitude of ways - violence is the easiest route, but I hesitate to say I want to see Bedelia violent, as that is certainly not the case.  It simply seems to me that in the most developed ship you have for her, Bedelia is embracing the aspects of her that are more light - you have done phenomenally in this, so I would like to see the opposite explored.I have little commentary on Rey in this regard.  I like how she is developing and would like to see more of that in the future.  Any Luke/Jedi development seems like it would fall under similar development as the Stella/Rey development (only less intriguing), and I’m of the sort that likes waiting for canon before developing in that regard anyway.  I do want to see Rey within the context of a romantic ship - that would be a good next step because it builds on what you are currently doing - but I would also like to see Rey with a compatriot, a peer, within the context of her lack of identity.  Rey isn’t homeless, but I’d like to see her struggling with someone to make ends meet, someone equally at or even financially beneath her level.  (I’m not particularly interested in seeing Rey embracing the dark because that is not her struggle.  People is her struggle.  Relationships are priority.)With Freddie, I do want to see her in a low point.  From what I can intuit of your Freddie, her financial priorities are less on where she lives and more on fueling back into her job - fixing her camera, having a camera, gas money, etc. are all of much higher priority than her location, which waits until she gets big enough to afford somewhere better.  So, I want to see Freddie lose her apartment.  I want to see her choices in this regard in a financially bad situation lead her to not having a place to live because she cannot afford it.  There is not much point in Freddie succeeding - there’s no growth there because she’ll keep doing what she’s doing.  There’s no change.  This puts her in a situation where she has to make decisions and go from there.  Also, this leads to interesting interactions within the context of relationships and threads you’re already building within the Hannibal RP community.  I mean, putting Freddie in a place where she lives with one of those characters (not because she went to them, because that’s not her style (Alana, maybe), but because they notice and forcibly don’t leave her because of their priorities (Alana, Zeller, Will (mine, because show!Will doesn’t care), heck Frances would be great for this) can lead to the interesting conflict of, well, job is priority and this actually puts her in a closer proximity to people she can feed off of - take advantage of their kindness.  Or not.  Depending on how characterization goes.I do not have any particular direction for Hermione’s character development at this point.  Most of suggestions above deal with explorations separate from what you’ve already done or that can be founded entirely in the character’s set personality and systems.  As of right now, there is not enough information in your threads or significant enough relationships for me to get a good idea of what you will naturally explore with her, and so I have no specifics.  Any and every direction seems good at this point.  In the future, I may be able to be more specific.  My apologies.Now, as far as your general growth as a writer, I think there are two potential next steps.  As we’ve discussed, I do think having a comedic muse would be a good expansion simply because comedy is something you could stand to work on (in that same breath, you do have at last one comic muse, so this is of less importance).  What I would really prefer to see you doing next, in order to further your growth, is to pick up a villain, someone dark, dangerous, irredeemable.  Bedelia is the closest you have to this at the moment, and a dark elaboration on her would be closer, but even then, it still isn’t the same.  She is very much greyscale.  I would like to see you write someone who is evil, who enjoys being evil, who desires and acts upon an intent to harm simply because they want to do so.  Even with a villain, you can play into the themes that you tend towards because those are easily good motivations for a villain, so although it would be a step outside of your comfort zone, you needn’t go too far outside of it.  I just see this as an area you haven’t touched on and would like to see that potential growth.the mun: River is one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting - not just on this site, but as a general rule.  It is even more to her credit that we met on here, given the tumultuous landscape of tumblr in general.  We’ve known each other for almost three years now (!!), and although we disagree on some things (and I’ve caused drama), River’s consistently been someone who works to find a solution rather than being bogged down or drawn into the overemotional side of things - and that’s true not just from the standpoint of our relationship, but also from the standpoint of problems within fandom as a whole (or things she picks up on from her blog).  River is always very careful about what she posts and what she says - diplomatic is perhaps the best way to put that - and it’s a skill that I find very admirable, given the overwhelming amount of salt that is seen pretty much daily on the site (not that salt is bad, but there’s a way to be salty without alienating people, which is what I mean here).  Which is not to say she has no faults, because everyone does, but I have no intention of going into any of those.  River is worth far more than any of that, and I think it does her a disservice to suggest otherwise.

