#nyssa’s favorite key

[braveheartstoryteller]

I’m realizing today that Kingdom Hearts is not only a story about connection, it is also about the longing for home. It is in the subtext, and always has been. It is why I was drawn to it so strongly.

"They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate...then every step forward will always be a step closer to home."

[rachelbethhines]

Speed-running Doctor Who - 4th Doctor

A quick and dirty guide for those who want to get into the show, but don't want to watch everything from the beginning.

For Those Who Just Wanna Get An Idea of the Era

State of Decay - S18E4

The Fourth Doctor technically has like three or four eras within it, and State of Decay is sort of a blend of all of them.

Produced under JNT's time on the show, with a companion introduced during Douglas Adams' previous season, using a script that was originally submitted for season 15, when Robert Holmes was head writer.

Therefore I deem it the best summarization of the entire Fourth Doctor run.

Plot Important Episodes

Entrances, Exits, Enemies, Lore Drops, and Character Development

Robot - S12E1 (Fourth Doctor's first story and introduces Harry)

The Ark in Space - S12E2 (Harry's first trip in the Tardis and kicks off the season's 12 stranded story arc)

Genesis of the Daleks - S12E3 (first appearance of Davros, the creator of the Daleks)

Revenge of the Cybermen - S12E5 (the team finally makes back to the Tardis ending S12's stranded arc and the Cybermen return after being off screen for several years)

Terror of the Zygons - S13E1 (introduces the Zygons, Harry leaves the Tardis, last appearance of the Brigadier for a long while)

Pyramids of Mars - S13E3 (The Doctor faces Sutekh for the first time)

The Android Invasion - S13E4 (Benton's last story and Harry's final appearance)

The Brain of Morbius - S13E5 (the Sisters of Karn are introduced and its the beginning of the of the very controversial Other/Timeless child theories)

The Seeds of Doom - S13E6 (final UNIT story for a very, very long while, no UNIT regulars appear marking the end of that story line)

The Hand of Fear - S14E2 (Sarah Jane leaves the Tardis)

The Deadly Assassin - S14E3 (The Doctor returns to Gallifrey and we meet the "Decayed" Master)

The Face of Evil - S14E4 (meet Leela)

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S146 (character development for Leela, and there's also Jargo and Litefoot if you care about spin-offs)

Horror of Fang Rock - S15E1 (meet the Rutans; while they haven't reappeared in the series yet, they're the Sontarans adversaries in their never ending war and so are named dropped often)

The Invisible Enemy - S15E2 (K9 comes aboard the Tardis)

The Invasion of Time - S15E6 (Leela's last story)

The Ribos Operation - S16E1 (Meet Romana the First, also the start of the Key To Time arc and the introduction of the Guardians)

The Pirate Planet - S16E2 (character development for the tardis team and more plot progression for the Key to Time arc)

The Armageddon Factor - S16E6 (The ending of the Key to Time arc and the last story to feature Romana I)

Destiny of the Daleks - S17E1 (Romana the First regenerates into Romana the Second)

City of Death - S17E2 (the randomizer is introduced as a means to escape the Black Guardian)

Shada - S17E6 * (perhaps the most remade Doctor Who story ever, you might want to watch a version just to see what all the hubbub is about)

The Leisure Hive - S18E1 (The end of the randomizer arc.... also Harden and Mena are the best couple in Who)

Meglos - S18E2 (I only recommend this story because it's the last time Jacqueline Hill appears on the show, but sadly she's not playing Barbara)

Full Circle - S18E3 (Adric's first story)

Warriors' Gate - S18E5 (Romana and K9 leave the Tardis)

The Keeper of Traken - S18E6 (Meet Nyssa, oh and the Master regenerates into Anthony Ainley)

Logopolis - S18E7 (The Fourth Doctor's final story and Tegan is introduced)

Personal Favorite and Least Favorite Stories

Because one man's trash is another man's treasure and vice versa

Favorite: The Sontaran Experiment - S12E3

Least Favorite: The Planet of Evil - S13E2

(disclaimer: no spin-offs or extended universe stuff was considered when making this list)

Up Next: The Fifth Doctor

[bambiesque]

New thread for Davison!Doctor:

Serial: Castrovalva - Everyone is wonderful. I love Davison!Doctor so much and I love his affecting the mannerisms of the earlier Doctors. He has Hartnell!Doctor's annoying little laugh down.

Serial: Four to Doomsday - An enjoyable story and very diverse for a change. I hope the androids found a nice home.

Serial: Kinda - Weird but interesting. I love Tegan so much. I'm glad we got to keep Nyssa too.

Serial: The Visitation - The androids are very sparkly. Nyssa is clearly the Doctor's favourite because she does as she's told or tries to help in practical ways. Tegan is reaching Sarah Jane levels of brainwashing, poor thing.

Serial: Black Orchid - Love Davison!Doctor wanting to be train driver and getting to play cricket. Also Tegan being a cricket fan. Two Nyssas and Tegan dressed as a flower fairy. I love this one.

Serial: Earthshock - Oh we're back in our favourite filming location - a quarry. Brave heart, Tegan. <3 The Cybermen are hilarious this serial. The ending was very sad. Poor Adric. I didn't hate you like I used to.

Serial: Time-Flight - The Master is back in another terrible disguise. The Doctor has to be pretending that he doesn't recognise him at this point. An enjoyable story with a cliffhanger ending (sort of).

Serial: Arc of Infinity - Nyssa is a badass this serial and I love her even more because of it. More Gallifreyan shennanigans so obviously a fave. Colin Baker making his first appearance. And a Leela mention!

Serial: Snakedance - Martin Clunes wins this story - genuinely the best I've ever seen him. I like Nyssa's new clothes and the Doctor not giving a damn about them. I want to hug Tegan.

Serial: Mawdryn Undead - Turlough, my love, you are such a little shit. The Brig is back! I love this story so much. Different timelines, two Brigadiers, baby Tegan and Nyssa, Turlough the snarky space twink. No notes.

(Actually, one note: Why is there not more 5/Turlough fic?)

Serial: Terminus - Quite a slow one and not one of the best. I'm sad to see Nyssa go though. I will miss her.

Serial: Enlightenment - One of my all time favorite stories. Everyone is wonderful. Tegan in her beautiful dress <3 PIrates. "Your companion is a beautiful woman" / "Is she?". Turlough being a sad puppy but a very good boy.

Serial: The King's Demons - The Master in another "disguise". Tegan in a magnificent coat. Aww The Doctor and The Master are having another swordfight. Just kiss you idiots!

Special: The Five Doctors - This is the story I have watched the most in my life and I love it. I love all the Doctors meeting and the companions meeting - Five meeting Susan again - and the phantoms of Mike, Liz, Jamie and Zoe. The Master being excellent. Tegan getting to spend time with the grumpiest Doctor of them all. Turlough doing his art. The Brig getting to punch the Master. Dinah Sheridan. Rassilon. Borusa getting his (creepy af) comeuppance. The Doctor becoming President. <3

Serial: Warriors of the Deep - Davison!Doctor is all wet (be still my heart). Turlough jumps to the worst conclusions even quicker than I do. What's the point of having TARDIS keys if you never use them? Turlough being a badass there. The production isn't great but the story is a good one.

Serial: The Awakening - The crack in the wall looks suspiciously like the crack in Amy's wall. Tegan has another pretty(ish) dress but is going to be burnt at the stake/maypole. This is bonkers but lots of fun.

Serial: Frontios - Another good one. Giant woodlice. Turlough defending the Doctor with a hatstand. Actually poor Turlough really goes through it in this serial bless him. Kudos to Tegan for running around all those tunnels in her heels.

Serial: Resurrection of the Daleks - So much death! Really this is just 90 minutes of people dying. I'm so sad my darling Tegan has gone. That ending made me cry.

Serial: Planet of Fire - Turlough and Five are on honeymoon. Thank you to whoever put Mark in those shorts and Nicola in that whole outfit. I am an easily pleased bisexual. The Master is here looking quite dapper and not in a stupid disguise for a change. And Turlough is leaving too - now I'm crying again.

Serial: The Caves of Androzani - An excellent send off for my fave. Great story, great performances. The Doctor being a big damn hero. And then seeing all the companions again when he regenerated. So good.

Davison!Doctor Era Round-up

Favourite Companion: Tegan Jovanka - my love.

Least favourite Companion: Kamelion - kind of pointless.

Favourite Serial: Enlightenment / The Five Doctors

Least Favourite Serial: Terminus

Davison!Doctor is MY Doctor. He projects the weariness of age despite being (so far) the youngest Doctor. He's smiley and kind but at the same time, serious and determined. I love him.

Current Doctor standings

Davison

Pertwee

TBaker

Troughton

Hartnell

Current Top 10 Companions

Jo Grant

Tegan Jovanka

Barbara Wright

Vislor Turlough

Sarah Jane Smith

Nyssa of Traken

Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart

Leela

Romana II

Zoe

[bellboy1024]

Obviously all of Eight’s companions. Charley, Crizz, Lucie, Molly, Liv, Mary, etc., etc. (would not count the companions in company of friends tho. They’re valid, but the point of that release is to showcase companions outside of Big Finish, for the most part)

I’m at a crossroads on how to count Bernice Summerfield. Like, yeah, she’s big on audio, but most of her adventures with the Doctor are not audio based. Should definitely be on more polls tho.

