#pregnancy storylines are weird for me this was odd to write but i hope it's amusing XD

[cuubism]

PLEAAE write dreamling pregnancy crackfic you MUST and PLEASE include Sad Crying I Forgor cat dream

Behold, lovely anons, some nonsense.

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“Um, Dream,” says Hob, staring at the tiny plastic stick sitting on his bathroom countertop, “what is that.”

Dream comes to stand behind him, peering over his shoulder. “It is a pregnancy test.”

“Yeah, why?” Hob picks it up, squinting down at it. “And why is it negative?”

He realizes a second later that the first question out of his mouth should, in fact, have been why the fuck do you have a pregnancy test? Unless it’s not Dream’s and someone just broke into his flat and left it there, which might actually be less weird.

“Presumably because I am not human,” says Dream.

Hob puts the test down. Turns around, takes Dream by the shoulders, and steers him out of the bathroom. Once they’re back in the living room, he means to say a number of things, but all that comes out of his mouth is, “What.”

“The test does not work because I am not human,” Dream repeats. He’s definitely being deliberately obtuse now, if he wasn’t before.

A million questions swirl in Hob’s mind, and a rising swell of panic. He mentally shakes himself. Forces himself to get it together. He’s not a seventeen-year-old kid who got a girl pregnant. He can handle his shit.

He holds Dream still by the arms. Tilts his head until Dream meets his eyes. “Dream, do you have something that you want to tell me? In words, maybe?”

Unless he doesn’t know. But he’s like, a concept, how could he not know?

Wait, is this why Hob was having random dreams about babies last week? He is going to kill this man.

Well, he’s going to give him a hug first. Then he’s going to kill him.

Dream looks into his eyes. Oh God, he’s serious now. So this wasn’t all just for kicks, not that Dream really does things for kicks, anyway. “Hob, I am—”

Hob hauls him into an embrace before he can finish the sentence. Perhaps he should let Dream say it. But he can’t not hug him.

Dream relaxes into his hold. Hob hadn’t realized how tense he was until he did. Oh, poor thing. Just because they’re not young people floundering about on the precipice of adulthood doesn’t mean it’s not stressful. Especially that in between moment, when he knows, and Hob doesn’t.

“I have known for a few weeks now,” Dream says, face pressed to Hob’s shoulder. “Are you upset?”

“No, of course not.” Upset? He’s having their child and Hob’s upset? He supposes they didn’t exactly plan it, but, when has he ever planned anything when it comes to Dream?

He pulls back at last, kisses Dream’s temple, and steers him over to sit down on the couch. He sits beside him, their knees touching. Takes Dream’s hand and squeezes it. “If you already knew, then why did you bother to use the test?”

“I was curious if it would work,” says Dream.

Somehow, Hob doesn’t think that’s the whole truth. “Please tell me you weren’t just going to leave it somewhere and let me guess?”

“I would have crafted some more dreams as well,” Dream says. Blasted idiot. Why is Hob in love with him? Oh yeah, because he’s even more of an idiot.

“Wasn’t picking up on it,” Hob says. “I didn’t think this was possible, to be honest. We’ve just been recklessly having unprotected sex for how long? And you never thought to mention this was a possibility?”

“I forgot,” Dream says morosely, the most pitiable frown on his face. “It is not as straightforward as it is for humans. But yes, it is possible. Evidently. I suppose I have been caught up in the… joy of our moments together. I have not had a lover in a long time.”

“Oh, love.” Hob holds him close, rubbing a hand up and down his back. “It’s alright. It’s my fault, really. I should have asked. Wrap it before you tap it, Hob.”

Dream wrinkles his nose at the phrasing. Hob kisses him on the tip of his nose.

“Maybe I was thinking about it a little bit,” Hob admits. The thought has definitely… crossed his mind, before. And it’s easy to get drawn in, when Dream is in his bed, when he looks so gorgeous, when Hob makes love to him and fills him and—

Oh, this is his fault. This is absolutely his fault. He’d thought it was a safe fantasy to indulge in, impossible in reality. Meanwhile he was fucking one of the few beings made of both fantasy and reality at once. Hob’s really the king idiot.

“A little bit?” echoes Dream, raising an eyebrow.

Hob cringes. “A lot a bit?”

Unexpectedly, Dream smiles. “You are happy, then.”

Hob goes still, staring at him. “Did I not say?”

“You expressed that you were not upset,” says Dream. “Which is not the same thing as being happy.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry.” Hob holds him closer, kisses his cheek, his brow, the corner of his lips. “I love you so much. I’m so happy.”

“Truly?”

Hob kisses him on the lips this time, long and deep. Takes Dream’s face in his hands and caresses his cheeks. “Truly. Obviously.”

Dream hums, sounding pleased.

“Are you happy?” Hob asks. Though he suspects Dream would have been rather obvious in his displeasure if he wasn’t, he usually is.

“I believe so,” says Dream carefully. “I… would like to be. Only, I have failed before, when I had a child.” Hob pulls far enough away to look at him. Dream’s expression has twisted now. “I do not wish to repeat that.”

“You won’t.” Dream looks unconvinced, so Hob repeats it. “You won’t. You’ve learned from that. So have I.” Hob certainly made many of his own mistakes with Robyn. But he still wants to try again.

“There are many terrible endings to this story,” Dream says. Of course, Hob’s just looking at the beginning of the thing, and Dream’s looking at the whole arc, especially the end.

“And good ones,” Hob says. “I promise. I’ll do everything I can to make it good.”

“I do believe that,” says Dream, finally offering him a small smile. “You have been able to make many things good for me when I thought it impossible.”

That might just be the greatest success of Hob’s life. To make Dream see that things can be good.

“It will be good,” he vows. “You’ll see, darling.” And Dream smiles again.

Hob lays his hand over Dream’s lower belly. He doesn’t know if this pregnancy even has a physical component at all—Dream himself barely has a physical component sometimes—but it’s instinct to hold him there.

Hob can already feel himself wanting to coddle him. He’s going to have to stop himself from doing that, he highly doubts Dream will appreciate it. He has to remind himself that what happened with Eleanor won’t happen again this time, that modern medicine is so much better, and that Dream isn’t even human in the first place. For all he knows, the baby will just be born out of the clouds.

“Hob,” says Dream. “You are drifting.”

Hob shakes himself. “Sorry, love.”

“What were you thinking of?” Dream presses, brow pinching. “I felt the nature of the daydreams turn… darker.”

Hob grimaces. “It’s really nothing. Just me in my head, you know.”

Dream keeps looking at him expectantly.

Hob sighs. “It’s just, it didn’t go so well last time, with Eleanor, you know? And I know this is different, you’re different, so just be patient with me if start being a mother hen, yeah?”

“Hob…” Dream takes his hand, interlacing their fingers. “I’m sorry, I had not considered. Do you not want…?”

“No! I do want this. I just worry, is all.” He kisses Dream’s cheek. “It’s because I love you. Couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to you.”

“I must do what I can to make it good, then,” Dream says, and Hob smiles at the turnabout of his words. “You need not worry. There is no danger to me. And the baby is not human, besides.”

"It's not?" Hob supposes it's not that much of a surprise. "What is it, then?"

“I am not quite sure. I expect it will become evident soon.” He rests his hand over Hob’s, which is still on his stomach, and he looks fond now. “Perhaps once I can see its dreams.”

“You can see its dreams?”

Dream casts him an amused look. “I am made up of those dreams. And all others. Why should our baby be different?”

Our baby. It’s so affecting to hear him say it like that.

“Our baby,” Hob repeats, just for the sound of it.

“Yes,” says Dream. He sounds properly happy now, which is so lovely to hear. “Ours.”

“Well, now I’m glad we forgot to talk about magical birth control,” Hob says. “Irresponsible sex for the win! Now I get to meet our magical baby.”

“I have never known you to be a man particularly driven by responsible decision-making,” Dream says solemnly.

Hob gapes at him. “Hey!” It’s true, though. It’s all true. “I’ll be the most responsible parent you ever saw. I’ll only let them have the iPad for twenty-three hours a day instead of twenty-four.”