do i;

follow them: Yes.  Fairly consistently, I think.  Except for a few months on Rey, but that was only because I hadn’t seen the movie yet.  As soon as I did, I was.  …oh, and Jack.  I didn’t follow her Jack blog.rp with them: Yes.  Not as consistently as we used to?  But I think that has more to do with me jumping around from muse to muse than anything on her end.  (Then again, we’ve got…eleven?? twelve active threads, so.  There’s that.)want to rp with them: Always.ship their character with mine:  …depends on the character(s).   I like our styles together; they have a tendency to compliment each other more often than not.  Outside of that, I feel like it’s really up to how the characters’ relationship(s) develop?  So, yes, basically.

But if you want to know for each of the characters mentioned above in relation to Rabbit!Jess (and other muses in parenthesis because I spent far too much time thinking about this and some of these seem like they would be easier for potential shipping than others):

1) Jess/Scully comes first because to this day it is probably my favorite ship to have written (am  I allowed to say that?), and that is partly because Jess does not shut up about it.  And if I’m honest, with purely chemistry in mind, it’s proven itself to work.  Jess will never stop loving Scully, and even when I was writing timeline canon as a thing, she constantly referred to her in other threads because she never stopped loving her.  I said it two years ago, and I’ll say it again, this is the healthiest ship Jessica Rabbit has ever been in.  So.  The short answer is yes.  The long answer is best summed up as: the greatest regret Jessica has is that she met Dana while Roger was still around and she desperately wishes that they had met in other circumstances. (As far as other muses, there are a handful with potential, but I think they all work best as friends. Reyes will probably be the best other muse option here whenever it is I add her. But can’t be sure until get to that point.)2) Jess/Bedelia is next.  I think a ship with River’s Bedelia only works if there is something about the other character that catches Bedelia’s interest on an intellectual level - a human puzzle for her to figure out.  Even if it doesn’t stay in that realm, it has to start there.  I do not believe that Jessica would be the puzzle she would need to be for Bedelia to have an invested interest, unless we go into Toons as an idea, but since that would so clearly be conceived of as a delusion, I doubt she would find that interesting.However, if we go with Jessica’s earliest time period and the idea that violence against a Toon still counts as violence but doesn’t ruin a reputation and if Toon abuse was considered as a viable alternative to Bedelia’s other attempts to not be violent, then that, I think, is a possible scenario where enough interactions could lead to potential shipping.  Just from the continued use to take care of that need. Although there could be the added complication of Jess as a loose string where Bedelia would want control over any possible discussion of the act, at which point you can add in ownership discussions (honestly, outright buying her would be the best solution in this situation), and then there might be further extended contact outside of the potential violence, which works even better. The question then becomes whether Bedelia would consider it a loss of control at all. Or, since Jess would then be considered as property, whether that perspective could be shifted (doubtful). Which is all to say tentatively yes but the scenarios aren’t likely. (Amy, on my multi, would probably be the best option for a Bedelia ship.)

3) Jess/Freddie is third and, uh, yeah.  Definitely.  Because with all of the Toon upheaval throughout Jessica’s entire life and the fact that Freddie is a tabloid journalist, there are a ton of different ways to throw them together and since Freddie has used sex as a way of getting information (looking at you, Zeller) and Jessica, if she knew that, would definitely see that as the best use of her time as far as giving information, then yeah.  Not that sex = relationship, because it doesn’t, but like.  Extrapolate from there. It’d be great. (Then again, this scenario might work better for OC!Jess because band or model!Bedelia because model - although my Bedeals is ace, so some slight differences in that aspect of the potential plot. Also, honestly, baby!Bedelia and foster!Freddie. Because reasons. Or Camille/Freddie because rivalry because journalists being journalists. Heck, I could even rock a Will/Freddie but only because my Will doesn’t suck. I OBVIOUSLY HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS HERE.)

4) Jess/Rey is fourth and no.  No, I don’t.  Even if Rey is old enough for it to be a thing, she feels young in relation to Jess and she would feel too young to Jess and so it wouldn’t happen on her end.  So very firm no here. (OC!Jess is the better option here. Or Finn, if I brought him back.)