Seven has Hex and Mags! Those should count as audio companions. Also the rest of the forge arc people. (I can’t have listened to everything, lol)

Six has all of his companions. I’m counting Peri and Mel. If only because they get to be fully fleshed out characters with him. (Haha, I get to count Charley again, lol)

Five has Marc, the Graceless duo, and Erimem. I could count Nyssa and the like, and for her I will, but Adric, Turlough, and Tegan I won’t count. My litmus test is do they play a decent part in anniversary specials. Nyssa is Five’s companion in The Light at the End.

Four has a couple original companions like Ann Kelso and the upcoming Margaret and Naomi. I’ll also include Leela for being in The Light at the End, and Romana for being in The Legacy of Time! (That would specifically be Romana 2, but I’ll include Romana 1 for being in a series beyond the Key to Time.)

Three and Two don’t really have many original companions, at least, not yet. They’ve done some really cracking stories with Jo though. Also, she appears in The Legacy of Time as Jo Jones.

One oddly enough has two! Oliver and Sara Kingdom, whom I will include for being in more than Dalek Master Plan. Real talk, so many companion chronicles are good. A lot of my favorite stories were made in that range.

Now for the one I missed and don’t want to edit in. Ace gets in because being in The Light at the End. Jago and Litefoot count because they’re my blorbos. I’ll count River Song due to having so much time on audio. Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven definitely count for Ten. As does that new one for Eleven! Valarie Lockwood. And for the hell of it, I’ll count The Brig that David Warner’s Unbound Doctor traveled with.

Yeah that was a lot.

hey can people reply/reblog with who they think of as the main Big Finish companions? As many or as few as you want! I'm just interested in what the general Consensus is, because I know who I think the main ones are, but looking at some of the companion polls going round, maybe some of these guys aren't as well known as I thought.

[bookishprincessc]

Endless List of Favorite Characters: Nyssa al Ghul (Arrow TV)

“I’m Nyssa, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. Heir to the demon.”

[afy2018]

Going Through Changes Ch. 1

[Aug. 24th, 2020]

It was very early, that Monday morning, when Sara woke up. The curtain, being partially closed, revealed the sun’s strong rays. She glanced over to her roommate, Samantha Santos, who was still sound asleep. Sara slid out of her bed and quietly got changed, taking a moment to turn off her alarm so it would not go off. She grabbed her bag and books before swiping her wallet, keys, and phone. It was almost completely quiet in the dorms. She could hear some muffled conversations as she made her way down the hall. There was a student in the lobby, working as a campus officer and another working the desk.

Sara waved and continued to the cafeteria. The campus had a few students walking around, but most were either already in class or just getting ready for another early morning class. Even the breeze was calm and tired, barely grazing through the trees. The building’s lights were still on like stars to pave the way through the university. Sara gazed at the stars that still lightly speckled the sky. She tried to find the familiar constellations before they disappeared into the daylight.

Sara made her way into the cafeteria where there were only five other students getting breakfast as they waited for their day to begin. Sara walked in line to buy a breakfast burrito and a bottle of orange juice.

She peeled back the thin shiny wrapper and made her way to her classroom. There were more students walking around as she made her way through the campus and to the F Building. The professor’s offices were mostly dark with only one person in their room - that Sara could see. She made her way to her classroom. Still fifteen minutes ahead, Sara walked into the almost empty classroom. Her Professor stood at the podium-desk next to his notes and a pile of syllabi, just waiting to start the new semester. Professor Wright was a portly old man with a bulbous nose that hooked at the end. His dark eyes were full of life as he waited for the lecture hall to fill up and the hour to pass over.

Sara sat in the middle of the hall as the seats around her quickly filled up. She was surprised to see the number of women in the class. From what she could see, there was about one girl for every three boys in there with her. The moment the thin black minute hand on the clock at the back of the classroom ticked over the twelve, Professor Wright sprung to life.

“Good morning class. Welcome back.” He called out to his students. “I would like to start with those on the waitlist. Raise your hands so I can see… who or how many I need to add,” He quickly corrected, counting the seven students on the waitlist. “Okay. After class come up and I’ll email you the add code. Now,” He sighed, grabbing a stack of papers, “time for my favorite part, the syllabus.” He handed it to a blonde boy up in the front of the row and walked back to his desk. “Now, I have a PDF on canvas if there aren’t enough to go around. The important dates and my office hours are on the front. My rules of the classroom are on the second page, my recommended resources- all free- are listed in the very back. In the middle, you will find the description for your Final, your Midterm, and your three research papers. There isn’t any homework for this class. Show up to the lectures and you will pass. I take attendance once that hand reaches 8:00. If you are late to class because of reasons you cannot control, call, text, and email in that order with evidence Like hospital wrist band, pictures of your car troubles, et cetera. Any questions?”

A few students began to ask questions. Someone asked about the way he wanted the assignments turned in, another asked about the late policy. As important as these questions and answers were, Sara felt like something was off. She glanced around the slanted beige room and found a pair of dark chocolate eyes watching her. Her father had always taught her to be vigilant to any threat, especially on campus, but as she glanced at the person staring at her, she just nodded in their direction, feeling no malice, just curiosity from them.

There was a young woman with dark brown hair pulled back in a tight bun. She had tan golden skin that was mostly covered with by a dark green sweatshirt that said “CCRI Knights”; the rest was too small for Sara to read. The woman quickly glanced at another student in the room with her, twirling her pencil around her fingers.

Sara tore her gaze away from her and focused back on her professor. Wright was talking about his thoughts on social media for some reason, making Sara wish she’d learned the context to this rant. By studying how he spoke, Sara could tell that this guy was a rambler as the reviews on Rate My Professor had warned, but he was the highest rated professor for this class, so she decided that she’d just have to sit through it. Of all types of professors to have, “The Rambler” was not the worst kind at all.

Lost in her thoughts, Sara missed whatever Professor Wright had said to end the class. She quickly gathered her belongings and headed to the cafeteria. On her way there, she passed by the art wing. There was a glinting and sparkling piece that caught her eye from one of the hallways. She followed the way down, taking a quick moment to explore the small art garden.

There was a large glittering glass mosaic wall. It was a beautiful piece reflecting the native flora and fauna of New Jersey. There was a deer and a fox by the river with a fish hopping out. The colors were beautiful, with iridescent glass on the birds and trees, bronze for the deer, and a fiery amber for the fox.

Sara glanced at her phone to check the time, she still had an hour and forty minutes until her next class, great to get food from Jeepers. She headed back out of the art garden and to the casual restaurant. Sara had been there before because it came with her meal plan. Jeepers was a fun place with a lot of seating for the students. She kind of wondered how busy it was going to be.

Walking into Jeepers, Sara spotted a familiar face by the windows on the barstool. It was that girl in the forest green sweater. Even though her back was turned to her, Sara could still tell it was her. She decided to grab a bite before the lines got too long and sit next to her. They could swap numbers just in case either of them missed a class.

Sara walked in line and ordered an Asian chicken wrap, grabbed a bag of original Skinny Pop, a banana, and a bottle of water. She waited behind a string bean guy who could not have been any taller than Sara herself. He had a slight frame with messy brown hair. When he turned to look back at Sara, she first noticed his thick sharp brown eyebrows, then his wide and inviting smile.

“Hey.” He greeted.

“Hey, how’s it going?”

The young man shrugged and grabbed his food. “Pretty good. I just got out of my first college class.” He finished with an excited smile.

Sara couldn’t help but smile back. “So this is your first year?” She asked paying for her meal.

“Yeah! I’m Barry, Barry Allen.” He introduced, quickly reaching over to shake her hand.

“Hey, Barry, I’m Sara Lance.” She smiled. “I’m a Junior here.”

“Really?”

“Yup.” She answered, taking her food and thanking the cashier. “Did you get the turkey club?”

“Yeah, why?”

“No reason.” She shrugged, “Bye Barry.”

“Wait, why?” He asked again.

Sara chuckled to herself, just pulling his leg. She walked to the window where her classmate was sitting and took the spot to her left. The girl looked at Sara, tearing her focus away from the textbook in front of her.

“Hey, you’re in my Ethics class right?” Sara inquired.

“Yeah, I’m Nyssa.” She greeted, closing her book.

“Sara, without an H.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“So Criminal Justice major, too?”

“Yeah. I’m here for my masters before I join the UN Security Force.”

“Same here, but I want to join the CIA or the FBI. What’s the UN Security Force?”

“The part I want to join in is the Blue Berets, it’s their armed forces. They’re also known as the Peacekeepers. They help protect people like the victims of African raiders and ISIS.”

“Wow.”

“What about you?”

“I want to become an agent. Hey, do you want to swap numbers, you know just in case one of us misses class?”

“Oh, yeah, sounds good to me.”

Sara reached into her backpack and pulled out a pencil and pad of sticky notes. She quickly jotted down her phone number, email, and name before peeling it off and handing it to Nyssa.

“So what’s CCRI?” She asked while entering the number into her phone.

“Community College of Rhode Island.”

“Oh wow, that’s a long ways away.”

“Yeah, but I really wanted to get out of there,” Nyssa sighed. “What about you. Where are you from?”

“New York.”

“Wow, I’ve always wanted to go there! What’s it like?”

“I mean, it’s a mix. One moment you’re in the city and the next you’re in the suburban hills, then you’re in another state. What about Rhode Island, I’ve never been there.”

“I mean, really it’s a tiny state that it mostly a bay then another state almost right away.” She joked, glancing at the clock on her phone. “Well, I have to go. I’ll see you around, Sara.”

“See you, Nyssa.” Sara smiled, not partaking in her meal as Nyssa walked away.

As Nyssa walked away, Sara’s phone went off in her pocket. A text lit up from her phone with the message “Hey Sara, it’s Nyssa.”