“I can create fantastic spectacles to which the likes of ‘Cocomelon’ cannot hope to compare,” Dream says indignantly, as if this was really an open question in Hob’s mind.

“You can be in charge of screen time, then,” Hob tells him, and Dream’s scowl shifts into a smile.

“When do I need to be ready for this?” Hob asks. “Is it like a nine months thing, or…?”

“Unclear,” says Dream. Fantastic. Typical. For all Hob knows, Dream will show up with a whole baby in his arms tomorrow. Either that or it’ll be a hundred years from now. “I suspect there will be an element of surprise.”

Of course. Dream’s sense of time passing is pretty bad at the best of times, why would the baby be any different?

“I’ll have to get to the shops, then, seeing as I don’t currently own an iPad,” Hob says.

Dream hands him one that definitely was not in existence a moment ago.

“Did you get that—”

“From a dream, yes.”

Hob stares at it in wonder for a moment, wondering if it even has normal apps, or strange ones only dreamt of, then sets it on the coffee table. “Well, Christmas shopping with you will be a cinch.”

Dream is quiet for a moment. “I would not wish to burden you with these things,” he finally says. “To upend your life when you are already well-occupied.”

“Nope, none of that.” Hob takes Dream’s hands and pulls them close. “First of all, I’m very old and can afford to buy a lot of iPads, so don’t worry about it. But more than that, I love you.” He taps Dream’s belly, though he still doesn’t know exactly how or where this not-human baby is meant to grow. “And you. So don’t think like that. I know I can’t expect a nine-to-five, normal daily schedule from you. I’ve never expected that from you.” As of now, Dream just visits whenever he can, often at odd hours. Hob doesn’t expect he’ll be able to change that much, even now. He is still Dream above all else.

Dream doesn’t deny it, either. He looks down at their joined hands. “Would that it were otherwise.”

Hob rubs his thumb back and forth over his knuckles. “It’s okay. I needed some new excitement in my life anyway. Besides—” he gestures to the dream-iPad—DreamPad? Dream will hate that name, so Hob will definitely have to use it—“even if we can’t always have you, we’ll have your stories, hm?”

Dream smiles, then, a fragile smile. “I suppose that’s true.”

“Course it is.” Hob kisses his cheek. “We’ll figure it out, love. Don’t worry.”

“That is one skill you certainly do possess,” says Dream—in contrast, Hob supposes, to his lack of rational decision-making. “‘Figuring it out.’”

“My PhD is in Winging It,” Hob agrees. “Speaking of, though, we are going to have to have an actual talk about how not to have another ‘surprise’.”

“Yes,” Dream agrees ruefully. He seems quite embarrassed about it, actually, and Hob can’t help but hug him again, squeezing him tight, kissing his cheek and temple. Despite the shock and confusion, Hob really is happy, powerfully so. A baby, his and Dream’s baby. He can’t even imagine the possibility of it.

Dream squirms under the attention, but hums, seeming pleased deep down.

“A little baby Dream,” Hob sighs. “They will be a terror.”

Dream raises an eyebrow. “And you think your influence has no effect on that?”

“I was a delightful child,” Hob protests.

“Do not tempt me to draw proof to the contrary from your dream records,” Dream warns.

“You’ll be a terror,” Hob says. “‘No, Da, I definitely didn’t cheat on that exam,’ ‘Mm, that’s not what your dream at 2:34 am indicates.’”

“Precisely,” says Dream. He sounds quite proud of himself, really. Little nightmare.

Hob kisses him again, on the lips this time. Yes, they will definitely be absolute terrors, the both of them.

But it would be boring otherwise.

[missmarthanightingale]

i did have some thoughts about bel's pregnancy bc, as everyone has pointed out by now, she must have been pregnant for an incredibly long time if vinder's been away from her as long as they make it seem. so assuming that their species doesn't have a ridiculously long gestation period (which isn't impossible), i figure there are two potential explanations.

obviously my first assumption was that it was related to time being fucked. it would be a nice illustration of the potential consequences beyond the obvious physics issues that would arise from time not running smoothly. like, if there's more to it than just "time passes in odd ways" or even "there's weird stuff happening with time streams crossing" - maybe when bel escaped the flux her personal timeline was rewound & she was suddenly back the early stages of a pregnancy that was much further along. this might even work with her having already had the kid if they were caught up in the same temporal event. god knows what that would do to the baby but i do think it would be an interesting storyline to pursue.

my other theory is that their species has access to some kind of technology that allows them to basically press pause on a pregnancy somehow, or at least significantly slow it down. when she's talking to the recording of vinder she says "we waited" which ... i mean, it could just mean that she waited for him to come home but now that there is no home left & the universe ended she's coming to him instead, but i honestly think it would be really cool if she just decided not to have the baby until he could be there, whenever that might be. plus, the post-flux universe is obviously not an ideal situation in which to be heavily pregnant or carting around a small child, so she certainly wouldn't be in any hurry for the pregnancy to progress any further before meeting back up with vinder, especially if she was waiting for him in the first place.

a third option occurred to me as i was writing this post, which is that if she was having trouble getting pregnant then they might have been trying some kind of ivf treatment, or a sci-fi equivalent, which could explain how her pregnancy might have started well after vinder got exiled, depending on when his message actually reached her. it would be very interesting to explore why she chose to go through with the pregnancy when she had no reason to believe vinder would be coming back anytime soon - alternatively, maybe she didn't go through with it once he got exiled but then decided to try again much later, either bc she didn't want to wait anymore or bc she had reason to believe that he would be coming home soon.

or maybe i'm completely overthinking all of this, who knows, but i really want an explanation for this pregnancy so i hope i get one.

[thatsbucknasty]

she used to be mine waitress au

summary: Inspired by the broadway musical. Y/N Beck is a pie baking force to be reckoned with. She’s pregnant with her lazy ass husband, Quentin Beck’s baby. As everything around her turns upside down, Doctor James Buchanan Barnes charms his way into her life.

pairing: Y/N x Bucky

characters:

Y/N Beck as Jenna Hunterson

Bucky Barnes as Dr. Pomatter

Wanda Maximoff as Dawn

Natasha Romanoff as Becky

Sam Wilson as Cal

Steve Rogers as Ogie

Nick Fury as Joe

Quentin Beck as Earl Hunterson

Maria Hill as Nurse Norma

a/n: some of the dialogue I got straight from the play/songs to preserve the witty essence of Waitress, but keep in mind this is an au, so I will change things up regarding the storyline and ending. Enjoy!

p.s. let me know if you wanna be tagged c:

p.s. ii this chapter is merely introductory so we won’t get to meet Bucky just yet but he’s coming soon, I promise!

prologue: what’s inside?

My hands pluck the things I know that I need. Peaches, creme fraiche, brown sugar, butter and of course, flour. Today’s a simple one. What should I call it? “Simplicity is key pie”. Nope. Might get confused with “Love’s the key lime pie”. “Some things never change pie”. Yup. That’s it.

“Y/N! What’s the special pie today?” Sam yells at me like every other morning. I don’t complain, I like that grumpy weirdo though I would never admit that to his face. I tell him the name of my newest recipe.

 “I was having a creative block, you see. But then it struck me! Peaches! PEACHES, SAM!!!” I throw my hands in the air.

“No, I get it. Kinda.” He ignores my excitement but I know he actually understands how peaches are nobody’s favorite,but they’re good, they’re simple and they offer everydayness. Sam and I were in High School together and we both wanted to go to culinary school, so I know he gets me.  Neither of us got to make it though, somehow we  ended up here. Working at Nick’s Pies in the same town we grew up in, a town where nothing ever happens.

Nick is already at his table, that’s odd. He’s never here this early. Maybe he’s been watching spy movies late at night again. That “old fart” (Nat’s words, not mine) is adorable if you ask me, even if he gets on everybody’s nerves. Wanda’s cleaning the counter, menus and sugar dispensers. Thoroughly cleaning them. And Nat’s late. As always.

