#justice for Turnadette

[bbcshipper]

30 Days of Domestic Fluff - Day 8

This one was tough, because obviously Patrick can’t wear anything of Shelagh’s (other than perhaps some accessories, which I can’t imagine him doing) because she is so tiny and cute. Although I do admit to laughing out loud for a solid 3 minutes at the image I conjured in my head of Patrick wearing Shelagh’s Keep Fit leotard after yesterday’s discussions. But that was just too OOC for me.

And while I’m a huge HUGE fan of her in his clothes (I mean, her in his pj top is the most precious thing and if you’ve not read @my-little-yellowbird‘s fic “Knit Together” about her in his jumper, you’re missing out) but I didn’t think I could do it justice in a drabble, plus what’s been already done is so amazing.

So here’s my take instead, sorry it’s not true Turnadette:

Day 8: Wearing Each Other’s Clothes

Shelagh awoke with a start at the sound of Teddy’s cries, stretching her limbs out from under her and rocking her neck back and forth, trying in vain to loosen the knots she had created with such an awkward sleeping position. How she had even managed to fall asleep with one leg under her, one arm above her head, and looking straight up at the ceiling was unexplainable other than the fact that between Teddy’s feedings and Angela’s nightmare, she had not slept a wink the night before.

Looking to her left, she expected to see Angela curled up asleep next to her as she had been before Shelagh dozed off. Except the young girl was nowhere to be seen. Her legs almost buckled beneath her when she jumped up, the circulation still not quite restored, but she ignored the tingling sensation running up and down her leg as she frantically grabbed Teddy from his cot and searched the downstairs for Angela. Not finding her there, Shelagh ran up the stairs, alternating between worry over whether Angela was okay and what kind of mischief she might have caused in the house.

A light coming from Shelagh’s bedroom alerted her to her daughter’s whereabouts. “Angela, dear, what are you doing in Daddy and Mummy’s room? You know you’re not allowed in…” Shelagh stopped short at the sight of her daughter and could not help but laugh.

“Look, Mummy! I’m Daddy!” she beamed to her mother.

Shelagh tried to remain stern, wanting to scold her daughter for so clearly violating the rules, but it was difficult when the sight before her was so precious. There, standing in front of the mirror admiring herself, was her daughter wearing an assortment of Patrick’s clothing - braces attached to her skirt, tie around her neck, and his long brown coat trailing the floor.

[weshallc]

@judy--21 thank you so much, you wee gem, you.

If she ignored Helen, Laura and Stephen WTF was she there for? Did she not see the big graphic above everyone's heads.

Nowt like being up to date.

Why is @thatginchygal the first name to spring to mind? But with who? The Robinsons, Buckles, Noakes, Mountbusby? Imagine watching 11 series of CtM and all you can come up with is a question on dogging. And all @anamarialujan wanted was to ask about was a pure Turnadette kiss. No justice in this world.

That was a seminal moment.

I'd have gone for chips at this point.

Call the midwife Q and A panel 22/5/22

A few brief notes of what I can remember. I think I have more written on my phone, will try and post soon.

I answered this on @shippnsince73 post but will put here as well.

I didn’t find the interviewer great I felt she kind of just ignored Helen, Laura and Stephen so it didnt have much Turnadette stuff but

They did speak and show a clip of the proposal scene and Laura held her hand out to Stephen and he was play kissing it.

At the end there were questions from the audience, one lady for some reason started talking about wife swapping/swingers and Laura quietly said to Stephen something like: the Turners can do that next series. 

They also briefly spoke about when Laura first put on the full nurses uniform and how happy she was and how Laura felt that Shelagh was finally completely who she wanted/left the order to be.

Heidi did joke that they got a whole episode about the Turners seeing the sound of music and eating chips.

[cooldoyouhaveaflag]

Prompt 39: “Just please be my best friend right now, not the guy (man) I just confessed my love to.”