Sara texted back, “Hey, dude”, before adding her into her contacts as, ‘Nyssa (The Cute Girl)’. She glanced at her phone and continued to eat her lunch.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was her third and final class of the day and Sara was actually kind of glad. She walked to the building and went down the hallway to her last class. She was glad to have ceramics between her major classes because it was a nice break. Sara walked into the classroom and sat down in the middle with a few other students. She set up her belongings, getting ready to write down her schedule and organized her planner, highlighting the two syllabi she placed on her desk. Someone tapped on her shoulder, making Sara glance up at them. It was Nyssa again. Sara quickly moved her backpack out of the chair next to her and smiled up at her.

“You stalking me, Nyssa?” She joked.

“I mean you saved me a spot.” She taunted back. “Were you expecting me?”

Sara chuckled and went back to fixing her planner as their teacher spoke to a few students. She glanced at her phone, two minutes before class, and their professor had already begun to hand out the syllabus and a few other papers. Once they made their round to Sara and Nyssa, it seemed that the extra papers were meant to introduce the students to their teacher. It was a Getting-to-Know-You page off of the internet. Sara filled out the survey and re-read her answers again.

“Alright, I want you to go to seven people and learn their name and one thing off of that paper.” He proclaimed, sitting back in his chair.

Sara turned to Nyssa and asked, “What was your first pet’s name?”

“Levi, he was a frog. What about you?”

“I had a Canary named Tweedie.”

“Like Tweety bird?”

“Yeah.” Sara chuckled writing Nyssa’s answer by the question.

She then went to a six other classmates of hers, learning that a boy named Nicola was born in Montana, a girl named Denise is a Pisces, another boy named James wanted to be a farmer growing up, Rachel has four siblings, Evan would want to rename himself, Charles, and Alex played bass in a Math-Rock band. It was fun, much more fun than Sara thought it would be. She was glad that she could keep the paper, it was interesting to learn more about her peers. As their class ended, they packed their belongings and began out the door.

“Hey, Nyssa, you wanna get something to eat at the cafeteria?” Sara asked, trying to catch up with her.

“Oh, yeah.”

“So, judging by your community college, I’m guessing that you’re not a local.” Sara wondered on their way.

“Yeah, I’m staying in University Court.”

“Really? Me, too. I’m in building 8.”

“Building 2.”

“So, what are you getting?”

“I haven’t tried their pasta choices yet.” Nyssa shrugged.

“Might I recommend the manicotti? It’s stuffed with ricotta and Italian sausage. It’s really filling.”

“How much do you get?” Nyssa asked pulling out her wallet.

“Like,” Sara began trying to size it up with her hands, “this big, and you get two.”

“Wow… I mean I’ve never had the manicotti?”

“Yeah, and they’re really good. Especially the ones they make here.”

“I think I’ll get it then. What about you?”

Sara glanced at the menu and shrugged. “I’m gonna get a burrito, or… nah, I’ll just stick with a Ceasar salad. After this, we should head back to the dorms.”

“Oh, why?”

“They close at 8:30.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s in, like, fifteen minutes.” Nyssa nodded before going up to order.

“So,” Sara began, unfolding a paper in her pocket, “while our food’s getting ready. ‘What is your favorite holiday?’”

“The questionnaire?”

“Yup.”

“Halloween. You?”

“Christmas.”

“Wasn’t one of the questions, like, what’s your least favorite holiday?”

“Yeah, mine’s Christmas again.”

“Why?”

Because my birthday’s Christmas day and it’s kind of annoying to constantly be compared to Jesus by religious friends, the antichrist by regular friends, and a Christmas miracle by distant family.”

“I bet you only got Christmas presents, too. Not much of a birthday celebration?”

“Yeah. No parties either because everyone traveled for the holidays.”

“So,” Nyssa asked glancing at the paper. “You can hotwire a car?”

“Yeah.”

“How’d you learn that?”

“From some friends in high school.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. What’s a weird fact about you?”

“Well, it’s not really weird more as it’s just a fact about me.”

“Anything will do.”

“Well, I did jujitsu until high school.”

“Really? Why’d you stop?” Sara asked grabbing their food.

“I started wrestling. It became too much to play a sport and do another one outside of school. Did you play any sports in high school?”

“No, but I did use to fight. It helped that had learned some basic skills from my dad.”

“Wait, like fist fighting?”

“Yeah, I’d fight for money.”

“Wow, were you good?”

“My stats were pretty good. I could beat most people, but I wasn’t great, just had a lot of stamina.”

“I did not expect that from you, you look like… well like…”

“A princess? Yeah, just to the public, but in private I’m not so nice and proper.” She joked.

“Are you a secret queen of underground fighting rings?”

“Depends, are you gonna 21 Jump Street me?”

Nyssa rolled her eyes and took a bite of the manicotti. “Oh wow, that’s pretty damn good!”

“I know right?” Sara chuckled looking at the paper again. “So, we did one weird fact, siblings?”

“I have an older sister, Talia, and a younger brother, Saracon.” She told her, rounding the corner to University Court.

“I have an older sister, too, Laurel.”

“So what’s she up to?”

“She’s a lawyer. Right now she’s working for a small company. Last time she texted me, she said that she was getting ready for her first case defending a divorce settlement.”

“Wow, my sister works for my Dad’s business and my brother’s kind of AWOL, well to my dad and Talia, that is. My turn.” Nyssa said changing the subject to look at the paper. “If you could rename yourself what would it be?”

“Sara with an H.”

“So people don’t-”

“Don’t get my name wrong, yeah. What about you?”

“Amaal, I don’t know I just wrote down a random name.”

“Why Amaal first?”

“It’s a common name in my community.” She shrugged as they came upon the dorms. “Well, this is my stop.”

“Mine, too.”

“See you on Wednesday?”

“Yeah, I’m not planning on dropping any classes, so.”

“Alright, night, Sara without an H.”

“Night, Amaal,” Sara smirked, going to her dorm.

She went into the dorm and began to room 124. She took out her card key and placed it against the sensor, waiting for the beep, the green light, and the sound of the lock clicking out of place. She walked into the low lit room to see her roommate and “Big Sister” Sam Santos on her bed with her blankets pulled up her legs, her laptop slapped onto her stomach as she typed something onto the keyboard. Her hood was pulled over her head. She glanced around her device at Sara and gave her a large smile and closed the lid. Sam sat up and took a swig from her hydro flask.

“How was the first day?”

“Good. I met a new student who’s in my first and last class.”

“Cool.”

“What about you?”

“Very easy, so far.” She smirked brandishing her laptop.

“When’s your next class?”

“Well I have an online lecture at 9 and then an art class at noon, and finally my history classes back to back from 2 to 6.”

“I have the same schedule.”

“I don’t know how you do the early bird-night owl schedule.” Sam huffed.

“I enjoy it. Hey, when’s our first meeting?”

“It’s Sunday at noon. We have to sign up for shifts for Club Day.”

“Don’t we also have to elect a new leader?”

“Oh yeah, well, in the Spring.”

“Ally texted me that she wanted to start early.” Sara inquired, looking at her phone. “Dina said that they were talking about it… anyway, I don’t know though.”

“They’ll decide soon enough.” Sam sighed looking down at her laptop and opened it up again. “Oh, so about your new friend, what’s she like?”

“She’s nice and weirdly serious and laid back at the same time.”

“Sounds mysterious.”

“I don’t know about that. She���s a criminal justice major like myself,” Sara shrugged pulling on her pajamas, “she seems kind of nerdy though.”

“Sounds like a good girl,” Sam noted peeking up from her laptop.

Sara paused halfway pulling her shirt on. “It’s not like that.”

“Okay, okay, that’s not what you said about Riley Appletree.”

“First of all, it’s Riley Oglesbee. Second, he wasn’t too bad.”

“He was one of the messiest people I had ever met.”

“I liked him, he was really nice.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah… we went out to sushi a lot.” Sara shrugged.

“You liked him because he took you out for food and bought you stuff.”

“Yup.” She huffed sliding onto her bed.

“Honestly, I don’t blame you… but I do judge you.” Sam chuckled opening up a bag of kettle corn Popchips.

“You know I can’t let just you eat those.”

“I know.” She nodded scooting over for Sara.

[takaraphoenix]

What are your favorite ships for the bat and super families? I know of Kanvers, BatCat, and SuperWonder. Do you have any others?

OOOH THAT’S A FUN ONE! Thanks for asking. Mh, let’s see. And let me apologize in advance for not knowing all Bats. There are just... way too many and only a fraction of them have ever made it into adaptations. Some, I only vaguely ever read the names of online. So, if someone is missing, it’s due to me never having officially met them. I WANT TO THOUGH.

The Supers!

Clark Kent:

Diana Prince. Total OTP. Impossible to beat

Lex Luthor. Very specifically only Smallville though

Oliver Queen. Also exclusive to Smallville. That show is its own thing

Kara Zor-El:

Kate Kane. Yes, OTP

Cat Grant

Nia Nal

Koriand’r (Titans version works, though I always imagined a teen version of Kara joining the Teen Titans and meeting Kory like that)

M’gann M’orzz (Young Justice, imagined what it’d be like if Kara joined them. Would also work for Arrowverse though)

Sara Lance (preferrably in an OT3 with Kate, but you can generally assume I imagined that Sara slept with every DC wlw at this point)

Barbara Gordon

Conner Kent:

Dick Grayson

Cassandra Sandsmark

Garfield Logan (Titans)

I’d love to get to know Tim because that ship frequently crossed my dash, but YJ barely gave him screentime, much less a personality so... someone get me an adaptation that properly introduces me to that ship?