I like working here. These people are like family to me. The only one I have left. Oh, except for Quentin, my husband. I’ve been thinking about how he used to be, you know, when we first fell in love. Things have changed over the years. But it’s all fine. I have it good. Better than my mom at least. And I’m grateful for Quentin, I really am. I just wish he would be more, I don’t know, empathetic? Anyway. I have a weird feeling today. As if things were about to change. Let’s hope it will be for the better.

-

chapter 1: the negative

warning: vomit

Peeling peaches isn’t my favorite part of the pie making process, that’s for sure. I’ve always loved the smell of them, so why are they making me sick now?.

“Someone’s a little fussy today”. Nat says after noticing my state of distress. “Do you need any help, sweetie?” She rounds the table and snatches the peeler from me. “Seriously though, you look pale”.

“I’m fine, Nat. Thank you, but I think I just need some air. I’ll go take Nick’s order”. I walk across to old Nick’s table and he puts his paper down.

“Oh hi, I was wondering when somebody would offer me at least a cup of coffee here. It’s hot, isn’t it? My diner. My own diner doesn’t have any decent air conditioning!” Oh, here we go.

“Sorry, Nick. I’ll tell Sam to fix it, I promise. What can I give you?”

“Well, let’s see. I would like an omelette, with tomato on the side and some fruit salad, on a different plate. And some orange juice. But bring me coffee before you bring the orange juice. And a slice of your… “Some things never change pie”, but bring that after I’m done with my omelette”. It is hot here, he was right. “Oh and also… Jesus, are you okay? You look pale”. 

“I’m okay, Nick”. Oh god. “I think I just… need to…  restroom”. I almost collapse with Wanda on the way to the ladies room and throw my arms around the toilet in the span of ten seconds.

“Y/N! Honey, you okay in there?” I hear Wanda’s voice, or was it Nat’s. Oh here it comes again. “Gosh, I’m washing this stall right after she’s done, we don’t want any patrons catching whatever she’s got”. Wanda. Definitely Wanda.

“Oh scoot! She doesn’t need you being a neat freak right now, Wanda”. Mother Nat scolding the children. 

“I’m okay girls, I may have had a bad sandwich from the gas station last night. That’s it” I wash my hands and mouth over the sink while the girls fuss around me. “Really, everything’s… oh shit”... and here it comes again. I don’t even know if I have anything left inside that actually needs to come out.

Wanda rubs my back gently and says “Honey? Um, when was the last time you got your period?” After I’m done emptying my guts I do the math. “Shit. No, this can’t be happening.” I can feel my heart in my throat. I’m not ready for this. I can’t be.

“Y/N, time to pee on a stick!” Nat helps me up and calls Peter, the diner’s delivery guy. “Okay, Parker, time to be the hero. I need you to go to the drug store and buy a pregnancy test. Here’s twenty bucks, keep the change and don’t tell a soul about this or I’ll have your head, ya hear me?”

-

Two lines. Two pink stupid lines and I’m out of my body. I’m packing my things and going on a plane far from the diner, far from Quentin Beck and his beer smelling, curse yelling, guitar playing ass!

“I thought you don’t sleep with your husband much anymore”. Wanda is brushing my hair with her fingers.

“Stop it, I think she’s in shock”. Nat is washing the test stick. God bless her, she thinks I want to keep it. I shudder, still a little dizzy.

“Shut up, I’m inventing a new pie in my head. Tomorrow’s special. I’ll call it “I don’t want Quentin’s baby pie”. I take my little notebook out of my apron and start writing ingredients down.

 “I don’t think we can put that on the menu board, Y/N”. 

“You could still leave Quentin, you know? If you can bake 27 different kinds of pies every day, you can do it.”

“You’re funny, Nat.  I don’t want a baby right now, but above all, I don’t want a fatherless baby. Girls, I can’t do this on my own. And please don’t tell Sam or Nick yet”. They both grab my arms and Wanda leans on my shoulder.

“Hey, we ain’t saying a word to anyone but we’ve talked about this. Quentin isn’t a good husband, you know that. You think he’ll be a good father?”

“You could come and live with me! It’s a studio but-” I cut Wanda off.

“Okay, girls, enough. Nat, I know he’s difficult sometimes but he’s going through a rough time, he’s in between jobs and I couldn’t do that to him. And Wands, you’re very sweet, but thank you. I’ll figure it out”.

-

chapter 2: what baking can do

-

I already have chapters 2-4 written, so expect them soon. Thoughts?

[lonelier-version-of-you]

Against all odds, despite really hating two of the big storylines in this episode (Carole’s dementia and Henrik’s CSA story)... I actually thought it was very good. Patrick Homes has done it again. (He’s one of my favourite Holby writers, if you haven’t noticed. He writes for Henrik brilliantly. And other characters, but especially for Henrik.)

So. Guy Henry, Ali Hadji-Heshmati and Jo Martin are all BRILLIANT. That goes without saying, but I’m saying it anyway because they all deserve the praise.

I said around the last time Abs appeared that I wanted him to come back in the future as a doctor or nurse. Alas, Holby got cancelled a few weeks later, so we’ll never get to see that. I’m really sad about that - Abs has so much potential as a character.

However, I had one other prediction that’s still likely to come true - Ali Hadji-Heshmati is totally gonna win an Oscar in 20 years or so. He just gives off “one of those actors who appears in Holby/Casualty (in this case Holby) as a guest star and then goes on to get famous and win awards” vibes. He was especially brilliant in the scene where Abs had his panic attack/flashback - that felt so real and was heartbreaking to watch :(

Unless I’ve missed something, they didn’t seem to explain what happened to Abs? It was hinted to be something deeper than just randomly falling down the stairs, but they didn’t elaborate on it. I guess we’ll find out next episode if there was anything more to it. My best guess for now is that maybe he tried to kill himself, idk.

Anyway, let’s move on to Henrik, who didn’t have a single line in tonight’s episode until the very end and yet all his scenes still conveyed so much. That’s Guy Henry for you. He is an absolutely incredible actor and I genuinely want him to win a BAFTA for this storyline next year.

That last scene with Max, goddd. It was just so good. Holby making Henrik and Max actually friends was a great choice because it’s giving us scenes like this (even if them suddenly being best mates out of nowhere has been weird). Guy Henry and Jo Martin just work perfectly together - they’re both very talented actors with an excellent screen presence.

Unfortunately, however, the subtitles on the iPlayer stream haven’t been working for me for some reason so I missed most of the dialogue in that last scene. I’ll have to watch it again to really pick up on what was going on. (Am I right in thinking Henrik said the model ship he was working on was Arthur’s old one? I saw a lot of tweets saying that but, again, I have terrible auditory processing so I didn’t hear it myself.)

The show remembering how close Henrik was to Arthur is lovely, anyway. I have a soft spot for the Henrik/Arthur friendship - where the Henrik/Dom friendship is a lovely example of queer found family (as I was talking about yesterday), the Henrik/Arthur one was autistic found family and it was so sweet and I miss it so much. Glad they’ve called back to it again.

Elsewhere, in the other storyline I really hate but is incredibly well acted, Carole has dementia. I HATE this writing choice, I really do. It just feels cruel to give Carole such an unhappy ending when she’s already suffered so much throughout her life.

And I’d really, really wanted Henrik and Carole to end up together. When they announced she was coming back I got really hopeful for it, but unfortunately for me, Holby had other plans. They probably won’t even bother remembering that Henrik is close to Carole at all. :(

Plus this is obviously all just happening for Dom’s manpain and I don’t like that. It’s not even interesting for his character either. It’s a horrible ending to give Carole and it’s even more unnecessary misery for Dom - why do it?!

Julia Deakin’s acting was FANTASTIC though, as was David Ames’.

Meanwhile, Josh and Ange are pretty much carrying the show right now. I’ll be really interested to see how Ange’s pregnancy plays out. And regardless of what happens, I want Jange to be endgame. (The scene where Kylie just blurted out the truth about Ange’s pregnancy to Josh was very funny, too.)