5) Jess/Hermione is possible, but I think the easiest point of interaction for them would be if Toons were considered magical non-humans and we play into the whole Toon Rights idea (because Hermione is very active for the rights of non-humans - and, honestly, we can make a comparison between house elves and Toons, really we can).  If Jess were still within the young period of life where she would actively care and think things could be changed, then I can see a partnership forming and a potential ship from there based on the interactions and how the two characters play off of each other.  Outside of that, Jess…probably wouldn’t get involved and would be super reluctant as a whole.  Or involved with Roger.  Or after his death and not wanting to deal with a witch because she would think Hermione could have fixed it, and please let’s not go that route. (Bedelia is far and away the better option here, because her Hogwarts verse is much more useful for this (please let them bond over house elves, please). Heck, even her Coven verse is better for this - it’s set up well enough that you don’t need to have seen the series, it’s got magic worth researching, and you get conflict with some of the morals. Probably good for mutual character development, depending on age.)

what is my;

overall opinion: To sum up, River is far and away one of the best writers I have had the fortune of seeing on this site, and that’s a position based on her dedication to her characters and the insight she has into them, combined with an impeccable writing ability which only grows stronger.  Outside of that, as an individual, River is in most cases a good example of someone to look up to within the community - because, regardless of any differences of opinion, she is extremely diplomatic and speaks (and writes) in a way so as not to alienate the other person involved and never sees that as a reason to rant or rave or hate anyone.  Above all else, River is kind, and that shines through in all of her interactions both in and out of character.

In short, I love her (and her writing).  What else is there to say?

**Note: Mun’s answer are all to be completely honest. Don’t send url if you don’t want brutal honesty.

[msclaritea]