James Olsen:

Chloe Sullivan

Alex Danvers:

Maggie Sawyer

Kelly Olsen

Winn Schott:

Querl Dox

Nia Nal

Clark Kent (it’s complicated. But I definitely headcanon that Winn has a very huge crush on Clark, even if I wouldn’t go as far as to ship-ship them)

(not entirely sure how far I’d extend the Super Family beyond blood and adoption, but James and Winn ought to be on the list.)

The Bats!

Bruce Wayne:

Selina Kyle, the one and only

Dick Grayson:

Roy Harper

Wally West

Conner Kent

Kaldur’ahm

Jason Todd

Jason Todd:

making good life choices (PLEASE, BOY, I AM BEGGING YOU)

Dick Grayson

Kate Kane:

Kara Danvers. The OTP

Nyssa al Ghul. GIVE IT TO ME

Renee Montoya

Barbara Gordon:

Luke Fox (don’t ask, I can’t explain it either, it just... came to me)

Kara Zor-El (vague on what setting, but probably preferrably one where Kara was raised by Clark, to be honest)

Selina Kyle:

Bruce Wayne

definitely also had a threesome with Harley Quinn and Pamela Isley at one point. Or multiple points (sometimes, I have ships that I ship in the “it happened in the past but it is important to me that it did”-sense)

Julia Pennyworth:

Sophie Moore. A ship that’s grown on me very quickly

Luke Fox:

Barbara Gordon

perhaps low-key Mary Hamilton. Waiting for how their dynamic is going to develop in season 2 of Batwoman though

Mary Hamilton:

Nia Nal (I think their personalities would fit sooo well, they would be very cute)

perhaps Luke Fox, depending on how their dynamic will develop in season 2 of Batwoman

Harley Quinn: (she’s part of my definition of the BatFam anyway)

leaving the Joker and burning everything that stands for him :d

Pamela Isley

had hook-ups with Selina Kyle

(Alfred Pennyworth, Damian Wayne and Cassandra Cain were not included in this list for a lack of ships)

[circular-time]

Also when he's terrified and/or trying not to frighten a companion, which is another reason why each Doctor will lean hard into their persona.

The Doctor: Peri, did you see that man that just brushed past us?

Peri: Not really, was he someone important?

The Doctor: In a way, I suppose, yes, I don't wish to alarm you, I suspect, in fact I am fairly certain he had a knife.

Peri: A knife?!

The Doctor: Yes, erm, and he, er, just stabbed me in the chest. *Thud*

(Son of the Dragon)

But every now and then he's haunted by the prospect of losing another companion and goes ballistic. Most famously in that glorious Caves of Androzani cliffhanger, but my favorite moment is in Castle of Fear, which is basically a Monty Python and the Holy Grail romp until near the end, when the Fifth Doctor starts speaking quietly and politely and then turns steely and savage…

Doctor: Oh, no, Nyssa, you're not...

Nyssa: I'm not what?

Doctor: That is— I mean to say.You're not Nyssa, are you? You're a Rutan, too.

Rutan: Surrender the key.

Doctor: Two Rutans. I should have realized.

Nyssa: DOCTOR!

Doctor (sighs): The key! *jingle* Much good may it do you.

Nyssa: Wait here.

Doctor: Right! Yes, be my guest. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a guided tour?

Rutan: Wait here.

Doctor: I'd have helped you, if you'd asked, Clone Leader, tried to find a peaceful answer to the problem of your presence here on Earth. But then... oh, you've killed my friend. You killed Nyssa. And I was really rather fond of her. (Whispers) Very fond, in fact.

Rutan: This is no way to speak of a superior officer.

Doctor: So... So I'll tell you this, _Drone_ Leader. I will stop you. I will stop at nothing to see your species driven out of the entire Mutter's Spiral— I'm sorry, did you say, 'Superior officer?'

("Mutter's Spiral" is a classic Who term for the Milky Way.)

I kind of wonder about the Fifth Doctor being polite too. It’s like the people that write him in posts/ fic as just this stick in the mud or as I heard him called in a video once “ human vanilla. “

I think people see him in that outfit and him drinking tea and cricketing ( wait this is an actual word?) and a few interactions and take that as him being this super polite, Care Bear.

Sometimes I think they also missed the sarcasm.

On the other hand, a few years ago there was a concerted "the Fifth Doctor is absolutely horrible and cruel; here's why" hot take that became fashionable, because fans are contrary. I feel like that interpretation overcompensated for his bland/polite persona. 

Like a lot of takes, it missed the fact that real people react differently in different situations, and are just plain inconsistent; they're not npcs with set responses.

[eloquence-of-felicities]

Exclusive: Marc Guggenheim and Marv Wolfman Share a First Look at Crisis On Infinite Earths Tie-In Comic

The preview pages, which you can see below, feature a handful of shots taken from between the scenes of The CW's "Crisis" crossover, and features characters like The Ray, Kid Flash, and Felicity Smoak -- none of whom were able to make on-camera appearances for "Crisis on Infinite Earths." This is what Marc Guggenheim meant when, a while back, he tweeted that he thought fans would be pleased with the solution they found for not having Felicity, one of the most important characters on Arrow for almost a decade, in the mega-event.

"The beauty of comics is that you never have a cartoon character tell you they have a scheduling conflict," Guggenheim told ComicBook.com during a recent interview. "No, honestly. One of the raisons d’etre behind doing the comic at all, is that the medium of comics allowed us to see characters we couldn’t include in the live-action version. The Arrowverse after eight years is so replete with all these fan-favorite characters. Even 48 pages wasn’t enough to get in every character, so I’m sure Twitter will have issues with the ones I chose."

Who did Guggenheim choose to save the multiverse in the crossover? Felicity Smoak, Nyssa Al Ghul, The Ray, and Wally West.

ENTER FELICITY

A character he did not create, but who plays a key role in the comic, is Felicity Smoak. Since Emily Bett Rickards left Arrow at the end of season seven, the final season has been a balancing act -- mentioning and alluding to the main character's wife while skirting around the fact that we haven't seen her in months.

All that ends here -- but Felicity doesn't look happy about it. Just like the last time she saw The Monitor, she's not having any of his cryptic BS...and she isn't alone this time, with The Ray also not especially pleased with the situation he finds himself in.

On top of that, Guggenheim said, he was impressed with both how Wolfman handled Felicity Smoak and the Cryer Lex.

[braveheartstoryteller]

Some of my favorite parts in KH3 are the interactions between Donald, Goofy and Sora. Their connection grows throughout the story, even up to the very end with the battle between Master Xehanort. Sometimes it is just fun, like the beginning of Arendelle when Sora complains about the cold and asks Donald to magic him a coat. Other times, Sora opens up just a little bit, and talks about his past adventures with the other two. And sometimes, there are no words, only a gesture or look, such as the one I caught after Eugene dies:

If you blinked, you'd miss it. Goofy's expression means everything. Seriously though, there is a whole arc there, and I love it.

[dccomicsnews]

Now that Arrow has concluded an incredible eight-season run, I couldn’t help reflecting on more than what happened on the show itself during that timespan. It wasn’t just enough to reminisce on what happened to the Emerald Archer on the small screen, but also to look back on what transpired in my own life over that period.

The more I got to thinking, this game-changing TV series was running parallel to my career as a writer. Although Arrow got things started by premiering in October 2012, I wasn’t lagging too far behind when I began as a volunteer contributor at Comic Book Movie in July 2013. As the show grew, I did likewise as a person and a writer – and there was more than a little overlap.

From this point on, I’ll sum up the finer points of my journey so that you can see the affect an inspiring work of fiction such as Arrow can have on a real person. I hope you all enjoy this piece, and you’re more than welcome to share your own stories in the comments section. Our own Damian Fasciani recently wrote a retrospective of his own, so click here if you would like to check out that as well.

My Name Is Oliver Queen, I Mean, Eric Joseph

Like I said, my time as a writer pretty much ran parallel to Arrow as it grew from a standalone superhero show/crime drama into something that birthed an entire universe of comic book adaptations on television. I didn’t stick around at the aforementioned CBM for too long, later making my way to Dark Knight News (2014-17) and We Got This Covered (2015-19).

Along the way, I had the chance to meet various cast members at different points during the series’ lifespan, thereby lending multiple perspectives on the tale as it grew. Some of them them I merely met at conventions, while others I actually got to interview.

Motor City Comic Con (you’re going to see that one referenced a lot) was often the means I had of making this all possible. In 2014 alone, I was able to shake hands with Katie Cassidy (Laurel Lance), John Barrowman (Malcolm Merlyn) and Robert Knepper (Clock King). Cool as that was, it prepared me for the interview opportunity I’d get with Michael Rowe (Deadshot) in 2015.

2016 was a mixed bag, as I met – but didn’t interview – Katrina Law (Nyssa al Ghul), though I did get to speak with Echo Kellum (Mister Terrific) over the phone. I won’t forget either of those experiences, but I’m holding out hope that Kellum will roll through Detroit as some point so that I may actually meet him face-to-face.

If you’re keeping track, these encounters went down near the conclusions of seasons 2, 3 and 4, respectively, with the Echo Kellum phoner happening right before the “Invasion!” crossover. Dedicated fans of Arrow shouldn’t have to strain themselves remembering what each of these characters were going through at those times, and what it must’ve been like to hear, say, Katie Cassidy tease the inevitable Black Canary reveal, or how Kellum’s Curtis Holt may deal with Dominators.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cosplay

It’s at this time I’ll discuss the cosplay element. This is a field to which I’m certainly no stranger, and I always wanted to own an awesome-looking superhero costume. Seeing as how Batman is my favorite character, he’d be a no-brainer, right?