And I really liked the storyline where Dom helped the gay guy who was suffering abuse from his boyfriend. That was just perfectly done, and the way they tied it back to the Isaac story was another great example of Holby actually calling back to its history tonight.

[alliesweetsong]

✒ - Do you have a preference when it comes to gender regarding your muses?

Ooookay i purposely waited to sleep on this response because ironically, myself and my roleplay partner were literally just in voice discussing this last night! I won’t be mean and wait until the end of my long-winded explanation to give my true answer. My typical preference is that roleplay a lot more women OC’s than men. 

Now for the explanation: 

I haven’t been roleplaying that long, in fact, the first time I ever typed an emote was during the pre-patch to Legion in WoW. I know, shocking. When I first decided that roleplay was something I was interested in, I had a vast amount of misconceptions, for example, most roleplay consists of dancing naked on a table in Goldshire. Meme worthy as that was, I really didn’t realize that there was story-driven writing that happened on a daily occurrence no matter the game. One of my best friends away from the game is a long time roleplayer so I naturally went to him for tips advance etc, even went as far as to leave the raiding guild that I ran on Trollbane, and moved to Blackwater Raiders before ultimately ending up On Wyrmrest Accord. 

 The two biggest tips he gave me were

1.) Challenge yourself to write something you wouldn’t normally consider writing or doing

2.) Use a character that you’re familiar with to start. In my case my OG Main from Wrath, Lailyana. A Kaldorei hunter. 

He argued that using a character that you have spent so much time on would be the easiest way to get in character as by then you more than likely have considered headcanons, how they would interact with the events of the world etc. And he wasn’t wrong. The challenging part he left a bit vaguer, but for me that included writing a gender that I’m not. 

I dashed headlong into roleplay after that From WoW to SWTOR to ESO back to WoW and now finally I write on FFXIV as well as maintaining the current storyline in World of Warcraft. albeit most if not all of that is off-screen. 

I try to approach certain topics that I know nothing about with respect, for example, my void elf’s pregnancy, I wasn’t comfortable writing out a full 9 months worth of progression with that, though I do have a son IRL, I took what symptoms I remember my ex-wife having (I.e weird cravings at odd hours, restlessness, morning sickness) and sprinkled some of that into a few months worth of writing to give not only the passage of time but some things for Allie to overcome. 

The actual labor part I chose to skip, I don’t know what that feels like and I didn’t feel as though I could give that the proper respect it deserves so I decided instead to just tell a background story and when that was over the baby was born. 

Now, none of this is to say I can’t write male characters, I’m more than capable of doing so, but the challenge of stepping into someone else’s shoes entirely isn’t there. 

Thank you for the ask @littlestcreampuff I hope this offers some insight and I was able to answer this well enough <3 

Quick note: I also get alot of compliments on Allie Sweetsong about how bubbly and happy she is. This to me is significant because i typically write much much darker, or “evil.” characters. Allie is my first attempt at writing a ‘good guy’ style character without their own agenda plastered in. 

[bringmecoffeeandroses]

So, I did a stupid thing and re-watched 9x09.

And, while I think I’ve said my peace on the mistreatment/use of one Paul Jesus Rovia (actually, no, I haven’t, I never will because my sweet badass boy is dead and it was all a waste and tragedy and I die on this hill, okay?) I do think there were a few things I wanted to make note of. Go no farther if negativity or Adaptation spoilers/content bother you.

So, here goes my long-ass post:

I said this when I first saw the opening minutes, but I’m so glad AMC took the time to show us Paul’s dead face and blood gushing out of his chest. Definitely not a sign that they’re recapping the last episode for the people that didn’t tune in to 9x08.

Also, thank you for exploiting the hell out of the “shock” of Paul’s dead body but giving the brain stab so little time it was hard to figure out what the hell he was doing. It’s really important to leave that in though or I wouldn’t have thought anyone was smart enough to do it. ‘Cause these people haven’t been doing this for ten years and you’re assuming your audience is too dumb to realize anything happens off screen.

Why would they not have a permanent guard on Negan? Like I get it, he’s been locked for years but they weren’t even doing it back when Rick was alive and I gotta tell you, that’s fucking insane. Like, we’ve literally seen that Maggie wasn’t the only one who wanted justice, what would stop someone from Oceanside agreeing with Maggie and going off to murder Negan??? (It also might have been nice to see a real situation in which Negan escapes with an act more direct than Father Gabriel being a dumbass but whatevs. (No, I don’t care if the comics did this. In comics, Maggie came after Negan after he escaped and assuming that one of the Saviors wouldn’t take the opportunity to bust him out or someone from one of the three communities he terrorized wouldn’t come to kill him is a kind of interesting dynamic - protecting everyone from Negan but also protecting Negan from everyone else. Just...more interesting.)

Negan walking around with a shovel in a house where he might meet Judith or Michonne makes me itchy. Unless he’s planting sunflowers, that shovel can stay the fuck away from my Grimes girls.

Still think you should’ve just shot him, Jude.

Okay, Negan’s speech about how Alexandria is a wonderland is fairly easy to follow. But part of what Rick was trying to teach everyone was that you need other communities, the saviors could be saved, ect. It’s definitely not like the comics in that Negan learns the lesson about civilization being “protecting the weak among us” but my biggest problem is that it’s all kind of moot in that TV!Rick was wrong? Like, the communities have nothing to do with each other, particularly Alexandria? And the Saviors are dead or gone? This is the problem when you try to shove too much into a ton of character exits and time jumps AND you try to follow comic storylines without applying the message/main character arc from it. You might think I’m over-exaggerating but it’s half the reason Negan contrasts with the Whisperers and ends up killing Alpha. He’s showing loyalty to Rick, yeah, but he also identifies the reason he is different from the Whisperers. They give no mercy to weakness and that’s what makes them animals - that’s the lesson Rick Grimes was trying to teach Negan by saving him.  

(I’m just saying, Negan’s redemption arc is gonna be damn hard without Rick and Judith  - who has no connection with who Negan was and is still not developed - is not a character that can show that narrative.)

I know that Eugene talking in riddles is a quirk but can someone tell the writers that some quirks are not necessary in every damn scene and are obnoxious and mood-breaking? Just let Eugene be silent and terrified please?

I should also note that I see no head wound on Paul and I am completely and utterly okay with that.

So, I have serious issues with the “Jesus chose to be out there”/ “It was bound to happen” lines. Like yes but also no? Paul might have been reckless in the past by going out but that had little to no bearing on why he was out now? He was rescuing Eugene. You were out there for the same reason, Aaron. He didn’t die on a picnic in the woods. An enemy snuck up on him. Period. And the alternative was either you or Daryl or someone else from your group dies because they get surprised by them. Or you leave Eugene to fend for himself in the barn. Which I’m all for if it meant Jesus would be around but. you know. I’m all for a grieving person thinking this way - a lesson learned in fear - but that better be resolved, if only for Aaron’s sake. 

Ugh, I hate that no one’s crying over Paul but Tara putting her hand on Jesus makes me really fucking weepy. It’s almost like they could have developed this relationship to a point where it fucking mattered... -_-

10/10, Tammy is getting too much screentime and going to end up on a pike. Caling it now.

Can I ask what happened to the walkie-talkies? They were solar, right? There weren’t a limited number of them in the world, right? Why is this not still a thing? Did I miss something? That would make this Luke/Alden situation moot.

You know, if they wanted to give someone a romance with Rosita, I wouldn’t have complained if it was Tara. I never hardcore shipped it but it would’ve made more sense and this pregnancy thing wouldn’t be an issue. Or, if it was, I’d care more. lmao.

This writing is so stupidly on the nose. Gee, could Henry’s questions also be what’s going on inside Daryl’s head? ~~~The world may never know!!!!!!!~~~  

Weird side note: I love The Dream Team/Jaaryl and all but I feel like the show kind of dismisses the fact that Aaron is (presumably?) a single dad? Like, I love seeing him out there and I’m all for the end of cooping up my precious gays but whats happens to Gracie if he dies? She has no other parental figure.  He is the only person she has and I feel like “making it back to Gracie” is a fear no one considers, not even Aaron? Like, leaving an orphan in this world would be fucking awful, especially since her OG parents were already murdered. Just...this is why this cast of thousands doesn’t fucking work when you don’t explore the communities rather than just a couple characters.