For Steven Moffat, lead writer and showrunner of the sci-fi blockbuster for eight years, however, it’s a question he is more than happy to leave to his successor. “The new Doctor has to be written by Chris Chibnall, not me. Whatever he does is just fine by me,” says the screenwriter, who hands over the reins of one of the BBC’s most valuable franchises after Capaldi’s final appearance in this year’s Christmas special. “Just choose the best person for the job and any other agenda, however worthy, should be ignored. It has to be the best person for the Doctor Chris Chibnall is writing for” As the guiding force behind Doctor Who and Sherlock, two television mega-brands whose every plot twist is debated by an army of social media obsessives, it’s understandable if the Scottish writer might feel some relief at stepping back from one of the shows which has consumed every moment of his working life. “Doctor Who and Sherlock is a lot of telly to create in a year and none of it is easy. It’s been a tough run. There’s going to be a big hole in my diary. I am one script from oblivion,” he jokes. But Moffat does offer a little advice on casting for Chibnall, the Broadchurch creator and another life-long Doctor Who fan, who takes over as executive producer in 2018. “Just choose the best person for the job and any other agenda, however worthy, should be ignored. It has to be the best person for the Doctor Chris is writing for,” he says. Like the Time Lord and his travelling companion, the writer and his new Doctor will be tied together, explains Moffat, who eased Matt Smith into the role after David Tennant’s departure. Steven Moffat appears at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival on 9 April. Click here for more details, and for other Doctor Who and Sherlock events at the Festival “Chris is going to be working with the actor for quite a few years and it is a pressure cooker. It can be tough, so you need to choose your friend wisely. So long as it works for the good of the show, that’s fine.” The handover will occur in a Christmas special regeneration scene, with Moffat inviting Chibnall to script the new Doctor’s first moments. “We had a laugh about it – I said to Chris he would get a minute at the end of the episode.” Moffat is too immersed in the tenth series of Doctor Who, which launches on 15 April on BBC1, to feel nostalgic at the end of his tenure. “We’re still working absolutely flat out on it, so there isn’t anything to feel yet. We’re shooting the finale and we’re working out how to relocate the final scenes indoors because of the weather. So it’s business as normal. Then it’s the Christmas special and a few weeks off.” Pearl Mackie, pictured with Peter Capaldi, was announced as the Doctor’s new companion, Bill in April 2016 Photo: Ray Burmiston/ BBC Fans will get a sneak preview of the series and of the Doctor’s new companion Pearl Mackie at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival next weekend. Moffat will also be inducted into the Radio Times’ Hall of Fame at the festival for “pushing boundaries and altering the landscape of British television.” “The viewer doesn’t care that I’m leaving,” Moffat insists. “It’s far more important that it’s Peter’s last series, that’s a big deal. One beloved Doctor is going so that’s hugely exciting as a writer.” Mackie’s Bill Potts is “quite different, more grounded and earthy. She’s terrific, very charming and engaging, she owns the show, she is sensational.” The alien assistant Nardole, played by Matt Lucas, “was initially in it for a few episodes but he’s in all of them now, one way or another.” The Doctor is set to renew acquaintance with old enemies the Cybermen and the Ice Warriors too. “We have a smaller budget than other shows that look cheaper. I want more than three monsters on screen at a time” Moffat has worked consistently on Doctor Who since penning episodes for its 2005 relaunch and he hasn’t lost any of his enthusiasm for the character’s possibilities. “He’d rather be larking around and meeting Enid Blyton. But whenever he sees somebody in trouble he has to try and help. He’s eccentric and immensely resourceful. But he’s also a man who’s blown up planets and wiped out whole armies.”  A vital money-spinner for BBC Worldwide, along with Sherlock, Doctor Who’s global audience has expanded to some 80m during Moffat’s stewardship – yet BBC budgetary restrictions make the challenge of representing the show’s ambitions on screen even harder. “There’s a cultural sense sometimes that Doctor Who is the little engine that could, it’s this plucky little British show. But it’s actually one of the giants. It’s one of the least well-funded of the giants but it’s operating at that level. Why? It’s a massive show,” Moffat asks. “We have a pretty good budget. But we have a smaller budget than other shows that look cheaper. We don’t have the top budget, not by the standards of a colossus of the TV world. I don’t think it’s as good as it could be. I want more than three monsters on screen at a time.” “Overnight ratings are meaningless. But that won’t stop people saying ‘Sherlock’s ratings are in trouble’” Perhaps Doctor Who’s future lies with a funding partnership between the BBC and a deep-pocketed streaming service like Netflix, giving viewers the opportunity to watch new episodes without waiting for Saturday night to roll around? Measuring its popularity by overnight ratings is already irrelevant.“I’m walking on my stumps trying to work out how to tell people to stop looking at overnight ratings. I know the ‘overnights’ are going to be bad,” Moffat sighs. “The more popular a show is, the more people watch on streaming after the first showing. But that won’t stop people saying ‘Sherlock’s ratings are in trouble’. Overnight ratings are meaningless. People are watching across the week. Some people save up a whole Doctor Who series and they watch all the episodes at once. You don’t read a book a chapter a week.” “The way people are watching TV is in the process of the most radical change and you can’t stop binge watching. My kids don’t understand the concept of linear scheduled TV. Even BBC1 as a channel doesn’t mean anything, things have changed so radically.” Steven Moffat and his wife, the producer Sue Vertue at a screening of the Sherlock 2016 Christmas Special. Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty A prominent Saturday schedule slot is still important to “cut through” however. “My worry over the last year was launching during the Rugby World Cup. When Doctor Who launches it needs to be the event of that moment and I thought it got swamped. We should make it our business to make sure it is in a place where it will be the focus of attention.” Hollywood surely beckons for Moffat, who was asked by Steven Spielberg to write the screenplay for his 2011 Tintin adaptation until he had to step back due to his Doctor Who commitments. “I might do something next that’s a little out of everybody’s focus,” suggests the writer, who was frustrated by accusations by some on social media that the death of Mary Watson in the last Sherlock run meant female characters were getting short shrift. “Sherlock is the story of two blokes – what am I supposed to do with that? Make one of them a woman? We chose not to do that” “I massively expanded the role of Mrs Hudson in Sherlock. Mary Watson dies in the end because she always did (her death is inferred in the Conan Doyle stories). With Molly Hooper we gave Sherlock more of a female voice than ever,” he says. Hartswood Films, where Moffat’s wife Sue Vertue produces Sherlock, is a “feminist studio run by women.” Ultimately, Sherlock is “the story of two blokes – what am I supposed to do with that? Make one of them a woman? We chose not to do that.”  Unsurprisingly, Moffat disagrees with critics who have suggested that Sherlock and Doctor Who have become too “tricksy” or convoluted under his watch. “The last Sherlock episode (“The Final Problem”) was a massive hit on any viewing metric scale. You can’t take a few commentators to be the voice of the audience. “I’ve never met anyone who finds Doctor Who ‘difficult’. Hand on heart, if you think Doctor Who is difficult, then Breaking Bad is really going to confuse you.” For all Moffat’s protestations, Doctor Who viewers who have revelled in the show’s reinvention are likely to miss his guiding hand. “It will feel like an ending when I finally stop,” Moffat acknowledges. “Normally I’d been planning the next series by now or Sherlock (currently on hiatus) and I’m not doing that. I’m just trying to make a really good, action-packed, exciting series of Doctor Who.” He will restrain himself from submitting story ideas to Chibnall. “In the short term, at least, I have to get out of the way and let Chris get on with it. You don’t want the previous boss hanging around when you start a new job. I’ll take him out for a drink when he’s feeling miserable.