Well, if you’ve looked around at gear online, then you know how Batman costumes that don’t look like crap are quite expensive. This was key in my motivation for instead laying down money on a replica of the Green Arrow suit worn by Stephen Amell in seasons 5-7. For an affordable price, I felt every bit as badass as my onscreen hero, and the compliments from fellow convention attendees never cease whenever I choose to suit up. Heck, I’ve even worn that thing to a cosplay beach party!

Although I wouldn’t mind taking a crack at the Dark Knight at some point, there’s something inherently altruistic I’ve noticed about guys cosplaying as Batman that I don’t think I share. But Oliver Queen (at least The CW’s version) is flawed. He’s made mistakes unlike those of Bruce Wayne’s. He’s done stuff he’s not particularly proud of – but he never stops trying to better himself. That, I found relatable, and it occurs to me when I flip up that hood.

All that said, you couldn’t believe how elated I was when Stephen Amell himself shared a DC group cosplay photo taken at Youmacon 2017 (above) on his Facebook page for one of his “Fan Art Fridays.” Yes, I was the one who submitted it, but to see the man himself deeming myself and the accompanying DC enthusiasts worthy of sharing with his fanbase at large was truly touching.

Which brings me to…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Main Event

If I have to single out my favorite event ever attended, that honor will probably go to Motor City Comic Con 2018. Should you have been there as well, then you’ll recall how that particular show was an embarrassment of riches when it came to booking actors from superhero shows – and where I finally met Stephen Amell himself.

Hey, he may have not been doing interviews for that weekend, but getting a photo with him and attending his panel meant the world to me. Despite him being only a few years older in age, that doesn’t mean I can’t look to him as a positive example.  I mean, the guy is known for having an incredible connection with his fans, doing charity work, and has even appeared on American Ninja Warrior.

Speaking of which, a lot of praise could be thrown Kirk Acevedo’s way as well. The man responsible for bringing the inhumane Ricardo Diaz to life is actually an awesome person himself. I actually did get to interview him during that weekend, as we discussed what was next for “The Dragon” in season 6.

Before I move on, I’d like to give an honorable mention to one Cress Williams. Black Lightning may have not been part of the Arrowverse at the time, but it sure is now. I likewise interviewed him on behalf of WGTC, as he was just cooling off after a spectacular debut season.

Fadeout

If there’s any impression I’d like this article to leave on you, the reader, it’s that you shouldn’t let anyone tell you it’s silly to say a TV show can impact you. Arrow, The Flash, Black Lightning and countless others can be a driving force in inspiring ourselves to become better people. To Stephen Amell, his co-stars and crew, I thank you all for eight years of phenomenal storytelling – and I hope to once again meet the people mentioned above.

You helped me become someone else…something else.

Reflecting On A Personal Journey Through Arrow's World Now that Arrow has concluded an incredible eight-season run, I couldn't help reflecting on more than what happened on the show itself during that timespan.

[occidentaltourist]

your note on Nyssa and Lyta! ever since Cor confirmed Jor I have been low-key wanting Zor to be Lyta’s - never bought her demise - and Zod El dynamics in future generations would be more complex

Good point about the Zod/El dynamics! It would also make for an interesting tension between Jor and Zor, if we were to someday see them on the show. Vex-El-Zod.

Until I caught up on the latest eps and it was finally revealed what was really going on with Lyta I wasn’t even able to blog about it, what with my heart in my throat and all.  😭

I think Lyta and Nyssa are such fascinating characters on their own, with or without Seg. So I’m not invested in any one ship, and was glad to see 2x08/2x09 didn’t play out like two women fighting over a man. Also: surely monogamous hetero marriage wasn’t the only option on an advanced society like Krypton’s? Seg having a baby with Nyssa is already outside of the ‘traditional’ norm as we think of it on earth, so it seems to follow that not everyone follows the same path in relationships and family.

Even if it turns out Nyssa is also Zor’s mother, one upside of her not ending up with Seg even if they eventually co-parent, is the chance to see Nyssa - who is canonically Not Straight - explore relationships with women, too. 

(And because Kara is my forever favorite El - sorry Seg and Clark - I keep seeing her in all three of them: brave, loyal, clever, accountable ...  admittedly sometimes headstrong and impulsive, too.)

[comicteaparty]

March 25th-March 31st, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from March 25th,  2020 to March 31st, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

How many pages/how long is the ideal webcomic for you?  When do you feel something has gone on too long?

Feather J. Fern

I know I usually think anything that is over 500 chapters a bit too long for a manga series, but I do have a bunch of long running favourites. But they are comedy and gag series. I do like an ending to my stories, sometimes if it keeps oging and going, I know more is good but sometimes more is too much. I know a webtoon I really liked ended around 300 episodes, and it was long running.

I think as long as I can see the end of something I don't think it's too long. Also no chapters that don't contribue to the plot. Sometimes a lot of the time, people pad out a fun chapter for webcomics but it is just too long and starts to get boring. 4 to 5 pages of fun times it a good refresher, but when it's like 20 pages of just them chilling at a pool with NO CHARACTER DELEVOPMENT (Like this is key, if there is a plotline about teaching a character to swim, that makes sense, if there is no delevopment that's a problem)

carcarchu

you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. a webcomic can keep going as long as the content continues to be meaningful and productive but once an author starts needlessly dragging stuff out just for the sake of continuing last past the point where they actually had anything meaningful to say with it that's when it's gone on too long. i'm all for fun bonus content like "what happened after the main story ended!" but there's limits to how far that can go. once the "bonus content" goes on near as long or longer than the actual meat of the story it starts to get painful to read. i'd much rather see a series end with dignity than see a long long drawn out conclusion that no one actually wants to slog through. on the flipside a series is too short when there's not enough time to develop an attachment for the characters or you DO develop an attachment and then poof story's over

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Yesss, very apt quote there.

There are some ongoing comics with multi-thousand-strip archives that I'm caught up with, and when something has kept me interested for that long, it feels like the creators have hit a perfect groove and could keep it up forever. Skin Horse has lapped 4k, Schlock Mercenary is over 7k, and Kevin & Kell leads the pack at a bewildering 8k... But part of why it works is that they're very episodic, ensemble-cast series. They can introduce new problems at any time, resolve those while introducing more, jump to a whole different group of characters for a month in a row without missing a beat. The ideal length for a comic that's "one central story, tightly-focused on the arc(s) of a small core group of protagonists, all building to a single main climax" is way shorter, it would feel badly-paced and exhausting if it dragged on that long.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

As someone who expects their comic to reach fairly far in length, I don't think I'm comfortable judging any comic for any length it has ahahah. If it continues to hold my attention, length doesn't matter to me at all.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I agree that as long as the pacing is good and the overall direction is clear, the specific length isn’t too important to me

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I’ve followed really long webcomic series like The Pirate Balthazar, and it really depends how flexible you are with genre. Because I noticed that in a few cases, if it goes on long enough, the webcomic may shift in tone. I like PB because I don’t mind its shift from action comedy to slice of life comedy, but many people might not share the same sentiments. I usually think a webcomic grows and develops as the artist/author grows. Maybe the changes will appeal or alienate the readers.(edited)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I'm of the "the longer the better" camp, but I like the story to be neatly structured into volumes, each their own little finished story that still add up to a bigger whole. Kinda like a good novel series, you know?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Massive comic archives do intimidate me at first glance - but if I'm hooked after the first chapter, then the path to the end seems all that more reasonable and fun. If the first chapter doesn't grab me, though, then the comic's length starts looking like a chore. I guess that's the case for any story, but yeah, personally, it's all about that first little hill. Get me over it, and it's smooth sailing from then on

RebelVampire

For me ideal length would actually probably depend a bit on genre. For things like horror or slice-of-life, I tend to prefer comics be a bit shorter. For me horror loses its fear factor after a point if it goes on too long. And slice-of-life I find better in small doses. Then there's things like fantasy and sci-fi, who like novels, generally should be longer cause you need more time for world-building. Then there's gag-a-day which in all essence can go onto infinity as long as the writing is still good. That being said, with the exception to gag-a-day, for genres I prefer shorter, I generally prefer them to be less than 300 pages, and for fantasy and sci-fi, I prefer less than 600. Which sounds like a lot of pages, but I've read plenty of comics with that amount that are still ongoing. Now of course, plenty of exceptions here, because if a comic is still good, it could go on for much longer for all I really care. However, just based on my personal experiences, I find for a good majority anything more than that and the comics are more likely to start dragging and padding their story too much. Also, these choices are for practicality cause I've seen a lot of comics get defeated by indefinite hiatus, and I find comics not finishing a huge disappointment. Not that I blame creators for having to move on in life, but just because I understand doesn't mean I don't get sad.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Oooof, 300 pages is not that much for fantasy to me, haha That's less than 10 chapters in the case of my comic. As a reader however, I agree with much of what was said before: as long as the story still has purpose, the length doesn't really matter. But that's more a matter of pacing than length. The only time length deters me is when I'm reading a comic for the first time, and it's over 100 chapters and still ongoing. Then, the concern becomes: "How will I ever find the time to read all this?" But there have been a few comics I started reading relatively close to when they first came out, and they went on for years and 500+ chapters. As long as the pacing is still good, it can go on forever imo.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

How do you feel about long comics with dedicated jump-on points so that you don't have to fight through the really early archives, like schlock mercenary? Because for me it makes a huge difference if there's a dedicated "join the story here!", or if you have to start from the absolute beginning.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Ah....