Listen, I give Michonne her due but I firmly believe that Tara could run this place on her own. The show took all that time saying that Paul was a shitty leader that left all the time, the least you could do is point out that Tara has been handling it like a single leader this entire time. Tara handles her shit, man. TARA FOR HILLTOP 2019.

I choose to believe that Daryl going hard on Lydia is redirection of his grief and no one can stop me. Daryl Dixon repressing his feelings is pretty much a life motto for him and I both love him for it and want to hog tie him and drop him into therapy.

I’m deeply not into the Whisperers so far and am kind of glad to be out from TWD’s viewership (hopefully for good) but this reminds me of the odd hope I had watching Fear The Walking Dead. Once upon a blue moon, I’d hoped that FTWD was prequel-ing the Whisperers in TWD. Like, Madison and Alicia would end up being Alpha and “Lydia” and we’d get to really get a feel for the characters in TWD. Lame idea, I guess, but that’s what I wanted to happen. Not that FTWD has been a waste of a show that barely connects with TWD or anything. IDK, I just wanted to share that because this Whisperer storyline is going to be the worst and I honestly hope it all burns.

So, yeah, just a few notes for those who are bored enough to read them.  

[amandaj718]

What’s Up with Chas Dingle?

After last nights episode, I’ve been thinking long and hard about one character.

Chas Dingle.

Surprise. This isn’t about Robron, but they play a part in this little think piece of sorts.

Something is wrong with Chas. Seriously. Something is seriously wrong. She came back a different person. A different character than we have known her to be. At least to me. Sure, she has always been a bit brashy, bitchy and smart-mouthed but it was usually from a place of love or self-preservation.

Since her introduction back to the show, jumping Paddy like he is Gymboree and she is a toddler on a sugar binge, something has been off about her. WAY off.

What I Noticed About Chas

1)Attaching herself back to Paddy

I know Paddy and Chas have their fanbase and I don’t want to take this away from them.  To me, though, Chas jumping on Paddy and declaring them together felt out of place and weird. Paddy being Paddy went with it, and now they are so in love when they were struggling hard before Chas left. She even told Paddy there is no way they could be “Robert and Aaron” aka Love Crazy Insane Soulmates. She was pulling away hard and then she comes back and declares him her person? No. Something is wrong here. Paddy even questioned this just to be screwed enough for him to forget.

2)Telling others to give up (giving up herself)

I will never forget Chas telling Cain that, “There are thousands of Moira’s out there!” while he was trying to find ways to keep her in Emmerdale and with him.   That was very out of character for her.  Yes, in the past she told Cain to back off Moira or give her room but never give up on her. It was odd coming out of her mouth and felt passive aggressive.

This relates to Robert and Aaron. Sure, she is upset and will back Aaron. That is a no-brainer. However, like Liv, she was pushing Alex hard onto Aaron. Really hard. Going so hard she was asking if Aaron was in love two dates in (no Chas…he isn’t) and then calling herself Alex’s mother in law in the Valentines Day episode and it was just weird. Chas never acted like that before. Even stranger didn’t seem to give a damn that Robert was hurt at Christmas or that her son was distraught. She went to the hospital, but she went for Aaron and seemed to just bounce right back into the Christmas spirit. Not noticing her sons distress and pushing Alex hard at him. It was cold and didn’t seem to fit her personality before she left for Ireland.

She didn’t even want to fight for Paddy. She figured out something was going on between Paddy and Rhona. She calmly gave him a choice (one she said she would respect) and moved on. No spark. No fight. Nothing. Just, something she left up to someone else. She didn’t make her case for Paddy to be with her. There was no fight there. Like, if Paddy picked Rhona I feel like she wouldn’t have been so upset.

3)Breezing Through Life (Not fighting for something better)

She is just there. The only time I saw her have an emotion other than light, airy love was when Joe Tate played everyone. Otherwise, she is just there. Like on drugs or on a cloud. She is just there to pour drinks, moon over Paddy or talk to Cain about how much she loves Alex. Chas was feisty. She works behind the bar and listens to everyone’s problems and joys. I was expecting her to show up at Wishing Well to protest. I expected her to have a go at Robert. I expected her to be angrier about that loan Charity took out on the pub. Which, I am not sure if that was even resolved yet in the show. Debbie and her business were dropped like a hot potato when Tate came to town. Either way, Chas is just there. A stone figurine in her own life.

4)  Extreme Helicopter Mom Status

Chas has always been a terrible mother. She has been making up for that for a long time now. It was part of the Aaron and Chas relationship charm. Watching the two of them find a relationship after years of never being close. However, this year, she is showing up on Valentines Day to bug Aaron with champagne, springing lunches on him, and generally having an opinion on the tiniest details of Aarons life. It's getting odd and makes Aaron look…sad. A parent can influence their children’s choices.  It's not unheard of. However, Aaron seems afraid to upset her in any way and lets her run the show.  She has stronger opinions than ever about Aaron and his life, and he doesn’t challenge her on those opinions. It’s getting strange and needs an explanation quick.

Speculation

With that said, I feel like the speculation about her storyline could explain all the above. So, here is what I think could be causing all these weird changes. Mind you, none of this has been confirmed. Just speculation.  This is what I got:

1) The Irish Fling

The Irish fling left a more significant impression than we know. There is a rumor he is on his way to Emmerdale to shake things up. A guy with tattoos maybe? Chas ran like hell from Ireland and right into Paddy’s arms. Like in the past, she is running from something scary and going to something safe, like Paddy. It's not the first time she has done that. Something happened with that guy, and it will be a big part of Chas and her storyline going forward. This includes the pregnancy speculation going around about her. This can be attached to the Irish fling and Paddy.

2)She is sick

That is speculation going around that she is sick that is why she is so passive and trying to hold onto only the good things and not the bad. It explains why she wants Aaron to be settled so badly. She wants everyone in their places before she goes. She runs to Paddy because that is an old friend and love. Comforting. Her family is comforting. She is hanging a lot with Cain out of nowhere too. However, I doubt Chas could hide a sickness for long. Not this long at least.

3) She is in a holding pattern

It could mean nothing. She is just in a holding pattern till something bigger comes along. She is being used to push Alex until the show is ready for Robron. She could be a placeholder for Paddy while he figures out feelings about Rhona. She could be so quiet behind that bar because they don’t need her reaction to everything right now. She could be in a holding pattern and burst out of that the minute Robron get back together, or she is given some type of shakeup on her birthday.

Either way, Chas Dingle has been bugging me since she came back from Ireland. Something seems off. The Chas I know was feisty and ready to fight the world.  Now? She seems content to just fall into old patterns and not want something else. Something better. Something is off, and I hope we figure out what is going on with her very soon. I hear she has a birthday and something might kick off there. I pray something does before I write this character off to ‘Do Not Like’ territory.

What do you think? Do you believe Chas has been acting weird lately or do you think she is just her old regular self? Leave me a comment below. I am very interested in what others have to say about her and her direction on the show. Until next time, see you all around Emmerdale!

[koganphrancis]

Sheila’s Swan Song

Or: Ian Swap That Mic For Mickey And Then We’d Have Something Worth Watching

Sheila Callaghan has written her last episode for Shameless, and while it wasn’t as bad as I feared it could have been (I was really worried she was going to give us some Ian and Terror romance), it was probably the most boring episode in a very, very boring season.  

A quick recap of what some of the other characters were going through before I get to “Gay Jesus”...

Svetlana just seems really sad-I don’t like what they’re doing to her, and Isidora is playing Svet like a declawed lioness remembering her former power or something.  It hurts to watch.  And why should Svetlana get stuck with a gross old man-why doesn’t the show have whatever the standard for male beauty between 30-40 years old is these days walk into the Alibi and fall head over heels for her?  (and I guess maybe that could happen, the season’s not over yet, but it feels more like a John Wells fantasy being played out-hot Russian who knows every sex move in the book willingly riding off with rich old puke)

Also-I don’t watch The Ellen Show but there’s a scene with Kev that I’ve seen as a skit on The Ellen Show-it wasn’t funny, and I hope life imitates art and The Ellen Show sues Wells and he loses the show like it appears Fiona will lose the apartment building.

