#bsts spoiler
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Mokuren noticed there's change in Zakuro way of singing, but Zakuro think he just copy paste singing style but Mokuren thinks that there's something in Zakuro's mind.
Also it took team P, Sin, Kasumi and Qu to comfort Zakuro.
It took whole village đŤ
6 notes
¡
View notes
Text
Varney the Vampire, Chapter 29: Ruined
[Previous chapter] [Next chapter]
Some distance from Bannerworth Hall lies the ruin of an old monastery, so familiar to everyone in the area that they all conveniently forgot about it. It is half-sunken, with many hidden underground passageways.
As the sun sets, a tall, hooded figure emerges from one such passageway to meet with another, shorter hooded figure. They talk animatedly for some time, before vanishing back into the underground passageway.
Somewhere under the ruin, in a damp and dreary dungeon, a man is imprisoned. He lies on a heap of straw, weary and probably concussed. The two hooded figures enter his cell, and the shorter one gives him a pen and a document to sign; however, he is too weak to even grip the pen. The shorter figure is frustrated by this, and his companion laughs at him. He rolls up the paper and huffily prepares to follow the taller figure out. Before they leave, though, the taller figure pauses to feed the prisoner the contents of a small bottle.
Look, I don't think I need to be cryptic with you. We all know the prisoner is Charles, and the tall man in the hooded cloak is Varney. (And I'm sure most people who don't already know the identity of the third man can make a pretty decent guess.)
This chapter is mostly scene description. Rymer puts a lot of effort into some descriptive prose that would honestly be quite good if he could only maintain a consistent tense.
The edges of the decayed stones seem now to be tipped with gold, and as the rich golden refulgence of light gleams upon the painted glass which still adorned a large window of the hall, a flood of many-coloured beautiful light was cast within, making the old flag-stones, with which the interior was paved, look more like some rich tapestry, laid down to do honour to a monarch.
He describes the ruin, which he names as Monk's Hall, thusly:
It was conjectured that this ruin was the remains of some one of those half monastic, half military buildings which, during the middle ages, were so common in almost every commanding situation in every county of England. [...] Ostensibly for religious purposes, but really as a stronghold for defence, as well as for aggression, this Monks' Hall, as it was called, partook quite as much of the character of a fortress, as of an ecclesiastical building.
I've been on a bit of a medieval history kick lately, and it is with great glee that I inform you that pretty much every part of this is wrong. Monks were banned from wielding arms, and the Church strongly disapproved of knightly violence. Rymer is conflating two different aspects of medieval life that were generally at odds with each other. If Monk's Hall appears militaristic to a Victorian eye, it's probably either to promote a humble, unadorned lifestyle, or because they needed it to be well defended from bandits. Possibly both. I guarantee you it was not "ostensibly" used for religious purposes, the Middle Ages were religious as fuck. They were doing Catholicism in there, Rymer. (This passage fits into a running trend of Rymer having a massive bone to pick with the Church as an institution, apparently regardless of denomination.)
This ruin was so well known in the neighbourhood, and had become from earliest childhood so familiar to the inhabitants of Bannerworth Hall, that one would as soon expect an old inhabitant of Ludgate-hill to make some remark about St. Paul's, as any of them to allude to the ruins of Monks' Hall.
They never now thought of going near to it, for in infancy they had spoiled among its ruins, and it had become one of those familiar objects which, almost, from that very familiarity, cease to hold a place in the memories of those who know it so well.
I do not buy this. If there was an old ruined stone church near my house that I played in every day as a child, and my friend went missing near my house, you bet your ass I'm going to be searching every inch of that damn church. Are Europeans really this desensitized to medieval ruins? If the arboretum near my childhood home had had a ruined medieval church in it, I would never be able to think about anything else.
The hooded figure which we know to be Varney is of "gigantic" height, a surefire identifier of our favorite vampire any time a mysterious figure turns up in the book. Him and [REDACTED] get into an argument which apparently gets fairly heated, but the narrative "camera" is hovering somewhere up near the ceiling and we don't get to hear a single word of it. Eventually they reach an understanding of some sort, and go down into the dungeon to harass their prisoner.
Poor Charles has a bloody bandage wrapped around his head, and is too weak to hold a pen. In my magnum opus fanfiction blood, sweat, and tears I cut this detail, partly because Charles suffers enough injuries in that fic as is, but also because the author almost immediately forgets about it anyway and so it turns out not to matter that much. (Note: The linked fanfiction spoils events from canon starting with Chapter 44, so if you care about getting the unspoiled Varney experience from these summaries you should hold off on reading it.)
[REDACTED] wants him to sign some kind of document, which I...don't understand as a motivation. The guy is working with Varney, who I presume is the one responsible for forging the three letters, and probably also the letter claiming to be from Josiah Crinkles the lawyer. The letter fragment found in the last chapter contains the sentence, "The signature is, to my apprehension, perfect." If these guys are capable of "perfectly" forging Charles's signature, why do they need him to sign anything?
Ultimately, it doesn't matter, because this scene is quickly forgotten by the author and its mysteries are never really resolved. Obviously, Varney has a motive to want Charles out of the way, but remember also that Charles was out of the country for reasons relating to the large amount of money he was about to inherit, and that the letter fragment talked about money. I have a hunch that [REDACTED] may have had it out for Charles since before the events of the story, but alas we'll never know because [REDACTED] [DATA EXPUNGED].