I'm not really a fan, because I'd feel like I'm missing something

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Same

RebelVampire

I imagine that was directed at Cronaj, but I actually do want to answer that cause it's an interesting subtopic. And my answer is can't do it. I'm a read for the absolute beginning or no dice even when give the option. I've tried jump-on points, and I really struggle because there'll be a) pre-established relationships between characters (even if its just insider jokes) I can't connect with and b) a fandom that does know the beginning and will chat about it and you wind up auto ostracized

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, like I know some people who can jump into the a TV show starting from like, episode 4 season 2 if they get some basic explanation of prior episodes. I am not one of those people.

Same with comics

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Same

I feel so left out

And I'll have to keep asking potentially stupid questions

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I can't even ask questions because I don't have enough info to form questions

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

the sad truth

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I feel that too usually I have to go on the show's trope page to catch up

but at the same time, I also still feel a bit left out

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

If the comic is worth reading, the first 100 pages are worth reading to me

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yep

Me too

It's more a matter of, do I have the time to read this comic at all?

Which I wish didn't come into my decision at all, but it does :/

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's understandable, really

not enough time in the world

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

so basically

make it worth the readers' while

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

For the right readers.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

fair enough go straight for the jugular and don't hold back XD

eli [a winged tale]

I love longforms and if I’m invested, I’m there for the entire ride, no matter how long. Will agree with Rebel that it’s heartbreaking when long stories go on hiatuses (but of course, that’s life). As for jump points, I’m one where I can hop on and if I’m intrigued, start from the beginning. I have built in season trailers for this since one of the webtoons, Hooky, seemed to have used it to good effect. One interesting thing that I love is seeing the art grow with time. It’s always so interesting to see the change and the growth.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

fair enough go straight for the jugular and don't hold back XD

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) LOL your quote always sound like you're a hunter ready for a kill

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

OH MY GOD

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

that's a great point, Eli. I feel he same. Where it depends on the series, I don't mind long form, but I have to read from the start, because the later episodes will have relationships or events I have 'missed out'. I can tell when a creator has either a) interest in world building, which explains a longer series, or 2) interest in relationship development, which tends to be a little shorter in stories. I've read comics that are in-between which is fasinating and imo, hard to juggle. Oh yes, artstyle change motivates me and what I often recommend to friends. Even if your artstyle isn't up to your standard, it will slowly evolved. It gives me inspiration not to redo series. (if I can help it)(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, if the art is CLEAR enough -- both simple event/action-wise and mood-wise -- then it's good enough. It doesn't need to be amazing.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

a lot of long term webcomic series also tend to improve on their art

so as you post it, over time you'll find yourself improving because you've forced yourself to draw so much

[captainwhogotthecanary]

ClexaCon: Day 2

Same deal as day 1: this is probably too long and detailed, and if you want the facts, you can probably get them from the official videos. This is more about my reactions and vibes and the like.

I dressed as Wonder Woman this day. It’s my only store bought costume, but I look great in it, and I finished off the look with tall (not not heeled!) boots and rainbow socks and brighter makeup than I usually wear. I looked good enough that the barista when I grabbed coffee asked for my employee discount; she assumed I was a performer at the hotel. I got great comments all day, a little overwhelmingly so, but it felt pretty awesome until I left the convention. CW for brief mention of assholes at the end of this post.

Nyssara

I met some cool people in line waiting for the “doors” to open for the standard attendees. We ended up sitting together while my Friday friends sat behind, since we had trouble finding six seats together, not too surprisingly.

I needed the intro video because as I’ve mentioned, I like my faves to be happy, and while I never ever doubted Sara loves Nyssa and vice versa, they didn’t exactly get happy times together on screen, and I wasn’t yet into Arrowverse fic when they were on screen. It was a good video. They’re both great actresses and can seriously crank up the intensity when the scene requires it. Any Nyssara fic recs are appreciated, btw.

The panel was good. It was fun, different kind of energy, something like nostalgic and speculative and silly. And Jes came through! Again, there are videos and gifs, so go do yourself a favor and look if you haven’t.

Of note to people following my blog, when asked her favorite one night stand of Sara’s, Caity’s first thought was of Snart, though she said she couldn’t count him since they hadn’t slept together. I think that’s just so awesome that the characters had that connection, and the actors according to what I’ve read, that even after years have passed, there’s still some sort of nostalgia or whatever because they were genuinely close. The actors and characters in different ways, but still.

More is More: Polyamory in Media

I’ve got some ot3s (ahem, Rogue Canary), but as far as real life, I don’t know much about polyamory. It’s something I’ve long thought works with the RIGHT people and the RIGHT communication, which makes it rare and challenging, and it has to be so hard for some people, like some of the ones in the panel who explained that being poly is, for them, the same as their sexuality; it’s a need, a wiring, not a choice or a lifestyle. It’s rare (or rarely talked about/seen) and so there’s not a big demand for more of it in media, but then the lack of representation means fewer people know it can be a healthy option, so it becomes a cycle, like so many things.

Most of the panel ended up the panelists sharing what it means and what it means to them to be poly or practice a poly lifestyle. There’s a big no-no/disparaging negative in the community regarding “unicorn hunters,” which I’d like to have someone properly explain to me but google says it’s usually couples looking for a third person who fits their needs without considering the needs of that third. It’s objectifying and not setting up for a healthy relationship and I get why that angle is negative, but I’m not sure why multiple people in that panel and then in a later panel seemed to use it to apply to anyone looking for the trio presentation rather than the open relationship presentation. Not complaint so much as genuine confusion there. So anyway, there wasn’t much discussion of the trio+ aspect I was most interested in, because I’m not planning to write or practice a relationship where the people in it date other people but I adore stable (usually potential) trios in media.

I still enjoyed it very much and learned a lot in the “I didn’t know I didn’t know this” category. My favorite part (though it also made me sad) was how excited and relieved the panel was about being in a room where they could discuss all this without judgement.

Bi+ Representation in Media

I adored all the panelists here. I didn’t learn much; the basic gist was “there’s not enough representation.” Still, it was cool listening to and watching a bunch of bi+ folks talk about their faves and what they’d like to see. I bought a book by one of the panelists and will do a rec post later if it’s any good, ya and lgbt and superheroes. I’m excited.

Romance Between the (Book) Covers

Sigh.

Okay, so…

I don’t think of myself as an amazing or particularly experienced professional writer, but I do feel like I could contribute more than a lot of the writing panelists, and I found that very frustrating. It wasn’t that they were all lacking experience or talent, to be clear, but it was that for most of them, their experiences or input were almost entirely unhelpful for new or aspiring novelists.

For example, there was a writer whose story was, “I’d never written anything before in my life but I decided to write a book and they published it so that was cool.” Another said she’s unique because she writes in first person, which she does because “it’s a lot easier to tell instead of show. And I know they say you’re not supposed to do that, but I think it works.”

I get that the expectations are different in the smaller market that is LGBTQ+ romance, but…

I don’t know. I feel like standards are important. That’s why I all but stopped writing while I’m struggling with words and with tying things together; I don’t care whether it’s original fiction or fanfiction, free or paid, I have standards for my work.

I also had my feathers ruffled slightly when the moderator asked the panelists, “Did you write heterosexual relationships to start out in order to get a foot in the door or earn money?” with a clear implication that there was no reason to write a m/f relationship other than for mainstream success. The one bisexual panelist low-key called her out but I don’t think she noticed, with an, “I’m bisexual so writing a male/female relationship is a perfectly valid choice for me.”

For one, yeah, there was a bisexual panelist and there was a huge bi population amongst the attendees, so that wording could have been more sensitive, and for two, I know plenty straight people who like to write m/m or f/f romance, so why wouldn’t that be a valid choice in reverse, for something other than a cash grab?

Personally, I mostly write m/f relationships because I started writing while still closeted, because that’s where my actual experience is, and because my go-to is still to write canon or canon-adjacent pairings and tv still likes to fuck up most of the few canon lgbt ones. That doesn’t make me less valid as a writer who is lgbt.

Mazikeen: The Devil in the Details

This was enjoyable. The actress says Maze is her spirit animal, which is awesome. I was pretty frazzled and distracted (people were saving me seats even though I SAID I’d be late and it was equally appreciated and discomfiting) and also trying to liveblog the panel to a friend, so I didn’t get as much emotional impact from this as the rest. It sounds like we probably get to see Maze with a real relationship this next season, so that’s exciting. It seems like a decent next step for her after the growth over the last seasons. I’m also suuuuper excited she and Trixie will be okay; they have one of my favorite relationship of the whole show.

Amber Benson: Tara Maclay and the Legacy of Buffy

Teeeeearrrrsss. Do me a favor; if you watch the video for this one, watch the behind the scenes one first. The intro video they played left very few dry eyes, and then Amber came out all teary and emotional.

The singalong was a lot of fun, despite “Under Your Spell” being notes most humans can’t hit.

There was one answer she handled with some unfortunate wording, but it was so clear she meant well and she’s such an icon, so she didn’t get boo’d like I was almost afraid of. There wasn’t much applause, but then we moved on. She was the only panel I went to that earned a standing ovation. I cried a lotttttttt.

And then I left the con to go change before having dinner with Friday friend. And people were gross and staring in creepy ways and there were homophobic comments made “accidentally” too loud and just bleh. It was a small thing in an otherwise fantastic weekend, but it made me feel like I needed to take a shower.

[jbuffyangel]

Marc Guggenheim SDCC17 Interview

Marc Guggenheim was kind enough to meet with me for a one on one chat. 

We walked the floor together with his nephew and little girl (who are the cutest) for an hour and talked all things Arrow!!! He told me this is his most aggressive SDCC schedule ever, so the fact that he slotted in some time just for me really meant the world. Marc Guggenheim is the actual best. He is the definition of it.