Fiona and Ford finally have sex after he creepily tells her he’s “asked around” about her (but the shit he found out is only stuff the people closest to her would know-would they really tell him all about her past?  Of course not, but this is Shameless and we’re supposed to forget about loyalty and “South Side rules”).  They still have no chemistry-he’s her Faileb and I want him to take his pretentious attitude and go fuck himself.  

Fiona has what was probably to Sheila a soul-baring moment: she tells Ford she might not want to have kids.  First of all, is this really something you bring up as pillow talk the first time you bang a guy?  And second, Fiona doesn’t take care of the three kids she’s still legally responsible for (and she totally dropped the ball when 17 year old Ian went missing)-are we supposed to think she’d be more interested in kids if she pushed them out of her uterus?  And where was her dog this week?  Who is taking care of him while she’s not staying at home and banging Ford in that house he’s renovating?  

Nessa is still in competition with Ian for “Least Likely To Be Found At Their Job”, plus Sheils throws in the plot point that Nessa had a miscarriage...it was a very odd thing to put into the show-it was weird when Nessa and Mel told Fi they were both pregnant with Ford’s kids to begin with, but why even write that in only to have Nessa’s pregnancy end so quickly?  They are shortchanging so many storylines this season, wtf waste time on a very minor character going through something that should be very traumatic when all you have her do is shrug it off and say she hasn’t even told her partner about it?  

Moving on-Lip goes through something major-maybe.  Youens dies in prison and then Lip gets angry, but we don’t know WHY he is angry.  We can guess all we want, but the show’s not telling us.  There’s a huge gap between “open for interpretation” and “what the fuck is going on?” and Shameless is always falling on the wrong side of that equation now.  Is Lip angry because he finds out Youens had special connections with other students?  (If so, he’s an ass and needs to get over his special snowflake self.)  Is he angry because of all the wasted potential?  That Youens was a great educator and his disease robbed him of his ability to motivate and advance others?  Is he angry because of his own wasted potential?  Is he angry because he’s afraid he’ll wind up just like Youens-and Frank?  Why wouldn’t the show clue us in?  I felt a disconnect during all Lip’s scenes because it’s all too easy for me to believe he’s only upset on his own account, not the professor’s.  Lip has been established as a self-centered character for years, so that’s how I’m still perceiving him since the show isn’t giving me any reasons not to.  When Lip walked into the bike shop my first thought was, “He’s going to trash the place.”  Then I took a second to think maybe that wasn’t fair, maybe the show was going to clue us in that Lip HAS grown-at least he wasn’t drinking-and maybe I was too quick to assume he was going to get violent like when he smashed up all those cars a few seasons back. But, nope, Shameless once again goes to the old recycling bin and has Lip lash out and engage in some pointless destruction.  If the show wants me to think he’s progressing and growing and learning, they should’ve had him go to an AA meeting.  

One last note about Lip’s storyline this week: Youens’ daughter was played by Fiona Dourif who is kick ass on Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and I wish she was a recurring guest star over oh so many people Shameless does have on week after week.  

Now a brief word on Carl (although his wedding is stupid and not worth my thinking about)-Kasammi continues to be too much.  She’s just exhausting and if Carl can’t see that he truly won’t be able to put up with her for the next few years-let alone a lifetime-then he really is stupid.  She wasn’t AS bad for most of this week, but I can’t let myself be amused by her or get into her at all because of how I know Shameless treats characters that get involved with Gallaghers.  I’m not even going to try to let her into my hard heart, because she’ll either be gone or disrespected or both before too long, I’m sure.  

And Carl?  Since Frank was the only one telling you to marry her, isn’t that enough of a reason not to?  Sheesh.

Deb’s storyline was so contrived I can’t be bothered.

Frank is back to being totally irrelevant, and poor Liam is back to hardly having any lines.

And now frigging Ian.  His story is so out of control I don’t know where to start.  I guess by saying what everyone’s been saying-they didn’t even show his whole scene at the Gay Jesus church, despite the title of the episode.  When he and Fiona were walking into the church and I saw how little time was left in the episode, I wondered if he wound up taking off his shirt (and red shoes) because he was nervous to be in front of so many people and Fiona said something to him like, “What’s the big deal?  You had hundreds of eyes on you when you danced at that club.”  (Not that she ever went to see what was going on there, but whatever.)  Then Ian would say they weren’t looking at him, they were looking at his body or something, and they’d decide he should take his shirt off, LOL.  But, nope, it never happened, however he got to that point.  I guess they need something to sell the DVDs of this shit season, and they’re counting on that deleted scene to do it.  

Remember a few seasons ago when Frank went around talking to groups and that one private school about being gay, and about groups oppressing gays?  Why are we watching Ian do something similar, yet worse?  

At the beginning of the episode, Ian is in a corner of the Gallagher living room where he’s set up an Axis/Allies-style map full of pushpins stuck in locations of “gay hating” churches.  No one in the family seems to find that odd or worrisome.  

Next he’s going to work for the first time in forever.  Outside he meets up with a group of people who have been waiting for him (I guess they didn’t know they could just walk inside to where the ambulance is parked like Fiona and Terror always do).  In my opinion, the scene-and a later one where Ian interacts with his “fans”-was really poorly done.  I have a feeling Sheila thought she was slyly social commentating on the way fans act around their idols when they meet them on the street (remember the scene she wrote where Fiona and Snore snarkily read Yelp comments?), but all these scenes did in this episode was take me out of the story and think, “That’s how Cam would interact with fans, not Ian.”  Instead of being overwhelmed or leery-or assuming they’re there for some other reason, he walks up to them and says, “What’s up, guys?”  Ian is not fazed at all by this fairly large group of complete strangers waiting around to talk to him, and I’m sorry, but why wouldn’t a regular person be at least a little freaked out?  How do they know exactly where he works, for one thing?  Or that he’s even an EMT-he wasn’t wearing his uniform in the viral video.  Later he signs T shirts for “fans” while he’s carrying on a conversation with the minister guy, and again it was played like he’s a seasoned celebrity, not a regular guy just out to help some kids.

There’s a weird exchange where one guy wants him to film a message for his boyfriend and a minister pushes a girl who’s been through two attempts at gay conversion at him, and then someone asks him if he’s a healer and Ian says, “I’m a paramedic.”  Oh, honey, you’re not!  You’re an EMT!  Paramedics need more education and training than you’ve had-unless the show wants us to believe you’ve found even more time to do that while holding down a full time job, getting plenty of sleep to keep the bipolar under control, and chasing Terror to ground since you got back from Mexico (remember-he specifically told Mickey he was an EMT under the bleachers). 

Ian goes inside and sees Sue, and she asks what the people want from Ian, and he says, “I guess they just want to be seen by someone who sees them back.”  Oh, please.  I don’t know what exactly the show is driving at, but Ian can’t see them back as individuals, there’s already too many of them, and geez if they could only know how he looked the love of his life right in the eye and said, “This isn’t me anymore,” and didn’t keep “seeing” him for the precious treasure he is, just turned his back and walked away!

Anyway, Sue makes it weird (but not to Ian, he doesn’t take it weird at all), saying, “Looks to me they want to douse you in syrup and slurp you up with a spoon.”  Ian makes a creepy face and says, “I could be down for that.”  WHY did the show turn it into something sexual?  The “fans” on the sidewalk weren’t acting like that.  Although the show does have one thing right-if all this was happening with a character who wasn’t young and hot like Ian, most people wouldn’t be listening to what he supposedly has to say, especially the faction of real life fans in the #Shameless tag on Twitter Sunday night who were saying how amazing Ian is and what a great “message” he’s spreading-it’s really not, kids.  Shut off your tv and your twitter and go talk to real life people, I beg of you!  But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Next Ian’s hosting a big meeting in the Gallagher living room.  He’s saying stuff like, “We all have a holy spirit.  We’re all holy.  We’re all divine.”  Where is this coming from, exactly?  In the Den Of Geeks recap of this week’s episode, the reviewer wrote this: “Ian is offering a very powerful and necessary message: if you are Christian and gay, you shouldn’t live in shame or fear.”