Hope you enjoy! This is some Season 2, old school Turnadette. :) 

Thank you so much for the huge responses to all of these one-shots! I cannot tell you how much it means that people love this series and I hope I can keep writing you stories that do justice to our favorite characters. <3 

[snoopctm]

Turnadette Tuesday

Turner Timeline–Episode 6x08a

Shelagh’s Birth Story–Prologue

So it’s time for episode 8 and I decided that, to really do this story justice and talk about all the things I want to talk about, I had to do something different than my usual Tuesday posts. More thoughts follow:

Most of these posts are about the Turners as a couple and their relationship, and this story is about that, too, but it’s about more than that. I thought that in order to really cover the birth story in 6x08 well, I had to focus on Shelagh, following her journey through the episode and addressing various issues along the way. This series is going to take a few weeks, as well, because I’ve decided I want to cover this story as comprehensively as possible. I also want to deal with the issue of why I think this pregnancy plot was a good thing, in hindsight. It’s not something I wanted before this series, and I wasn’t shy about writing that–even though I saw clues all through series 5 that it was going to happen. I also totally understand that not all fans like this story, and I understand a lot of the reasons for not liking it. Still, it happened, and for me, it worked. I think one major thing this story arc has done in terms of plot and character development is to set up a new stage in Shelagh’s and the Turners’ lives. All the callbacks to earlier moments in their story were not an accident, I think. I think we’re seeing the end of a chapter of Shelagh’s incredible character development, and the setting up of the start of a new stage in that journey. 

Still, although I’m going to be focusing on Shelagh in this series, and including moments that don’t directly involve Patrick, their relationship is a major part of this story so I’m not going to neglect that. I just think the best way to look at this story is to put the focus on Shelagh and what this story says about her–who she is now, who she has been, and a few thoughts about what happens next. 

One thing I like about this episode is that it goes through a process for Shelagh that shows her experiencing a lot of things that are common in late pregnancy, in a way that the show generally hasn’t taken the time to do. We’ve seen Shelagh’s pregnancy shown in more detail from the start, though, because she’s a regular character and the show is able to do that. Still, her story did take a bit of a back seat to other stories in episodes 5-7, and now she’s back in focus because it’s time for her to have the baby. Even though she was shown having complications earlier in the series, after she got out of the hospital her pregnancy progressed fairly normally, and the everyday joys and frustrations of pregnancy are shown with Shelagh in this episode, such as this common frustration–not being able to tie her shoes. Through this episode, though, we’ll see a recurring theme of “common vs. unique” in her pregnancy–basically, we see the ways Shelagh is like most other expectant mothers, and also ways in which her story is uniquely her own. I expect to spend a few weeks following this process, as well as the important relationship moments with Patrick. 

That’s all for this week. Tune in next week for another look at Shelagh’s pregnancy story in another installment of the Turner Timeline! 

[beatrix-franklin]

Where do we draw the line with fanfiction?

*Disclaimer* Before I start this post I want to say that this is just about fic in general. It is NOT aimed at anyone’s work in particular. Also this is purely PERSONAL opinion, but something I’m struggling to piece my thoughts together on, hence I’ve decided to share my thoughts, to see if others disagree. It’s just something i’ve been thinking about for a while 

The joy of fanfiction is that it allows us, to a certain extent, creative freedom. We create scenes and scenarios for our favourite characters that wouldn’t otherwise be seen. It allows us to fill in the missing moments that we don’t always see on screen. It also allows for complete Alternative Universes to exist; in which the characters can exist in a context we’ve never seen before. It is a fantastic way to explore the characters. However, I often feel that while the characters are fictional, as are the stories we create for them, sometimes the stories told aren’t.

I’ve read an abundance of fic (quite possibly the entire Turnadette archive) and my favourite stories are the ones that expand on ones already shown on screen, I feel allows the writer to explore the character and their feelings in depth. I’m also I sucker for an emotive fic. There’s many a writer out there that has reduced me to a blubbering wreck with their stories.

However, there’s some stories out there that for me cross the line as to what is acceptable to write. I’ve seen stories that things such as cancer, miscarriage and mental illness merely to add drama, to make the fic more shocking. Often these are sub-stories (if that’s the right phrase) merely added for a shock factor or to keep people reading, but they’re not explored fully. This sits the wrong way with me personally because, while yes, it is fiction, the stories being told are very much real. There are people out there that have experienced these things, to some people these topics are very real. Is it fair to use these merely as a plot device?