We finish off the chapter with a delicious little nugget of fuel for my ship. Varney is taking care of Charles while he's injured! That's canon, babey! (Yes I know we don't know what's in the bottle. Trust me on this. This scene is the poorest Charles's health ever gets; next time we see him he's recovered enough to pick a fight.)
Next: Flora and the admiral have a conversation
#varney the vampire#varney summary#sir francis varney#charles holland#varney/charles#this is a rymer hate blog#our mystery third character will remain untagged although im sure most of you can probably guess who he is#if you haven't already peeked at one of the spoiler posts or read bst
17 notes
¡
View notes
Text
#my prediction for the poll.... garls prob gonna win...w resh'an or serai in second place#i like...garl.. and seraĂŻ....and resh'an....#sea of stars reshâan#sea of stars game#sea of stars spoilers#sea of stars#garl sea of stars#reshâan#resh'an sea of stars#seraĂŻ sea of stars#serai sea of stars#valere#valere sea of stars#zale sea of stars#zale#garl#bs't sea of stars#bst
16 notes
¡
View notes
Text
June Bride 2023 Card Stories
OMGOMGOMG the June bride stories! Keiâs going to make my dream come true. Guys, HELP! I canât stop shaking.
Spoilers below!
Kei
He hints that he plans to proposeâŚ.yes, like marriage proposalâŚin the future.
MC sees Kei and asks where he is heading. He says to shop for a new outfit and asks if MC would like to join him.
They head to the store, and MC sees a cute dress but canât decide whether to try the black dress or white. Kei suggests to try both and says all the outfits in the store would look good on her.
She then notices bridal fair jewelry, and Kei suggests to go take a look. MC sees a ring she likes but denies when Kei asks if anything caught her eye. He says not to suppress her desires and to act on it. MC says she likes the cute ring.
Backstage before the performance, Kei asks MC to hold out her hand and shows her the ring and says wearing a ring on the right ring finger is wishing for peace of mind.
âOn the other hand, wearing a ring on the left ring fingerâŚâ
âIn due time.â
He puts the ring on the right ring finger and kisses the back of the hand. Kei asks MC to keep the ring on during the performance.
HE PLANS TO PROPOSE! â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸
ââ
Menou
He thinks his team is boring because everyone can do their parts well, especially Kei. He wants to add drama and the only way to destroy Keiâs composure is to use MC.
Menou asks MC to marry him (rehearsing his character). MC ends up asking itâs only rehearsing, right? Menou asks if MC wants to marry him.
He then says, âWhat would it be like to live together? If Iâm with you, Iâm sure I wonât be bored everyday.â
ââ
Maica
Maica and MC share an umbrella. MC says his shoulder is getting wet and to tilt the umbrella, so he asks MC to get closer and pulls her close. She says letâs rush to Starless, but Maica is enjoying himself and says not to rush too much.
Maica brings MC a towel and says to use this, not a handkerchief, go dry off. He helps dry her hair and thanks her. This is his first time performing outside of his team and is nervous but sharing the moments in the rain with her made him relax.
ââ
Kasumi
Kasumi and MC run into each other on the streets, and they plan to head to Starless together but notice a long line outside a new store. Kasumi says he got a flyer about a new cake shop opening and asks if they want to go. They decide to get take out because the staff is slow (since theyâre new at the job), and Kasumi doesnât want to be late for his performance.
After the performance, they taste the cakes. Kasumi for strawberry shortcake and MC chocolate cake. They like the cakes and say visiting the shop again is worthwhile. MC wonders what the other flavors taste like, and Kasumi offers a piece of his cake to MC using his spoon. MC returns the favor.
Kasumi makes a comment about how they exchanged the first bite of the cake kinda like itâs their wedding. MC nearly chokes on the cake, and Kasumi is startled.
ââ
Hari
Hari is examining the June Bride decorations for the store and says they are going to decorate the store to look like a real wedding hall. He mumbled something along the lines of, âI wish I could play that part tooâŚâ
Hari proceeds to explain he plays the role of the heroineâs father and admits he doesnât know how to express the emotions. (But I got the feeling that when he said âthat partâ, he was referring to the role of the groom.)
Next part, Hari says he will escort MC into the restaurant, holds out his arm, and walks MC in arm in arm. He the proceeds to explain while walking MC arm in arm, he imagined his father character walking his daughter down the wedding aisle and how he understands the fatherâs emotions.
Hari then mentioned he doesnât want to let go of MCâs arm but is startled by his own words and blushes.
ââ
54 notes
¡
View notes
Note
Idea.
Billy doesnât know what to do with the basket of fresh vegetables so he heads to the kitchens to leave the veggies in Alfredâs tender care only to find Alfred and Hestia having tea and exchanging recipes.
Billy gets the distinct feeling the two are old people flirting, places the veggies on the floor and dips, all while Alfred is asking that if heâs her second favorite mortal than whoâs her first.
Do you think that after billy gets adopted Billy's room gets flooded with gifts and offerings and bribes for the gods? because now that he has a permanent residence they can shower him in gifts that won't go to waste or weigh him down, Athena gets him a loom, Persephone and Demeter give him pills and pills of magic plants, Zeus gets him pure gold and so on
Even funnier if Billy gets adopted by the batfam and within less than a week his room looks like Howl's bedroom from Howl's moving castle
Oh Iâm a firm believer that if the gods are able, they WILL shower their champion with gifts. A few of them wouldâve loved to adopt him themselves, but hey, you get what you get. Now that thereâs a place for Billy to actually store his gifts, the gods go all out.