SPOILERS!!!

We launched right into number one on my list: wedding.

He wondered where people got the idea for an Olicity crossover wedding to which I answered, “Ummm... a little bit from Stephen.” 

He laughed and said, “But Stephen doesn't know what we're doing for the crossover. We haven't pitched him the crossover yet.”

I fessed up, “And... a lot from me.”

I launched into my Nashville story about my daughter and how she dressed up as little Felicity. 

Marc said, “Oh my gosh. That was YOUR daughter? I didn't know that was your daughter! Oh that is hysterical.”

I explained Stephen tends to crumble quick with little Felicitys and Marc wholeheartedly agreed. My daughter asked Stephen if we have to wait all season for Olicity to get married. Stephen immediately caved and said no.

Marc laughed again and said, “But that's such a leading question! That's not playing fair!”

Yeah. I know. It's dirty pool. I own it.

Marc admitted Season 6 is the hardest season to talk about. He compared it to the Walking Dead's problem last year. They are shooting 6x02 and they are writing 6x04. They are breaking 6x05 and 6x06, which will be a two parter, and they are already starting to talk about the crossover. Marc confirmed Dinah Drake survives because “we're not going to kill three canaries in a row.”

We shifted into Season 5, since Season 6 is so difficult for them to tease right now.  Now that the Olicity break up arc is completed I asked Marc if they accomplished what they set out to do.

Marc said, “You know what? I do. I feel really good about 5x20. Every season I have the things I like and things I wish we did better. I was pretty honest in Season 4 that I didn't love how we handled their break up. For me, the way we handled their break up... they didn't have an adult conversation. So we went into Season 5... it was like we need to figure out a way for them to have that adult conversation and deal with their issues. I was pretty happy with the way that turned out.”

Marc continued, “Stephen and Emily were terrific in the episode. Wendy Stanzler directed the hell out of it.”

He discussed how difficult it is for a director to come in and direct a bottle episode. Bottle episodes are typically a way for television shows to lower their production costs. “The really good directors like Wendy embrace the creative challenge of, 'Well how do I get that production value while still operating with less resources?'”

I asked Marc how he felt about the length of time it took Olicity to get to 5x20.

He said, “Here's the thing that I was interested in doing as a writer. I haven't really seen this on television – I'm sure it's been done on television, but I haven't necessarily seen it. I like the idea of you have a couple, they are engaged to be married, they break up and they are still in each other's lives. In this case they are working together. I hadn't seen that and the ins and outs of that. I thought that was really interesting. As a writer I am always gravitating towards and attracted to stories I haven't seen, but still reflect a real life dynamic. There are plenty of people who break up and, for whatever reason (be it kids, work, mutual friends, whatever it is) they have to be in each other's lives. And that's hard. That's an interesting dynamic.”

I asked Marc if Felicity's dark arc was planned for Season 4. He said no, it was always planned for Season 5. They discovered as they explored the Helix arc that it was “a great way to address the 4x15 of it all.”

“We realized, 'Oh wait a second, this darker storyline means she's walking in Oliver's shoes and that's going to give her a new perspective on him.' Once we sort of realized that it all sort of fit together.”

I added I felt like Oliver learned what it's like being left out of the decision and not being in control of someone's choices. Marc answered with an emphatic YES.

“I always say that Oliver is a total hypocrite. A lot of the show survives and is successful for all the hypocritical choices Oliver makes. That said, I will say this about Season 6 - I think the events of Season 5 have really changed him and he's a much more evolved character in Season 6.”

I asked if we'll be seeing Oliver more centered and Marc explained, “Yeah, that's really what Season 5 was all about - letting go of the past, learning from the past and the previous ten years. So the emotional stories that we are telling in Season 6 are of a very different quality.”

He continued, “In many ways, I think Oliver (it's not so much that he takes on a mentor role), but there's always a scene in Act 4, usually where Oliver is dealing with something, and Felicity gives him a piece of advice or Diggle gives him a piece of advice or Thea or Lance. There's always people giving Oliver advice. In Season 6 we are trying to flip that dynamic. It's Oliver giving people advice because he finally has the benefit of 10 years of hard won experience.”

I added, “He's starting to get it,” and Marc enthusiastically agreed.

We shifted gears a bit and went back to discussing Season 6. Marc said, “The struggle for me is finding new ways to surprise people. I'll give you an example – in Season 6 we obviously know the island blew up and everyone was on it. Everyone is just thinking about who lives or dies. There's other stuff that comes with that.”

I offered up injuries or PTSD as examples, to which Marc mysteriously replied, “Or all sorts of interesting things.” Intriguing...

Marc's goal is try and defy expectations by giving a twist to the expected. He said one of his favorite quotes is from Stan Lee,“Give people what they need. Not what they want.”

He added, “If you give people what they want they are not surprised and they get bored very quickly. There's something actually very unsatisfying getting everything that you want as a viewer.”

My amazing editor Jenn gave me a wonderful question to ask Marc, “What do you think defines a strong female character?”

Marc answered, “Oooh. That's a good question. Yes. I'll be honest. I find answering questions along these lines, as a straight white man, is flirting with disaster. I will say that as the father of two daughters and the husband of a very strong and successful woman, I really kind of approach it as – I don't think of it as a strong female character. I approach it as a strong character.” While he obviously understands the difference between a man and a woman, when it comes to writing there's no differentiation.

He discussed Felicity as an example of a strong female character, “Felicity as a character has really grown and evolved over the years. When we first met her she was easily distracted and a little neurotic. I think she's grown tougher over the years by virtue of what they do.”

I added that Oliver has grown a little softer and Marc replied, “Yes definitely. I think they've had a good effect on each other. She humanizes him and she's gotten more of a sense of self.”

“A confidence?” I asked. Marc said, “Yes. Also I think it's a maturity thing. When we first met Felicity she was five years younger. That's a big difference in anyone's life... hopefully.”

He continued, “I think with all the female characters on the show they are all strong, but in very different ways. Sara Lance is super strong, but very different from Felicity. Felicity is light and Sara has an incredible darkness in her, but they are both really strong women. Nyssa is incredibly strong, but she has a different form of darkness than Sara's. I actually think Nyssa and Sara's darknesses compliment each other in a really complex and interesting way.”

I immediately asked if Nyssa would guest on Legends of Tomorrow. Marc answered, “I always want to get Nyssa with Sara because I ship them very hard, but that said, we really want to explore some new romantic territory for Sara this year. Anytime you can get Caity and Katrina on screen together it's gold, but at the same time- ”

“Katrina is hard to get ahold of,” I offered.

Marc agreed, “Yes, she is hard to get ahold of especially since she has the new Crackle show. Katrina is amazing. She's always gonna work. What's nice about Legends is we have time travel. We've had her on the show before and we'd love to have her again. It's always a question about finding the right opportunity with the right story.”

I asked Marc how he felt about some of the fans' reactions to Season 5, specifically the frustration and anger with Oliver and Felicity's storyline.

“You know, that's a good question actually. It was hard at the beginning of the year. I think over the course of this past season I developed a different perspective on reactions to the show. If I'm thinking about it - it was probably more the reaction to Season 4 that had me go, 'I need to not take this personally.' This is the story we are telling. I believe in this story we are telling otherwise we wouldn't be telling it. Some people are going to like it and some are not going to like it.”

I asked, “When you say that they changed your mind was it how you guys broke them up? Was it the storyline? Because I felt like the William storyline was kind of a holdover from the Laurel days. That would have worked great if she was still the love interest, but with Felicity it didn't feel quite as true to them.”

“I think for me it was purely I wish we had taken the time to devolve their relationship in a more organic way. I've said this before, but we went into Season 4 with certain tent poles and we were too diligent in terms of hitting them. As a result very key emotional moves were rushed and felt abrupt. That I own,” Marc explained.

This is something I've written about frequently on the blog, so I shared my perspective with Marc and said, “My attitude was if you have to break them up, which you know I am not of that opinion that you have to break them up -”

“Oh I know,” Marc interjected. I may have shared my disagreement with him in the past once or twice. ;)

I smiled and continued, “But if you have to break them up, I ran through a list. At the stage they were at, you are really at cheating, killing, lying or stealing. Out of those options, I'm gonna go with the lie.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Shifting back to Season 6 I said, “So, we know Oliver is alive...”

“And we know William is alive,” Marc added.

“So how is Oliver handling being a father?

Marc answered, “Ever since we introduced the William storyline in 2x20, we have noticed that ever since Stephen became a father it has really changed his performance. We always say we write towards what we're seeing in dailies. And Jack, who plays William, is really really good.”

“Was Black Siren on the island?” I legit couldn't remember.

Marc said, “Yes she is, but we know she survives. We wouldn't bring Katie back just to kill her again.”

I said, “That would be a serious jerk move if that's what you did.” Marc laughed and agreed.

I told him that I love Black Siren evil and he agreed with my sentiment. I explained, “What I like about Black Siren is that she's evil, but you guys do a nice job threading the undercurrent  that she's having an emotional reaction to Lance -

Marc interrupted, “Wait until you see the premiere.”

“Is it awesome? What are you most excited for everyone to see? Because Bam is directing and I'm so excited.”

“Bam is crushing it. We're gonna release a trailer tomorrow that gives you a glimpse of some of the amazing stuff that Bam has shot. It's crazy huge. It's total madness,” Marc said.