Molly gave Sherlock a female voice? Hartswood is feminist? TFP was a MASSIVE HIT?! What the devil is he smoking, cause I want some.

@teaandqueerbaiting @skulls-and-tea @monikakrasnorada @cosmicgoat @tjlcisthenewsexy @may-shepard @madzither @gosherlocked

[topweeklyupdate]

TØP Weekly Update #28: “What’s a Blurryface?” (3/5/17)

The US Roadshow wrapped up this week as the TØP Hiatus looms ever closer. Let’s celebrate all of the fun stuff from this week first before we get too bummed out about it. Catch you guys under the ‘Read More’.

This Week’s TØPics: 

Recapping Performances, Trees Speeches, and Some Amazing (and Amazingly Bad) Interviews

The American Roadshow Comes to an End (Kinda)

Two Community Spotlights: Listen to the Pop Song Professor Interview a Church Youth Group That Uses Blurryface to Help Kids Struggling with Depression, and Hear About AndySign’s day with Twenty One Pilots

Major News and Announcements:

Really nothing big in news, other than maybe them getting nominated for Best Group by Radio Disney. So... that’s cool, I guess. Sure ain’t no Kids Choice Awards. Next!

Interviews, Performances, and Other Shenanigans:

Whoof, another very busy week on the “not really news but still need-to-know” front. Let’s just go down the list city-by-city. Someone bloody proposed at Charleston during “Tear In My Heart”, and the video is so perfectly done that my shriveled heart believed in love. The Tampa show was attended by a lot of the boys’ family members (who Tyler humorously acknowledged before “WDBWOTV” in order to get some folks on the upper floors to stand up- I can’t imagine a Twenty One Pilots concert where anyone would need to be asked, I’m so shook). The band’s long-running relationship with the city was acknowledged in the Trees Speech. After the Tampa concert, the boys hung out around Florida with buddies, riding bikes with Mark at night, hitting up the beach, and, in Josh’s case, swinging by Orlando to hit up Disney World again. 

They continued their Southern vacation in New Orleans, taking the chance to walk around and absorb the music of the city (and also allegedly hitting up a Gamestop for the midnight release of the Nintendo Switch). The New Orleans show had some technical difficulties before the encore that led to an extended delay and the cutting of “Goner” from the setlist, but that just gave Tyler a chance to dish on One OK Rock apparently getting a massage before their encore at the show they opened for them. (Also, Jon Bellion got to hop in the ball.)

As for interviews... man, there was a great crop this week. Lots of in-depth, thoughtful, funny sit-downs with they guys. ...And, you know, the other one (sort of).

107.5 KZL, Greensboro

They discuss the general admission line and how people have been camping out for four days. Tyler acknowledges that they’re fans are tough and he would have tapped out after a few hours.

They can respect someone who prefers the Kidz Bop version of “Stressed Out”.

The interviewer talks about the age range of their fans and mentions someone outside who’s “70 years old, wearing an “I Am Twenty One Pilots” shirt and crocs”, and I just immediately laugh so hard crapping my pants because that could literally only be one person. Tyler and Josh both burst out laughing when they see the picture, because that’s their bud David the Dad and he’s definitely not 70 years old.

Hot 101.5, Tampa

The first of three really great interviews from Tampa, these hosts are simply very fun and accomodating. One of the interviewers is from Ohio and shares some chocolate buckeyes with the excited Columbus boys, and the two pairs laugh and joke through the whole thing.