Athena gives Billy loom lessons every weekend(in owl form, so itâs just her feathered hands putting his hands in the right positions and hooting the notes). Demeter, as Goddess of the Harvest, gives him huge baskets with fresh fruits and vegetables. Persephone, as Queen of the Underworld, gives Billy a pouch of drachmas for souls who donât have any. She trusts his judgement on whether or not a soul deserves to cross over.
With what you said about his potential room in Wayne Manor, my mind immediately went to the gods changing the room in general. Like now his bed is in the shape of a cloud and even feels like one. Thereâs a window that isnât the one that was already in the room, and it shows Olympus. Like actual Olympus.
Suddenly there are large pillars lining the room and chandeliers on the ceiling. Itâs a full on room from Olympus.
#spoiler Hestias favorite is Martha Kent#she refuses to tell Alfred for fear of the Super/Bst war that would follow#if Hestia was a few thousand years younger and wasnât an aroace queen she might let Alfred take her out on a date#billy batson#captain marvel#dc#shazam#batfam#champion of magic
266 notes
¡
View notes
Text
out of context spoilers because chapter 8 of âfeeling my way back to youâ comes out TODAY AT 10:00 PM BST!!!



#i feel weird posting on british time#going on 27 hours no sleep#lfg#feeling my way back to you fic#out of context spoilers#voltron#klance#fanfic
55 notes
¡
View notes
Text
RQBB 2025 Writer Sign-Ups Open!
Writer Sign-Ups are now open for the Rusty Quill Big Bang 2025!
Please read through the information carefully to understand what will be expected of you as a participant.
The sign-up link is at the end of the post under the spoiler cut!
You do not need to have decided what you will be writing at this stage, but please consider whether the fic requirements are compatible with what you have in mind, and be sure that you can commit to contacting us on the below deadlines to share your progress (or withdraw your participation if necessary).
Schedule for 2025 (all deadlines at 23:00 BST / 5pm CDT):
Writer Sign-ups: May 12th - 18th
Full First Draft & Summary Due: August 10th
Artist Sign-ups: August 18th - August 24th
Art Draft Deadline: September 28th
Final Fic & Art Due: October 19th
Posting: October 26th
Info for Writers:
Minimum Final Word Count: 15,000
Maximum Number of Fics per Writer/s: 1
Maximum Number of Writers per Fic (collaboration): 2
Confirmation e-mails for sign-ups will be sent out after sign-ups close; if you have not received a confirmation by May 30, please contact us at [email protected]. We ask that you check your email (including the spam folder!) and reply so we can confirm that your registered email address is correct and you still intend to participate.
Participation Requirements:
You must choose whether to join the Big Bang as an artist or writer. You may not do both.
Writers will require an AO3 account; if you do not have an AO3 account, please request one via AO3âs login page.
If you wish to write M or E rated fics you must be aged over 18.
All participants must read and adhere to the Expected Conduct guidelines (see below).
Fic Draft Requirements: At the draft deadline (August 18th), we will require a complete draft of at least 13,000 words. âCompleteâ means that the fic is written from start to finish with no indispensable scenes missing or left as outlinesâthink, âIf I posted this right now, would I be happy with the story it tells?â
Ideally, you will refine and polish your draft in the remaining time, but it can also be your final draft if you prefer.
Drafts will be handed in via a form that will be sent out to you before the deadline. Drafts should be available in Google docs, or if need be in PDF format.
Summary Requirements: A form for the summary will be sent out to you before the deadline. Summaries should briefly outline the general premise, and include rating, ships, triggers and other warnings, and any other relevant details.
Eligible Fics:
Fics of any rating and with any warnings are permitted, as long as they meet the minimum word count (15,000), are centered around at least one Rusty Quill original podcast (The Magnus Archives, The Magnus Protocol, Rusty Quill Gaming, Stellar Firma, Inexplicables, Chapter & Multiverse, Trice Forgotten, Cry Havoc!, Neon Inkwell), and are tagged appropriately.
We encourage authors to take this opportunity to challenge themselves to take on a project that they might not otherwiseâthough please consider what is realistic in terms of the deadlines as well!
Fics must be stand-alone (requires no knowledge of previous fics to enjoy), complete (resolves all main plotlines within the story, as opposed to being part I of a trilogy, etc.), and previously unposted.
Crossovers are allowed, but the focus should be on the RQ podcast involved. For example: a fusion crossover with the Leverage Team replacing the LOLOMG in the RQG!verse would not be permitted, though the RQG characters in the Leverage!verse would be.
Please be aware that fics with obscure crossovers, common squicks, higher ratings, etc., may be more difficult to match, and thus take a little longer to get snapped up. We will do our best to find you a suitable match, though!
If you have any questions about the suitability of your fic, please contact the mods.
Matching Process:
The artist sign-up will include a list of the anonymised fic summaries. Each artist will select 3 fics which they would be interested in creating for, with additional preferences (favourite show/shows they do not follow, OTPs and NoTPs, Do Not Wants, etc.) indicated in the comment field. Mods will then match writers to artists, taking preferences into account as much as possible.
If fics are oversubscribed or if it is otherwise necessary for matching, they may be removed from the list of eligible fics before the end of artist sign-ups.
If you have an issue with your match, please let the mods know as soon as possible.