This is where I struggle to gather my thoughts, because while sometimes doing this irks me, I’ve also read some fics in which these topics are covered and the writer does them justice. These are generally the pieces that move me the most. My favourite piece actually covers a topic I was once unable to talk about because it was too personal, but the writer covered it so beautifully and did do it justice. Is it fair to say that some writers can do it and some can’t? Part of me thinks it’s due to personal experience, if you’ve experienced something and find writing about it in a fictional context an outlet for it, then honestly, I praise you for it. But I also think there’s a very fine line between dramatizing something and portraying it in a fair, accurate way that does the story justice. But then who decides whether someone is doing the story justice or not?

I struggle with my own writing as a result of my conflicting feelings on this. I love to write moving pieces, I find it the most immersive. However, there’s many a story I’ve had an idea for but not written because I don’t think I’d be able to do it justice and I don’t think that’s fair. The pieces I’ve written in the past that could be considered emotive have come from a place of (even if loosely) personal experience, i.e loss etc, and as a result I hope I’ve done those pieces justice.

I know this is slightly incoherent, but I hope the point is still there. Should we just write anything and everything we want? Or should there be an element of caution in what we cover?

[callxthexmidwife]

Hi! I just started watching ctm, literally tonight, but I love it already! I don't know much about the show, any chance you could fill me in on current storylines/characters, generally how the show works and also good blogs to follow? Thank you! x

Hey anon, welcome to the fandom! I’ll try to explain everything as best as I can, but this could get quite long so buckle up :) Under a read more cos this got ridiculous... :P

So the show is set in the late 50s/early 60s (we’re in series 6 which is 1962 now) in the East End of London, specifically Poplar. As you’ve probably gathered, it’s about the midwives who serve the area, some of which are nuns (although that is not a requirement). They live in Nonnatus House and are collectively known as the Nonnatuns. There’s also Doctor Turner who has a medical surgery/maternity home which his wife Mrs Turner also works at.

So, characters:

First, there are the nuns. Sister Julienne is the nun in charge. She’s wise and quite motherly and keeps the ship afloat. Sister Monica Joan is a nun who used to be a midwife years ago. Now she has dementia and likes gardening and quoting poetry and causing mischief. And cake. She loves cake. There’s Sister Winifred who is much younger and extremely enthusiastic about everything. She’s the one doing the dentist stuff and learning to drive. She can occasionally be a bit annoying but is pretty good with children. And Sister Mary Cynthia was the nun in the mental hospital. She used to be a regular midwife before becoming a nun a while back. She was attacked last series which has triggered her depression. She’s just so nice and everyone loves her. Trixie would probably fight people for her.

Then there are the non-nun midwives. Trixie has been there since series 1 and always looks like she’s come from a fashion show. She had problems with alcohol abuse last series but goes to AA meetings and we’re all proud of her. She also loves her Keep Fit classes and drags poor Barbara along too. Barbara is very sensible and innocent and is recently engaged to Tom the vicar. Patsy is normally here; she’s the ginger one but at the moment she’s in Hong Kong with her dying father but everyone loves her and she had a bad childhood in a concentration camp in Singapore. She’s also gay and her girlfriend is Delia Busby. Delia is small and Welsh and cute but fierce. She had an accident at the end of series 4 that we don’t talk about because it’s too painful. They’re literally the cutest. Still haven’t kissed yet. No justice in this world. Phyllis Crane is a brick. She’s older than the others but just as fun and has many stories that you would not expect. She’s the mum friend. Valerie Dyer is new and we’re still figuring out what we think of her.

There’s the Turner family comprised of Dr. Turner, Mrs Turner, Timothy and Angela with a new baby on the way. Mrs Turner used to be Sister Bernadette (hence the ship name ‘Turnadette’) but is most definitely not a nun anymore. She’s still a midwife and works in the maternity home a lot. She had TB years ago which makes her pregnancy complicated (and unexpected) and they adopted Angela. Timothy is sassy af and very smart, Angela is literally an angel and hates squirrels.

There are other characters, such as Tom the vicar and Fred and Violet Buckle.

I’ve explained bits of storylines with the characters but I don’t want to say too much in case you choose to watch it yourself. And I’ve only mentioned current characters because I would end up writing an essay otherwise...