I told Marc that Stephen and David were doing a phenomenal job with getting the fans whipped up for the new season at the conventions. We discussed their natural chemistry and how great they are together. The word “chemistry” trigged the newbies in my mind so I asked, “There was a lot of new characters. So how did you feel about the reaction to the new characters? What new character was easiest to slip in? Who was the most difficult?

Marc answered, “They were all the same level of difficulty or easiness. What's always the hardest is the casting. We were four for four. The original plan with the newbies was very different. The original plan was we were going to cycle a whole bunch of newbies throughout the season. And then we'll keep whoever pops.”

This totally surprised me and I said it sounded similar to the rotating Season 1 love interests. Arrow rotated many women throughout the season to see who worked best with Oliver (Felicity). Marc agreed and said much to their surprise each new cast member was great. They didn't want to get rid of anybody.

I said my favorite newbie is Julianna. Marc agreed she is phenomenal and said we've only glimpsed what she's capable of as an actor. This will be her break out year. I did ask if Dinah's love interest was someone we knew or someone new, but Marc couldn't answer that. Gave it my best shot! Sorry folks! We'll just have to tune in to find out.

“Are you releasing the Big Bads tomorrow?”

Marc hesitated, “Yes – some of it. We're going to do something a little different this year in terms of the Big Bads.”

Hmmm... mysterious. Panel should be interesting! I asked if they felt more freedom in the writers room now that they don't have to serve the flashback stories.

“Yeah, it's such a sigh of relief. Those flashbacks were hard. They were hard from a writing perspective. They were hard from a production perspective. It really was like doing one and a half shows. And also some of our favorite episodes have been the ones where we did the non serialized flashbacks.

I pointed out 3x05 as an example and Marc added 5x13 with Wild Dog as another. I told him I didn't click with Wild Dog right away, but that episode did help in fleshing out the character for me.

“Wild Dog grew on people,” Marc said.

“Yeah, it was sort of all of sudden. I realized I was starting to like him. I think you were very wise with pairing him with Curtis and Lance,” I responded.

Marc said it was one of the great surprises of the season, “We really do write to the dailies and we were seeing this great stuff between Rick and Paul. Let's write more of that! We were joking by the end of the season that we had the makings for a spin off. Like an odd couple type of comedy.”

I asked if mixing up the characters, like more Felicity and Thea, was something they were going to continue in Season 6? Marc said yes. He loves mixing up the pairings.

“5A was a lot of focus on the newbies,” I said. Marc agreed and I added, “It did feel like the core characters we are use to were not getting as much screen time. But once you guys set the newbies up, they really did move into a B storyline capacity. Then you shifted back to Felicity, Diggle and Oliver. “

“I will say I think 6B will be very different from 6A. I don't know if this plan will come to fruition but we really shaping Season 6 as A, B and C. It's really three big movements. We always go into it with a plan. Sometimes we stick to it to a fault.”

“There's stuff I love every season and stuff I don't. That's just Arrow... and every television show on TV,” I said.

Marc exclaimed, “It's 23 episodes!”

I agreed, “I do think that's a some of it. Listen, I loved Whedon. He writes amazing tv, but there's some hours in there that were not so good.

“And that's one of the best writers who ever worked in the medium,” Marc added.

I explained that I accept Arrow is going to try new things and sometimes they aren't going to work. Marc said they always go in with the best of intentions though. Once a show has reached a certain number of seasons, there can be a tendency to phone it in. I appreciated that Arrow hasn't done that. At least from my perspective.

Marc said, “There is a huge temptation to be like 'Oh it's Season 6.' There's also a huge temptation to say, 'It's 23 episodes. They are not all going to be good.' But we still try to make every episode good.”

Marc reiterated again that there will not be a Bl&ck Siren, Oliver and Felicity love triangle. A love triangle does not remotely interest him. He agreed they settled on Oliver's great love in Season 2 and it is Felicity.

It should be an interesting panel since they seem to be sticking to this, “Who survived?” concept. I do think one of the better moves from Season 5 was cutting back on the spoilers. There was too much spoiled in Season 4 and I think Season 5 struck a better balance. So, I wasn't bothered by the more vague teases for Season 6. Also... David and Stephen have spoiled just plenty. I am very happy with what Marc shared about Season 6 and it was really nice to talk about Season 5 more in depth. I’m sure there are more goodies in Saturday’s panel too. I can’t wait for the preview. Season 6 is sounding pretty fantastic to me! 

I honestly cannot say enough nice things about this man. He is warm, funny, gracious and earnest. Marc genuinely cares about Arrow and the fans. He humbly admits not everything they try is successful, but he truly wants to make the best television show he can. He gave such thoughtful answers to all my questions and was equally interested in my thoughts. Marc is as invested in these characters as I am, which is why it's always so much fun to chat with him. He is an absolute delight.

If you are upset I didn't ask your question or phrase your viewpoint correctly... well that's not a shock because I don't speak for everyone. These were my questions and my perspective based on my interests in Arrow. That's all I can offer. I tried to ask as many questions as I could on a wide variety of topics. I hope you all enjoy the chat as much as I did!

[sandiegodjstaci]

14 More San Diego Ranch Wedding Venues

14 More San Diego Ranch Wedding Venues

Looking for a ranch San Diego wedding venue? Pardners…hold yer horses! Because here is DJ Staci’s extended, comprehensive list of San Diego ranch wedding venues anywhere!!! See the original 8 San Diego ranch venues first…or dig in to these 14 event spaces in no particular order…

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #1: Bates Nut Farm

Bates Nut Farm is a popular option!

Address :: 15954 Woods Valley Road, Valley Center, CA 92082 Seated Guest Capacity :: 400 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $5,000.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 1

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #2: Bheau View Ranch

I haven’t worked at Bheau View Ranch, but it looks gorgeous.

Address :: 390 Cox Road, San Marcos, CA Seated Guest Capacity :: 300 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor available Starting Price :: unknown # of Event Spaces :: 10(property access starts 3 days prior to your event)

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #3: Blue Moon Wedding Ranch

Blue Moon Wedding Ranch has a set flooorplan/layout & is 100% outdoor.

Address :: 37110 Mesa Road, Temecula, CA 92592 Seated Guest Capacity :: 150 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $5,495.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 3

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #4: Broken Rock Ranch

Broken Rock Ranch looks amazing!

Address :: 29701 Mac Tan Rd, Valley Center, CA Seated Guest Capacity :: 300 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $800.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 4

San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #5: Circle Oak Ranch

Circle Oak Ranch is another great option.

Address :: 40402 De Luz Rd, Fallbrook, CA 92028 Seated Guest Capacity :: 200 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $11,000.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 3

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #6: Condor’s Nest Ranch

Condor’s Nest Ranch is a rustic Pala wedding venue.

Address :: 37537 Magee Rd, Pala, CA 92059 Seated Guest Capacity :: 300 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $12,500.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: unknown (must use their DJ/catering)

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #7: El Capitan Horse Ranch

El Capitan Horse Ranch is located in El Cajon is you don’t want to travel to north county.

Address :: 10021 Dunbar Ln, El Cajon, CA 92021 Seated Guest Capacity :: 250 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $2,750.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 2

San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #8: Harrison Serenity Ranch

Need a serene wedding? Check out the Harrison Serenity Ranch.

Address :: 18187 Nate Harrison Road, Palomar Mountain, CA 92060 Seated Guest Capacity :: 250 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $2,500.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 2

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #9: Keys Creek Lavender Farm

Keys Creek Lavender Farm is a hop, skip, & a jump from the popular Bates Nut Farm venue.

Address :: 12460 Keys Creek Road, Valley Center, CA 92082 Seated Guest Capacity :: 175 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: unknown # of Event Spaces :: 2

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #10: Secluded Garden Estate

Secluded Garden Estate has a set lay-out/floorplan not terribly DJ friendly. The ceremony view is amazing! See Hannah & Brian’s Secluded Garden Estates wedding for details.

Address :: 38648 Pala Temecula Rd, Pala, CA Seated Guest Capacity :: 200 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $2,900.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 3

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #11: The Flower Fields

You’ve no doubt seen this venue if you’ve ever shopped in Carlsbad–The Flower Fields.

Address :: 5704 Paseo Del Norte, Carlsbad, CA Seated Guest Capacity :: 200 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor available Starting Price :: unknown # of Event Spaces :: 1

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #12: Two Sisters Farms

Two Sisters Farms looks fabulous!!!

Address :: Anza Rd & Calle Nopal, Temecula, CA 92592 Seated Guest Capacity :: 100 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $3,800.00 (As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 1

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #13: Whispering Oaks Terrace

Whispering Oaks Terrace has a set lay-out/floorplan with some “party obstacles” (like the bar being far away from the dancefloor & the tables not being easily moveable. This is one of Temecula’s few “non-vineyard” venues. Check out Jannelle & Eddy’s Whispering Oaks Terrace wedding for details.

Address :: 39417 Pala Temecula Road, Pala -Temecula, CA 92059 Seated Guest Capacity :: 199 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor available Starting Price :: $3,200.00(As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 1

  San Diego Ranch Wedding Venue #14: Windmill Ranch

Windmill Ranch was dusty. You’ll be in a tent set up in a dirt pasture. Not my favorite San Diego ranch venue. Check out Nyssa & Jason’s wedding there if you want to get more detail.

Address :: 1674 Rincon Avenue, Escondido, CA 92026 Seated Guest Capacity :: 200 San Diego Wedding Venue Type :: Outdoor only Starting Price :: $2,500.00(As of January 2018) # of Event Spaces :: 2

Know of any San Diego ranch wedding venues I missed??? Let me know in the comments below.

Follow me

  Like our vibe? Stalk our wedding DJ services! shshsh...

  GIVE IT TO ME BABY