Josh got rejected from one of the post-Grammy parties (actually, the party got shut down by the fire marshall and he eventually got in, but the story’s funnier the other way).

Tyler and Josh never got near anyone “really important” at the Grammys because they’re usually surrounded by bodyguards and they “don’t want to hurt them”.

Tyler misses his own shower and towel- he’s stepped in a lot of people’s hair, while Josh misses knowing where a microwave is at all times. They still recognize that they have it pretty darn good, because they’re at least not sleeping in a van (and also living the dream).

The only things Tyler and Josh really disagree on are the little things like where to eat. Tyler says that and their quality legs are the main reasons for their success.

93.3 FLZ, Tampa

Scotty Davis is one cool dude. He is so passionate about the band, so dang supportive. He possibly(/plausibly) talked a little too much, but he clearly respects them very much, not just in a fanboy manner, but as a huge fan of music, particularly live music.

His first question conveys his passion for their craft: he asks about how they stay in shape to maintain their athleticism and consistency of sound. Tyler responds with a very detailed answer about how their growth as a band has correlated with a steady growth in the runtime of their shows, and how that has allowed them to figure out how to conserve their energy (and, in Tyler’s case, his voice) throughout the day so that they have enough to make it, down to needing to avoid drinking water to keep himself from burping and putting on a good poker face to cover up being out of breath.

When asked about the technicality of his drumming, Josh says that his goal is more to inspire people like his younger sister to be inspired to make their own craft more than just be technically proficient.

The next technical question goes to Tyler about songwriting. Tyler confesses that, while the intimacy of making music with someone is truly great, he hates having people be in the room when he’s working on something. He’s talked before about tailoring songwriting to the live show, but the bit about even getting the bpm to try to match the jumping in the pit is really cool.

Tyler still has the numbers of fans from Columbus from the early years when they were hustling to get people to shows and my heart is on the floor look at it I’m dead.

Mix 100.7, Tampa

This interview isn’t quite as passionate/in-depth as the other one from Tampa, but it’s still very, very good.

The interviewer opens with some standard basic Grammy stuff, but he starts to get real after that with some questions about what their goals as artists were, which is appreciated even if they answers are stuff we’ve heard before. 

The next question is very interesting: it regards their competitive spirit. I’m not certain just how much research/knowledge the interviewer brought to the table, but he seems to recognize from how Tyler and Josh hold themselves that they have a pretty unique drive to be the best that not all artists really have. Tyler even calls their competition the band’s “biggest kept secret”. Tyler calls the musician community a “we’re all in this together” lovefest. “And that’s fine. But I want to win. I want to destroy.” More than just winning, Tyler hates losing, and that has played a big role in pushing them as far as they’ve gone.

Continuing on the theme of competition, Tyler firmly blames it on his parents; he claims that they called him after winning the Grammys and asked what was up with them losing four of them. “We’re competing against his parents’ band,” Josh jokes.

Mix 100.7 is an iHeart affiliate, they were talking about awards, the iHeartRadio Music Awards are coming up this weekend... makes sense that they were asked about their eight noms for the ceremony, specifically which award they most want to receive. Tyler knows off the top of his head the answer, without even having to go through the noms- Best Fanbase.

Next question involves the question of genre, specifically which they most identify with. Tyler says that he doesn’t always feel like he belongs in the pop world, while the alternative (he makes a point not to call it rock) road of making your own music, connecting to fans, and emphasizing live shows is more them (though the exposure of pop is always nice).

Tyler says that their next goal is just to succeed with the next album. “Anyone can do it once.”

B97, New Orleans

Whoo boy.

So... this one had some controversy because the hosts tried to be... cute, I guess? The interviewers both asked demeaning and even hostile questions (”How old were you when your mother stopped singing you to sleep?”, “Let’s go back to talking about Arthur Miller, that’s exciting.”), ignored and shouted over responses, and lightly tossed around insults (”you’re sassy”, “you’ve got a mouth on you”, etc.); one interviewer even spent the whole thing lying down on a table. It was obviously supposed to be funny, and the boys might even have been in on it, but it just wasn’t funny at all. It took me nearly an hour to watch barely four minutes.