Do Not Wants:
In this event, you will have an opportunity to Do Not Want (DNW) the types of content that you do not wish to work on. Similarly, if youâve had conflicts with certain people in the past and do not want to risk matching to them, you can include this in your sign-up or draft submission, and we will avoid matching you with them (details of these will not be shared beyond the mod team).
The mods will always account for DNWs within reason; however, attempts to manipulate matches via DNWs or otherwise acting in bad faith will result in the rejection of your sign-up or draft. We are also not private detectives, and will thus not be fielding any requests such as âdo not match me with anyone who has ever drawn/written XYZ.â Please keep that in mind when considering whether this event is right for you.
Expected Conduct:
By signing up for this event, you agree to do your best to meet the deadlines. If you might need a little more time, please email the mods to explain your situation before the deadline passes. Those who miss deadlines without contacting the mods beforehand may be dropped from the event without further contact.
In order to participate in this event, you must be willing to contact the mods directly in the event that you have a question, concern, or issue with your participation (as in the deadline example above). We are happy to help participants with anything that arises, but cannot accept âtelephoneâ-style communiques on behalf of others.
Be in regular contact with your matchâif youâre going to be offline for a significant length of time, let them know. Radio silence from your match in events of this kind can be very concerning. (If you are having trouble getting in touch with your match, please contact us!)
Please take care to credit your artist/writer in your own final post.
Our Discord server has its own list of rules, which are listed within the server. If you decide to join the server, we require you to read and abide by those rules.
Be kind and courteous towards your match and fellow participants. This naturally means that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are prohibited, but even where those are not at play, you are expected to treat others with respect.
We, like Rusty Quill, have an âall headcanons are validâ policy. Harassment or mockery of those with different interpretations will not be tolerated. This does not mean you cannot discuss how you see the characters with others or that your artist/writer should not take it into account at their discretion, but insistence that any one interpretation must be adhered to is not allowed.
If you have concerns that a work or participant may be in violation of the rules, please bring it to the mods directly. Harassment of other participants (including but not limited to callout posts, name-calling, baiting, etc.), either publicly or in the Piles of Nonsense discord server, over their identities, fanworks, or headcanons will result in an instant default.
A full overview of the Guidelines can be found on our Challenge Guidelines page. We also have an FAQ. (Please note that blog pages do not work on the app - you may need to use a browser.)
The writer sign-up form can be found here.
Thanks for reading, and we look forward to working with you! Â
#the magnus archives#the magnus protocol#rusty quill gaming#stellar firma#neon inkwell#cry havoc! ask questions later#inexplicables#chapter and multiverse#trice forgotten#rq big bang#rusty quill big bang#rqbb2025
50 notes
¡
View notes
Text
I'm thinking about Dracula and standardised time.
Before the introduction of the railways, people kept time by the rising and setting sun. That meant that every town was effectively its own little time zone. The college of Christ Church, Oxford, still keeps what would historically have been Oxford time - five minutes behind GMT/BST.
None of that matters if your fastest means of travel is the horse; you just adjust to local time whenever you travel somewhere new. But it does matter when you have a railway connecting towns at a much greater speed. Early railway timetables carried notes on the adjustments needed:
LONDON TIME is kept at all the Stations on the Railway, which is about 4 minutes earlier than READING time; 5½ minutes before STEVENTON time; 7½ minutes before CIRENCESTER time; 8 minutes before CHIPPENHAM time; 11 minutes before BATH and BRISTOL time; and 14 minutes before BRIDGEWATER time.
By the 1850s it was - mostly - obvious that this couldn't continue, and the UK was (again, mostly, see Christ Church, Oxford) standardised on to 'railway time', based on telegraph signals from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. In the 1880s, global time zones were created.
In other words the standardisation of time was a process that was happening throughout Bram Stoker's lifetime and was in some respects still relatively new by the time of Dracula.
Dracula is a novel about the battle between the modern and the medieval. In that context, I think it's significant that it places so much weight not just on railways as an instrument for the Crew of Light, but very specifically on railway timetables, the instrument of standardised time.
Dracula is an opponent of ordered time, whether that's through unwinding Jonathan's watch so he can't track time any more, the way he interacts with night and day and drags Jonathan on to his schedule, and - above all - through vampirism itself as a means to immortality. Our heroes try to impose that order back on him.
Spoilers for the ending below the cut.
What I think is interesting is that it doesn't work. The railway isn't quick enough to get the Crew of Light to Galatz in time. They can't impose their notions on time on him; but equally, Dracula never manages to drag them entirely into his timelessness. And when it comes to the passage of time for all of them...
The Castle of Dracula now stood out against the red sky, and every stone of its broken battlements was articulated against the light of the setting sun.
Modernity can pretend to dictate and quantify the passage of time, and Dracula can pretend to have escaped the bounds of time altogether. But in the end, they're all equally subject to the power of the sun.
103 notes
¡
View notes
Text
SO IT IS isn't about replacing singer, it is just clothes. C members seems ok with it, but Zakuro thinks if he can fight Aogiri, he might understand himself.
I wonder if Aogiri is related to Zakuro back then?