I’m completely serious when I ask since when is Ian a Christian?  That has not been established on the show at all.  I know very little about organized religion, but I do know that Christians are different from Catholics, which is the closest the Gallaghers have ever been associated with religion in canon.  In the first season when they’re plotting to blackmail a priest into fake marrying Kev and Vee, both Lip and Ian talk as though they used to go to church but left when the priest made sexual advances.  But now suddenly Ian is “Christian” (implying he’s been baptized somewhere other than the Catholic church) and is talking about holy matters and reading from the Bible.  He literally says at the end of the living room scene, “I want to read from Romans...”  I’m not saying a religious conversion couldn’t happen, but I am asking why and how it happened, Shameless.  

Moving on, we have our first Terror sighting of the week.  Fiona goes to the youth shelter to ask him about finding a shelter for a family, and he answers her “Hey” with, “Where’s Ian?  Fiona says, “I don’t know” (and I would kill for her to add, “is Mickey back in town?”), and he spits out, “Fuck!  He was supposed to be here like an hour ago to help set up.  Doing this thing about careers in emergency services for our life skills program-a shit ton of people signed up cuz of him but...whatever.”  I cannot convey how whiny and bitchy he was in this scene.  First of all, Ian’s job could’ve easily been what was holding him up.  Or, what if he was having a depressive episode and couldn’t face either Terror or doing the program?  And, did he even agree to being a part of it, or was this all Terror’s idea to throw the emergency services element in there and he just told Ian to show up and help?  It didn’t sound like Terror had even tried to text or call Ian to find out why he wasn’t there, and I’m willing to chalk that up to Sheila’s lazy writing, but it’s just tedious on shows when people get pissy about things that could be cleared up with the simple act of using their phone.  UGH.  

Once Terror finds out what Fi is actually there for, he brings her to the office where he banged her brother to find a pamphlet.  He asks Fiona, “What’s your take on this whole Ian ambushing all these ministers?”  And for ONE SECOND I think they’re finally going to compare notes and say maybe there’s more going on despite Ian’s claims that he’s on his meds, but, nope.  Fiona only says, “Not really sure what to make of it.”  Well, she obviously cares deeply, doesn’t she?  And then Terror doesn’t let me down, makes it all about HIM, and says, “Part of me is psyched...that he’s helping people, but another part is, I don’t know (fucking pissed as hell that you’re not the only thing he pays attention to anymore?), kind of bummed that I have to crowbar my way into his life if I want to see him.”  Oh boo hoo.  You don’t DESERVE to be in his life!  All you do is take and take and take from him!

BTW, the Transgender Day poster that played such a big role in their “first time” is now hanging on his latest office door.  Eye roll.

There’s a scene where Frank and Liam are making the Gay Jesus hot dog T shirts and Ian demands that the proceeds go to “Trevor’s kids”-and he had also told the people outside the EMT station they need money.  But why?  Why doesn’t he just pimp himself out for tens of thousands of dollars at a time like with the old couple?  Surely that’s a faster way to get money for the kids?  

Next Ian’s at the Mickey Wedding Hall Youth Shelter, and he hangs a notice up on the bulletin board.  It’s unintentionally hilarious-it says “A Night Of Good Grief Featuring IAN GALLAGHER” and his name really is in all caps, and it looks like a poster for some no name band featuring some almost famous singer.  Ooh, it also says this exciting event is taking place August 15, 2018, so that’s where we are in the timeline, at least for this week.  

Terror completely ignores what Ian’s doing, but once he’s put that notice on the board, Ian begins talking to Terror.   Ian: Hey, sorry about last night.  Something came up last minute.  I’m trying to juggle everything but it’s snowballing and I had like forty people show up to this meeting yesterday... Terror: Yeah!  (said in a very bitchy tone) And I had fifty kids show up to a career symposium about how to be a paramedic, but I guess since yours is about god you win, right?  He stomps off, Ian chases after him. Ian: I’m helping people in need, same as you.  Are you saying it’s only cool when it’s your idea?  

WELL LOOK WHO FINALLY BOUGHT A VOWEL!!!!  Yes, Ian, he IS saying it’s only cool when it’s his idea, he’s been saying that right along to you about EVERYTHING, whether it’s been about you having sex, or getting over your mom, or helping the kids!  

Terror looks shocked his finally being called out on his shit and says: “I don’t ask a lot of you.  (LYING BITCH!!!  You’ve got Ian constantly jumping through hoops for you!)  This was one thing that was important to me.  (He acts like ANYTHING to do with him is important!)  You know maybe what you’re doing is worth pissing off the people who care about you-that’s fine-but don’t insult me by acting like it’s not happening.”  

Make everything about you much?  Holy crap that “argument” was hilarious!  Between my relief that Sheila didn’t have them bang AND Terror’s pissy self-centered attitude I was literally laughing out loud at that scene.  And I loved the call back to Terror’s earlier “that’s fine” when he told Ian he could lie to himself about not wanting to have sex with him last season.  GET OVER YOUR UGLY SELF, TERROR!

Oh, it felt good to laugh again, but now I’ll have to wrap this up.  The final stuff with Ian was just bizarre and so off feeling, but as always, is it because something’s truly wrong with Ian or is it just horrendous writing?  There’s a scene where he and Fiona are talking and getting along like nothing ever happened-how is SHE not curious about “larger concerns”, but I digress.  Ian’s got his Bible on his lap the whole time, they each smoke (first time Ian’s done that this season, I believe-oh, and Sheils didn’t leave us before having Ian drinking a beer again-wish that was a cue he’s not on his meds, but we know with this shitty show he can drink all he wants), and Ian asks Fi for a ride to church.

They get there, the place is packed, and he nervously gets up on stage and the spirit (of bad writing) overtakes him.  He slips into a new version of the weird accent and says, “When they say don’t use fake words like nonbinary, gender fluid, cis whatever, it’s like, ‘those are my terms, bitch’!”  The crowd goes wild.  But, aren’t those just labels?  And aren’t labels what the wrong side of this issue uses?  Like all the slurs they have for gay and trans people, and labels like sinner, fornicator, and abomination?  I don’t understand why Ian or the show thinks people on the other side are going to change or be swayed by labels.  

Ian continues, looking more and more glassy-eyed as he goes on, “Which means we have to be so big, so noisy, that there’s nowhere else to look!  And we do it in god’s name because God hates haters!”  

Oh man, so FAKE DEEP!  I thought Ian’s message is all about love, and god is love, and god loves love?  Plus, if god hates haters, why did he make them then?  This whole topic is way too big for a show like Shameless to handle (at this point the writers can’t handle making a grocery list) and it’s just tiresome how they keep saying stuff that circles back and contradicts things they’ve said in earlier episodes.  

And none of this is revolutionary-organized religion isn’t known for it’s openmindedness and inclusiveness.  So many religions treat women, children, minorities, people who belong to OTHER organized religions, and anyone they consider unworthy like shit.  I don’t understand why the show is wasting so much time-and throwing away Ian’s character-on something that’s not only not going to change, but that the conversation and debate has already been raging on for decades.  

Because they’ve really painted Ian into a corner now-where are they going to go with his character from here?  Is the religious fervor going to leave him and he just returns to the life he had to rush back to from the Mexican border?  Knowing this show, that’s entirely possible-they’ll just act like none of this had an impact when they come back next season, just like Ian giving up at the finish line with the love of his life didn’t affect him this season.  Or will they have him have a TV ministry and get more famous, rich, and corrupted for next year’s story arc?  Again, it’s such a shitty idea they just might.  