Regardless of whether they were in on it or not, Tyler and Josh’s solid “no” reactions were great. Tyler just refusing to answer a question about Blurryface while the interviewer was laying on the table was great, as was his his sarcastic rebuttals to their ‘humor’ (“You guys are killing it”, “You can just keep saying lyrics I wrote all day”). 

The best fire, however, was easily Josh’s response to the male interviewer asking if Tyler ever got on his nerves. Josh stared him dead in the eyes, with as little humor as I think I’ve ever seen from him. “Never.” I’m dead.

It was so bad the station took it down. Dayum.

Finally, there’s this nifty interview with Brad Heaton, the photographer who has so blessed us these last few years with countless concert shots. I really hope the guy comes back for the next tour- he delivers some incredible photos, and he’s generally just a rad dude. There’s also this one from New Orleans, which has pretty bad audio and is just the interviewer telling dad jokes.

Upcoming Shows:

Tonight marks the end of the American leg of the Emotional Roadshow. It’s been a heck of a ride with a great crew of people, but it’s not the end just yet; the band has just under three weeks of a break before they venture out for the final leg of the Roadshow in Australia/New Zealand (more on that next week). It's not even the last chance for Americans to see them, as they've still got at least three summer festivals across the country lined up. But then... well, again, let's tackle that subject when we get there, this update's gone on long enough. 

As a result of tonight's show, the band sadly will not be able to attend the iHeartRadio Music Awards in L.A., but I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing at least one video message from them. They’ve already won a few Alternative awards, it just remains to be seen if they’ll take home the big ones. We’ll also just have to see if they attend the Kids Choice Awards on Saturday (please, Lord, I know we haven’t talked in quite some time, but make it so).

Show 33: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky, 3/5

Capacity: 17,500

The final stop on the Roadshow is in the great state of Kentucky, the home of bourbon, Muhammad Ali, and great baseball bats. The boys have played the city twice before, but both of those shows were in 2014. It's always a good thing when cities that tend to get overlooked by bigger neighbors (in this case, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville) get direct service. The KFC Yum! Center (which is definitely in the Top 3 Worst/Best Named Arenas on this tour leg) is used by the sports team of the University of Louisville, so the show should attract a sizable college crowd.

Community Spotlight:

Today’s community spotlight will be cast on the Pop Song Professor, a YouTube channel that, surprise surprise, analyzes the lyrics of pop songs. The guy loves Twenty One Pilots and has multiple videos about their tracks, but I regardless hesitated to put him in the Community Spotlight because his opinions could potentially be polarizing- the guy’s an outspoken Christian, and thus usually interprets the songs in the most God-centered way possible. However, I don’t think that should be a reason to ignore his channel: the guy presents substantial textual evidence to back up his interpretations, and I think we can all agree that it can be both fun and fulfilling to find new ways to think about our favorite songs. Furthermore, he’s really passionate about thinking critically about the music we consume for both the listener’s benefit and the proliferation of more thoughtful music in the future, which is definitely TØP as frick.

The thing that really pushed me to include the Professor on this week’s spotlight, however, was this podcast I discovered on his website in which he interviews some youth pastors who study pop music lyrics with their students to teach Biblical messages, including an entire series where they went through every song on Blurryface. While, again, that might alienate people who may have bad experience or personal opposition to organized religion, I really think that the interview is worth a listen and some serious consideration. I, for one, can’t think of anything that would make Tyler and Josh happier than knowing that there is an organization that supports kids dealing with depression, self-harm, drug addiction, and personal pain by directly using the rhetoric of acknowledging your own Blurryface to help them see how much they really matter. 

Finally, following up on a story we’ve followed for a couple of weeks, here’s Andy’s full testimony about meeting Twenty One Pilots, signing “Ode to Sleep” with them, giving the guys their sign names (apparently, Jenna took ASL classes in college and Tyler gets to brag about getting a name first), and having to host his own impromptu meet-and-greet now that he’s super Clique famous. He’s an amazing person, and I’m so glad the Clique has helped him get a bigger platform to make art.

That's all I got in me during finals season. Check back next week for one last interview round-up and a look at what might be to come, which will hopefully be enough to get us through a brief hiatus. Power to the local dreamer.

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