As for people I think you should follow, I have to say @gay-for-emerald because she is amazing and would kill me if I didn’t ;) But also @mg-bsl381 , @ilovemushystuff , @pea-green , @caeciliusestmendax , @quick-thinkofsomethinggay , @highvause , @abbiethenerdydragon , @beatrix-franklin , @habitsandbicycles , @like-an-officer-and-a-sergeant, @my-little-yellowbird and @superfluousbananas and literally so many more but that’s a start...

If you want me to clarify anything or chat or whatever then feel free to send asks or messages, whatever you want :) But there you go, anon. I hope I helped x

[snoopctm]

Turnadette Tuesday

Turner Timeline–Episode 6x07

An “Ordinary”, Significant Moment

I think I’m only going to spend one week on this episode in the Timeline. There aren’t a lot of Turnadette moments in this episode (and I wrote about another one in my “Reflection” post earlier), but the ones we do see are great. This one has significance in several ways–both in the lives the characters and also as a reflection of their roles in an important story arc in series 5 and 6. More thoughts follow:

I think it’s worth noting that this scene is the last scene either of the Turners appears in in this episode, and it occurs just before the halfway point of the episode. I think this is significant for story reasons that I will get to later. First, though, this scene shows us another one of those “little”, “ordinary” moments for the Turners–they laugh together as they listen to Timothy practicing his bassoon, and then we get this little moment–a mutual concern and affection shared, as well as concern for their patients. We see the simple and easy interaction and body language that has come to characterize their relationship in series 6. Shelagh puts her hand on Patrick’s face, and he takes her hand and holds it to his heart. It’s not an ostentatious or melodramatic gesture. It’s simple, and the simplicity of it suggests this is regular for them. They are sharing their mutual respect and love in this “normal” but beautiful way. It’s been a difficult day in one respect, but a typical day in another. These two know the other is there to offer support and comfort when it is needed, and this scene shows that in a brief but effective way.

As for why this scene happens when it does in the episode, I think that’s because of the Turners’ roles in the thalidomide arc, and what this scene is signifying in respect to those roles. Both Shelagh and Patrick have been involved in this story since its beginning–since way back in episode 4x08 when Shelagh asked Patrick about a drug to help Maureen Gadsby, and then as they stood smiling at one another as a happy Maureen left the maternity home with her young son. They were also both involved in the Mullucks’ story–as Shelagh cared for Rhoda in the maternity home before Susan was born, and then assisted in Susan’s delivery, and then brought Susan to Patrick right after she was born. They were involved in looking for a link between the Mullucks and Cottingham families in 5x04, and also in the revelation of the drug’s recall in 5x08. They’ve been involved every step of the way so far in this arc, but in this episode, the spotlight isn’t on them. It’s on the Mullucks family, because that’s where it needs to be. Here, we see the Turners bowing out as major players in this story, because the story now has to focus not on the medical professionals but on the children and their families, because they were the ones who lived with the effects of thalidomide every day, and they were the ones who led the fight for justice for those affected. This story now has to be Susan’s, and Rhoda’s, and Bernie’s and their family’s, and the story of other families affected by the drug. The Turners played an important role,and as the regular characters involved since the beginning, they had to play a role in this episode, but that role is minor in comparison to the Mullucks family’s role. So, we get this poignant scene, and we’re reminded that the Turners will, to a degree, always be affected by their roles in this story, but we’re also told that, for the most part, their role in this story is finished. So, we get this scene and then the rest of the story is turned over to the Mullucks family. It’s their story now–their lives, and their fight. The Turners played a role, but they aren’t the main focus.

I usually don’t like when guest characters’ stories overshadow the regular characters’ stories on this show, but this time I was fine with it, because I understand why this is necessary. For the story to be told properly, the focus had to shift from the medical professionals–who are the regulars on the show–to the family (the guest characters). As much as I love the Turners, and as important as their role has been in this arc until this point, they can’t be the central focus here. They have to fade into the background and let the Mullucks family take the lead, and that’s what happens. And the Turners seem to recognize that here, as well. 

That’s all for this week. Next week, I’ll be back with the first of what I expect to be several posts about an extremely significant episode for the Turners–episode 6x08!