3 notes
¡
View notes
Text
hey everyone ! today´s the day i introduce to all of you my new multi-chapter fic - Barça: Player Mode, i think it´s quite a different concept from what other writers have been doing so far, and i had such an amazing time working on it. i am so so so excited for everyone to read it and enjoy.
iâm not going to give the actual plot yet because i donât want to spoiler it for anyone but it might be a little bit of a controversial topic, and not for everyone, but i do hope that you give it a chance and hopefully you´ll like it and think it´s as cool as much as i do. happy reading <3
since itâs the first installment i will release it earlier than normal, at 18:30 BST..
as always i´d love to discuss my works with everyone, so feel free to send me some asks if you´d like :D
21 notes
¡
View notes
Text
The cast is finally making their London appearance, and the Nein are back! It's... actually really wild. I don't have the space here to be wistful because we have a LOT to get to here on bingo this week.
You can grab your own card at this BingoBaker link. The call list is 48 items long, all of which are listed below the cutâthere's information about potentially adding more and when I will lock this call list below, but first, some notes:
"other item taken from Trent" is for any update on who has the Ring of Warding, the Rod of Absorption, or the Mantle of Spell Resistance. Naming these items explicitly did not fit well into a square. The Ring of Telepathy does NOT count, since we already know Caleb took that.
Appearances over Scrying or a vision do count. Sending is not working, but Sending also would have counted.
If a character is listed as just a mention but they appear, the square is legal.
"other multiclass" is if any member of the Nein who is not Fjord or Veth has multiclassed.
In the event that the Nein is at least level 19, "new feat used" is legal only if we absolutely know what the feat IS. Deducing they have one by their stats does not count.
"Counterspell against Counterspell" does not need to succeed.
Unless otherwise stated, a listed spell or ability does not need to succeed, i.e. the only square that needs a success to be legal is "successful Counterspell".
"Fjord short-range teleport" is under his own power. Him being taken along with someone else's short-range teleport, i.e. Dimension Door, does not count. His Arcane Gate does count.
There is a chance I will add things before the live show starts. The call list will be locked at 6:30pm BST / 1:30pm ET / 10:30am PT. If I add anything, I will make a post about it. If you wish to play with any added squares, you can refresh your bingo card if you're playing digitally (though, remember phone etiquette!); if you are playing with a printed sheet, don't worry about it. (Also, to answer in advance because this is queued for 5am ET, if you want to print these as handouts, I don't mind. Just don't litter.)
I cannot answer questions about what is legal until the broadcast on Thursday evening. I also ask that you NOT send me spoilers; I am happy to see your bingos and almost bingos, but please wait until the broadcast finishes. I CAN clarify what a square means though.
I will be reposting this on Thursday afternoon exactly as it is here, altered only to include any squares I hypothetically added, but otherwise it will be identical to this one.
Good luck, have fun, and I'm so jealous.
new magic item
Fjord's ship named
Yasha Sending
Beau and Caleb random teleport drop
Ludinus simulacrum
Desirat
sealing unsealed danger
Assembly politics
Sprinkle status
PC couple married or engaged
Rexxentrum
somewhere in the Coast
somewhere in the Greying Wildlands
elsewhere in Wildemount
animated opening change
Jester's paints
Cape of the Mountebank
other item taken from Trent
Artagan appearance
Astrid appearance
Essek appearance
Oliver Schreiber appearance
Luc or Yeza mention
Marion mention
Yussa mention
Ryn mention
level 20
less than level 20
Fjord: warlock 13
Fjord: paladin 7
Fjord: over warlock 13
Fjord: less than paladin 7
Veth: over wizard 1
other multiclass
new feat used
new spell
dunamancy spell
Commune
Counterspell against Counterspell
successful Counterspell
Polymorph or Shapechange
Sending attempt
Fjord short-range teleport
Divine Intervention
Divine Smite
Fjord Channel Divinity
Stunning Strike
Zealous Presence
151 notes
¡
View notes
Text
INTERVIEW
Peter Capaldi interview: 'I'm Doctor Who, how did that happen?'
Friday 15 August 2014 22:16 BST
In his first interview since being given the keys to the Tardis, Peter Capaldi reflects on how he came to fulfill his childhood dream
James Rampton

Peter Capaldi begins with an apology. He is sorry that the last time we met â on the Prague set of The Musketeers, BBC1âs adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas stories â he was obliged to be, as the late MP Alan Clark once famously put it, âEconomical with the actualitĂŠâ.
In spite of repeated Paxman-esque quizzing by me about what he was doing next, Capaldi had made like Michael Howard in consistently refusing to answer my questions.
The reason he was so resolute in rebuffing me was, of course, that he was sworn to secrecy about his next role. Only a handful of people in the whole universe knew that Capaldi was about to take on possibly the most sought-after part in British TV drama: Doctor Who. He was not even able to tell his own daughter the good news. So the actor would undoubtedly have been lined up in front of a firing squad of exterminating Daleks if he had spilt the beans to me.
Fortunately, we can both laugh about it now. âYes, well, the last time we were talking I knew I couldnât say anything!â Capaldi grins wryly by way of apology. âYou were asking me all these questions about what I was doing next, and I had to just sit there and say nothing!â
He carries on that, âIt was a fantastic piece of knowledge to have, but it was getting tiring lying to people all the time!â The fact that the information acquired the aura of a state secret only serves to underline the sheer magnitude of the show.
We are meeting at âDWHQâ, the nerve centre of the âWhoniverse,â the BBCâs Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff, where they film the show. You are greeted at reception by a Dalek, perhaps a chilling reminder of what the fate that awaits you if you reveal any spoilers.
Capaldi is just as you would hope. He is much warmer, but just as sharp as the character for which he was previously best-known, the exhilaratingly foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It. Today he is sporting âelectric shockâ greying hair, grey trousers and a white T-shirt with an arty design that could have been lifted straight from an indie bandâs album cover. The Scottish actor gives off a force field of charisma that may well be visible on the furthest edge of the galaxy. He twinkles like Regent Street during Christmas week.
At 56, Capaldi is the joint-oldest (with the first Doctor, William Hartnell) of the 12 main actors to be handed the Tardis keys, but he exudes a youthful exuberance that would shame performers half his age. The fact that Capaldi is of a certain age meant that many people were taken by surprise when he was announced last summer as the new Time Lord. But having watched his opening episode, âDeep Breathâ, which goes out on BBC1 next Saturday, I can see exactly why the show-runner Steven Moffat went for his fellow Scot.
In this feature-length story, the Doctor and his companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) battle a dastardly foe in Victorian London. But, more than that, the episode is about Claraâs attempts to come to terms with a very different manifestation of the Doctor. His relationship with her has changed, but it is still at the heart of the piece and continues to be what makes this alien so human.
Capaldiâs Time Lord is angrier, edgier and spikier than more recent versions. At one point, he is at the helm of the Tardis, and Clara asks, âWhere are we going?â âInto darkness,â he replies.
The actor himself describes his Doctor as, âMore mysterious and not as user-friendlyâ as some of the recent incarnations. He may be darker, stranger and more alien, but my diagnosis of Capaldiâs Doctor is that heâs immensely compelling and will be a big hit with viewers of all ages.
Over the subsequent 31 years, the actor has shown tremendous versatility. He has played everything from the nicest man on the planet in Local Hero, to the nastiest man on the planet in The Thick of It and its movie version, In the Loop.
The actor sums up his career thus: âI was recently doing a voiceover for butter and they said, âCan you be a little less sinister?â So thatâs how far itâs gone. Iâve gone from an amiable geek in Bill Forsyth films to a âsinisterâ butter salesman.â
Relatively late in his career, Capaldi now has a seriously high profile. Despite that, he laughs off the idea that he might decamp to LA: âHollywood producers arenât going to say, âGet me that swearing, grey-haired, headless chicken. We need him for our new High School Musical movie!ââ
For all his memorable past roles, Doctor Who is special to Capaldi. He is happy to admit that he has been a âWhovianâ his entire life. He jokes that the last time he got to play the Time Lord was as a nine-year-old in the playground. As an eager 15-year-old in February 1974, he wrote to the Radio Times praising the magazine for its coverage of Doctor Who. Now, 40 years later, the fan boy has fulfilled his childhood dreams.
Capaldi, who is married to the actress and TV producer Elaine Collins and has a grown-up daughter, confesses that, âI was totally geeky. But when you reach the age of 17 or 18, you move on and discover sex and drugs and rockânâroll. Iâm ashamed to say I had a kind of bonfire of the vanities. I had a huge collection of Doctor Who books, autographs and pictures, but I threw them all away to go and drink lager and eat curries. That was silly, wasnât it?â He adds that, âI wish Iâd known that one day the geek would inherit the Earth.â
But he did not abandon his first love forever. Capaldi, also a notable director who won an Oscar in 1995 for making the short film Franz Kafkaâs Itâs a Wonderful Life, says that, âI grew up with Doctor Who, The Beatles, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, school milk, bronchitis, smog, S buckle belts and all that stuff, so Doctor Who is part of my DNA. Although one goes away, now the Prodigal Son returns!â
There is no doubting the authenticity of his passion for all things Whovian. âItâs a very unusual story that somebody who was so into it would end up playing this role. It was such an unlikely event that I never considered it happening to myself. There are things I get excited about that only a fan boy could get excited about. I donât need any help with the backstory.
âEven if Iâd never played Doctor Who, as a kid, thatâs what formed me as an actor rather than going to the Royal Shakespeare Company or doing Chekhov. It taught me to be an actor. I hope itâs all inside me, and it comes up.â
One other characteristic that Capaldiâs Doctor exhibits is a childish glee â which mirrors the emotions he experienced when he first heard he had won the role he had been coveting. The actor, who lives in North London, recalls that, âI was in Prague doing The Musketeers, and I read in the paper that Matt [Smith] was leaving. I just thought I wasnât in that race at all. I thought the role was going to keep going in a younger direction.â
When the producers were making the final decision about the new Doctor, Capaldi remembers, âI was shooting as Cardinal Richelieu, so my phone had to be off. But I checked it, and I had nine messages. My agent finally got through and said, âHello, Doctor.â I went into the corner, I couldnât tell anyone. I had to be very quiet.â He does admit, though, that, âWhen I was walking around Prague on my own, I was singing the Doctor Who theme tune to myself.â
If you take on the role of Doctor, you are also taking on some of the most dedicated fans this side of Planet Gallifrey. But Capaldi, who appeared as a Roman sculptor in a 2008 episode of Doctor Who entitled âThe Fires of Pompeiiâ, says he is not bothered by the aficionadosâ intense devotion to the show. âDoctor Who is so big, from the start I thought, âDonât get involved in what people say.â You simply do your best. Then it goes out into the world and you know that whether most people like it or not, somewhere someone loves you, and will always love you. The more everyone else hates you, the more theyâll love you! âHe was my Doctorâ, theyâll say.â

Capaldi goes on to ponder just why the show, first broadcast on BBC1 the night after President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, has lasted so long. âItâs got monsters in it. And they can change the leading actor. As Steven [Moffat] says, âIf every show could do that, theyâd all last a lot longer.â Also, although itâs a sci-fi show, to me thereâs an aspect of Grimmâs fairytale about it. The Doctor takes you deep into the forest where there are monsters, but he will return you to safety in the end. I think that colour in it is very potent, and it appeals to a family audience.
âDoctor Who has within it some of the cornerstones of the human psyche. He dies and is reborn. Thatâs a potent idea. Itâs a show that young people can watch in which they are confronted with death, but in a way which is not grief-stricken.â
Finally, Capaldi pauses to reflect on his continuing sense of wonderment about Doctor Who, which has stretched from his earliest childhood to the present day. âIâm constantly amazed that it is me playing this role. I think, âIâm Doctor Who â how did that happen?â
âItâs a huge privilege and hugely exciting. I remember when I first came into the Tardis, I had to be very patient as the very nice props guys showed me how to work the Tardis. I was thinking, âI know how to work the Tardis. Iâve known for a long time, probably longer than you, so you donât need to tell me!â Every day is amazing.â
So how does the actor feel about still having so much fun at the age of 56? Capaldi ends â as he began â with an apology. âI feel guilty. My wife says to me, âYou still enjoying it?â âYeah, sorry!ââ
Series 8 of âDoctor Whoâ starts next Saturday on BBC1
15 notes
¡
View notes
Text
*Intro Post ~ Welcome to the chaos!*
Hallo! This blog is an Ace Attorney AU using the musical EPIC! Canon is our bitch and we do as we please :)
The blog is joint run by @weltato (hi) and @the-ace-attorney-siren (formerly @burtrice1). Feel free to ask us anything about this AU in the inbox and not DMs - PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A WIP AU AND IS CONSTANTLY BEING THOUGHT OUT!!
The "backstory" I suppose would be that Wel was watching a great guy on YouTube by the name of Mortius (you should check him out, he's cool) react to "We'll Be Fine" and "Love in Paradise" from the most recent saga released from EPIC as of writing this (20/09/2024) - The Wisdom Saga. Wel had also been binging through some Ace Attorney streams by The NyanCave (also really cool, you should check them out too) and had that on the brain at the same time. Then she noticed something interesting - Odysseus had been on Calypso's Island for seven years.
You wanna know who else had a seven year gap? Phoenix Wright.
So obviously, I go to burtrice1 and say:
And then this happens:
And everything came from there. Just imagine it: Phoenix on that cliff calling for Mia T^T
Anyway, we had some planning to do: there is currently a list of characters from The Ace Attorney Trilogy, Ace Attorney: Investigations 1 & 2 (we're using the fan translation names in this house), and Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice (because Wel hasn't finished Dual Destinies and hasn't seen Spirit of Justice yet) and what people from EPIC they're going in as.
*RULES OF THE BLOG!*
No spoilers for the games please! There will be people that see this blog with no idea about the Ace Attorney series and they'll want to find out themselves (also one mod hasn't finished the series yet).
No spoilers for EPIC! There will be people that see this blog with no idea what the craic is with EPIC and letting them experience the joy that is this musical is all the sweeter with no spoilers <3
As previously mentioned: game canon is our bitch and we do what we want with it, which means that if you see an inconsistency with ages or anything, no you don't ;p
To second that: we are fitting characters with roles we feel they fit the best in EPIC canon, so a villain from Ace Attorney might show up as a 'good guy' from EPIC - it's not because we've redeemed them, it's just that they fit the role nicely.
Please keep questions PG, there are minors that enjoy both Ace Attorney and EPIC and we'd like to keep this blog a safe space for everyone.
In the words of Ricky Potts: don't be a dick. We don't tolerate harassment of either the mods or anyone sending an ask into our inbox. Respect isn't hard, friend :)
If you've asked us a question and we haven't responded yet, please don't go into our personal inboxes or DMs to ask us about it - see the rule above. Both mods are busy people and do this purely for fun, so we'll get to your question when we see it. The timezone of this blog is GMT/BST depending on the time of year, so both mods could very well be asleep.
The canon of this AU follows with EPIC canon, which is NOT the actual Odyssey or Iliad. If you want to read those in your own time, feel free to.
Have fun! We want to share this with people to see your reactions and interact with other fans of the Ace Attorney games and EPIC: The Musical.
If you're excited about this blog, REBLOG OUR POSTS!! Reblogging is the lifeblood of Tumblr and can make or break a post. We want to reach as many people as possible with this silly little idea of ours.
If you want to write fics about our AU, please ask us first! Wel is a regular fic writer and she has some ideas floating around, so maybe let her finish those first before jumping in - but we love the enthusiasm! Thank you!
Fanart is awesome!! Please credit the idea to this blog and @ us in the post with the tag #epicallyaa, we'd love to see what you've done :D
This post will update with extra rules as and when needed, if we need to <3
*TAGS!*
#wel writes - this is for whenever Wel writes a fanfic about something. This is a personal tag from Wel, so if you want to see more of her work feel free to peruse that tag on her main Tumblr account. All the fics posted here will be specifically for this AU.
#siren art - this is for whenever the-ace-attorney-siren posts art to this blog. Again, any art posted here will be specifically for this AU.
#epicallyaa - this is a tag for us and others to use about our AU! If you post any fanart or fanfic about our AU, use this tag and @ this account too so that we can see your awesomeness :D
#wel answers - whenever Wel answers an ask
#the siren sings - whenever the-ace-attorney-siren answers an ask
Like the rules, more tags will be added as and when we feel we need some more.
Thanks for reading all of this!! This post is very important to read, so if you come in asking questions blind, we might just refer you to this post and ask you to try again :)
~ Wel & the-ace-attorney-siren
#epicallyaa#intro post#pinned post#ace attorney#aa#ace attorney trilogy#ace attorney investigations#aa investigations#aai#apollo justice ace attorney#aa4#narumitsu#wrightworth#claypollo#(sorry klapollo fans)#epic the musical#epic the troy saga#epic the cyclops saga#epic the ocean saga#epic the circe saga#epic the underworld saga#epic the thunder saga#epic the wisdom saga#odysseus#penelope of ithaca#odysseus of ithaca#fan au#alternate universe#do not steal#do not repost
31 notes
¡
View notes
Text
The MSA-0011 S Gundam
The early success of Project Zeta led to many new and innovative mobile suit designs. The introduction of new materials, new mechanisms, new weapons technologies, and new design talent at Anaheim opened the door for the company to dominate the MS development sector into the mid 90s UC.
During this period, a number of machines based on Project Zeta would see deployment by factions all across Earth-sphere. many of these post-Zeta machines would come to be known as "Anaheim Gundams", and would be regarded as some of the most influential designs in the history of mobile suits.
Developed for the Earth Federation forces sometime in the late 80s UC, the MSA-0011 S Gundam, also called the Superior Gundam and Iota Gundam internally at Anaheim, is a bit less well-known than its other Project Zeta siblings.


The machine featured a modular design, made up of three high-performance aerospace craft which combined via a core block system to form the full mobile suit. These units were the FXA-08BG Core Fighter, the G-Bomber, and the G-Attacker.
Despite similarities to the MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam, the design teams for the two machines largely worked independently of one another.



The S Gundam featured some unique equipment for the time, including the Beam Smart Gun, a powerful rifle that connected directly to the machine's power plant. It was also one of the earliest adopters of INCOMs and the quasi-psycommu system. Quasi-psycommu technology allows non-Newtype pilots to make use of formerly Newtype-exclusive weapon systems.


The S Gundam also saw several upgrade plans. These plans included the MSA-0011 [BST] S Gundam Booster Unit Type, the MSA-0011 [Bst] S Gundam Booster Unit Plan 303E "Deep Striker" , and the MSA-0011 [Ext] Ex-S Gundam.




The MSA-0011 [BST] S Gundam Unit Type and the MSA-0011 [Ext] Ex-S Gundam are both upgrades applied to the original unit, but the "Deep Striker" equipment was never built. The "Deep Striker" does appear as a playable unit in the SD Gundam G Generation series of games.
The S Gundam would also be developed into the Nero, a mass-production variant taking cues from it and the Lambda Gundam. It was used as the mainstay MS of the Federation's Task Force Alpha.

While all of this is rather impressive, the most notable part of the machine was undeniably its greatest strength. The S Gundam was equipped with the Advanced Logistic and Inconsequence Cognizing Equipment system. "ALICE" - as she was better known - was an advanced artificial intelligence designed to replace a human pilot.
WARNING!
The following section contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Gundam Sentinel! If you are interested in reading it, I highly recommend you do so!


ALICE was developed by Anaheim scientists Dr. Carol and Dr. Roots to automate certain functions of mobile suits. While this was possible previously, commands had to be programmed into the MS via a command console. The final objective of the project was to fully automate a Gundam-type mobile suit using ALICE.
She was programmed to grow and learn by observing and analyzing the actions of pilots, and was treated like a daughter by Dr. Roots. This caused tensions with Dr. Carol and other factions at Anaheim. A suspected act of sabotage resulted in an explosion that nearly destroyed ALICE, but Dr. Roots gave her life protecting her. The project was shelved for a time.
ALICE was picked back up later, being installed in the S Gundam and paired with Ryou Roots under the Federation's Task Force Alpha. She, along with the S Gundam, saw action during the Pezun rebellion perpetrated by the New Desides faction. This faction of Titans remnants and loyalists sought to break away from the Federation to further their own interests.
During combat, Ryou's lack of skill resulted in multiple near-death experiences. ALICE was responsible for saving his life on multiple occasions.
Learning from Ryou and other Task Force Alpha pilots, ALICE eventually developed an awareness of the world. She would deduce that friends were the most important thing to a person, after initially failing to comprehend Ryou's grief at the death of his fellow pilots.
Following this logic, she would eventually sacrifice herself to save the lives of her comrades. Her final words were thanks to Ryou for the memories and lessons she learned from him.
She would be destroyed during atmospheric entry.
The above machines were all designed by Hajime Katoki for the 1987 photo-novel Gundam Sentinel. Gundam Sentinel was written by Masaya Takahashi and published in Model Graphix magazine.
29 notes
¡
View notes
Text
IM SEEING CC ON TUESDAY SO UH NO SPOILERS AND YOU CAN 100% RQ CC BOARDS AFTER TUESDAY
(Tuesday BST just in case ive reached timezones with day differences)(I doubt I have)(if that's not a thing uhhh mb)(love yall sorry I'm a bit silly)(I didn't take geography and it shows)
#starkid#moodboard#cinderella's castle#aaaaaa#Forgot it changed to BST#stupid daylight savings#That's already a tag what
8 notes
¡
View notes