I would like to see this all end thusly-a scene opens on Ian, in bed, thrashing and moaning in his sleep.  A close up of a hand firmly but gently grasping his shoulder, the letters F-U-C-K visible on the back of the fingers, shakes him awake. Mickey: You alright, Ian? Ian: Mickey?  You...you’re not in Mexico? M: Mexico?  Why the fuck would I have been in Mexico? I: For trying to kill my sister? M: Your...Sammi?  Bitch shot at me, remember? I: I must’ve been dreaming.  (Yawns)  I dreamt I was Gay Jesus. M: Jesus, huh?  Pretty sure Judas had the red hair.  (Affectionately rubs Ian’s hair) I: So, you never went to jail...?  Am I a paramedic? M: A para...Ian, did you hit your head or something?   I: I don’t think so... M: You’re not a paramedic.  You’re about to start your senior year at the University of Chicago, you’re studying to be an occupational therapist, and you live with me and Svetlana and Mandy and (door opens, interrupting him)...this little ankle biter right here. (One of the Henckel twins runs towards the bed)  Hold up, Yev, Ian might have a fever or something.  Go ask Mommy to make him some tea. Y: Okay!  (Tiptoes out to find Svetlana) I: I don’t think I have a fever...but maybe I should see Dr. Warner today, check out if my meds need adjusting.  Will you come with? M: Of course I will.  

  (photo source: camonaghantrash)

[shoutdontwhisper]

In the past 6 months i’ve gone from thinking there is no way Robert is the father of Rebecca’s baby, to resigned to the fact he is but hating it and now i’m back at the baby isn’t Rob’s + the ONS never happened.

I’ve done the one thing i was trying so hard not to do and that is get my hopes up of an ending to this storyline that i’d love/accept. I can’t ignore what my gut told me back in April and what it is telling me now.

I’m not trying to convince anyone or get anyone’s hopes up so they can be dashed later.  I just wanted to articulate the main reasons i’m on board team Theory™ (copyright Theory queen @itwasjustmisplaced).  Something may happen next week or in 3 weeks that makes me change my mind again but for now these are the signs i’ve seen.

This became a bit of an essay so read after the break.

The weirdness of the ONS and the morning after

Lets start with the simple fact that Robert was drunk the night of the one night stand.  I don’t think it matters if Ryan didn’t act ‘drunk enough’  for you in this scene. You can compare it to others where he was stumbling or slurring his words but that’s not the point. Rebecca herself says multiple times that night that he has had too much to drink. When he admitted the ons to Chas he said “I got really, really drunk. And …i slept with Rebecca”. When Aaron asks him what he was thinking that night, he said “I wasn’t, I was drunk”. The writers have established multiple times he was drunk that night. I don’t think we are suppose to argue this.

What else do we know about that night? Not much was shown. There was no morning after scene and we learn later on that Robert had passed out, Rebeca left and he woke up alone.

The next morning Rebecca leaves this voice message

“Hey its me. Hope your head is ok this morning, you’d had a few. Things got a bit intense last night. I hope your not um…i just hope you’re alright this morning. Breaking up with Aaron can’t be easy. I’m here if you need me, anyway i’ll call again later.”

OK, this message will probably haunt many people. Honestly it seemed a lot weirder to me BEFORE we learnt that she left that night (but why would she leave him passed out?). Again, she points out he was drunk but the rest is so vague. The consistent and only interpretation of the ONS we have ever gotten from Rebecca was that she was a victim and Robert used her.

For the most part she’s showed no hesitation in saying her and Robert slept together - you could easily argue that the odd looks and pauses or the “i can’t…it’s yours” are all signs she’s lying and whilst they do contribute to the weirdness of the whole storyline i don’t want to focus on that too much.

Robert himself seemed to show no hesitation in saying they slept together when he admitted it to Chas. He even described the sex as “empty”  to Aaron which suggests he remembers something/it.  So why would he admit to it if it never happened?

Thinking you’ve had sex when you haven’t

Since the ONS the show has shown 3 instances of characters thinking they had sex with someone when they didn’t. In June Marlon thought he slept with Lydia, he even confesses to Laurel before Lydia corrects him. In August Faith also wasn’t sure what happened when she spent the night with Rodney. He had to tell her they only kissed and literally says “i didn’t take advantage of you”. Marlon and Faith was mostly played for laughs & there was nothing onscreen except the morning after when we saw them trying to sneak out.

This brings us to what Robert did to Lawrence. When I first watched this episode I was so angry but after re-watching i’m convinced it was foreshadowing or highlighting what happened that night in March. This was a turning point for me…A drugged Lawrence is confused but easily convinced that he and Robert had sex. Robert immediately plays the victim and tells Lawrence he took advantage of him “I was barely awake. You knew I was upset about Aaron. You should never had let me go along with it”. Once the confusion fades Lawrence apologises multiple times to Robert for what he “did”. 

Sound familiar?  

3 similar instances in 6 months feels like more than a coincidence to me. I can’t remember any in 2016 (please tell me if i’m wrong).

Rebecca’s missing pregnancy POV

Rebecca’s pov throughout the pregnancy has been almost non-existent. Before the ons reveal she did have a little but it’s a joke compared to other characters. I wrote about this more here.

It is actually ridiculous that we have not been shown one scene of Rebecca with a medical professional throughout this storyline. Either at her abortion appointment, during her miscarriage scare or at any of her scans.

Not only has Rebecca’s pov been missing but the details around the dates of the pregnancy are also vague. I wrote about this here.  

After the ons reveal her pov regarding the baby has gone from minimal to non-existent. The pregnancy has been told from the pov of Robert, Aaron and Victoria.

Everyone is taking her word for it that Robert is the father. THERE HAS BEEN NO DNA TEST. Again please, can someone tell me of another time on a soap when a character slept with 2 men and one was claimed to be the father without any dna test or twist?  

Rebecca’s naivety around Robert’s scheming

If you think Rebecca was a horribly written character before then it *seems* to have gotten worse since Robert started scheming the Whites.

After everything Robert did she was so quick to trust him and believe he wanted to be there for her and the baby. I struggle to believe Emmerdale would write her character like this unless for a reason. Her role has been reduced to nothing more than talking about the baby and worrying about her dad. She never gets any focus in a scene, no closeups etc. And the longer Emmerdale continue to write her as naive and insignificant the more suspicious i become. 

Just like I was suspicious when Moira was offscreen for long periods of time after sleeping with both Cain and Pete. It reminds me of a thriller/horror film. Always look out for the inconspicuous character.

Also, since the scheming what little dialogue Rebecca does have feels like she’s testing Robert. She always wanted the family he promised her years ago and she doesn’t want to push him too far too soon but she is testing his intentions and needing constant reassurance from him and he keeps giving it to her as part of his scheming. Some recent examples:

After Liv confronts them

Rebecca: Because i can do this on my own. If you think you can sort things out with Aaron then do it. I won’t stop you from seeing the baby.         Robert: No it’s a non starter with Aaron. Besides you and the baby are my priority right now.

Booking birth class

Rebecca: Well you want to come don’t you? You’ve been so supportive recently and i know it’s not very you but i don’t really wanna go on my own Robert: Try keeping me away. You know you’re not on your own for any of this

After birth class

Rebecca: Even though everyone thinks you’re my boyfriend are we cool?Robert: Ah yeah, yeah it’s no big deal

If she is lying then her lies are now paying off. This is a woman who thinks she is getting everything she’s always wanted- raising a baby with the love of her life.  

Ok so those are the main reasons/signs. But here are some more details:

Rebecca to Liv “The thing about secrets is, you have to be comfortable keeping them.”

Aaron’s extreme reaction to the baby meant the show has no intention of a Robron/Rebecca co-parenting situation

Rebecca claimed she wanted to raise the baby on her own, but was quick to drag Robert into it

It would literally be the most boring pregnancy and baby sl on Emmerdale if there was no twist

The Whites are the characters leaving and yet they are currently writing them as victims to big bad Robert (who is staying). Why? Maybe because ultimately we will learn the things they have done to him are far worse than what he has done i.e. destroying his marriage, lying about becoming a father

Rebecca has tried to split Robron up multiple times. Before the ons and after. “Can you handle this Aaron…Leave him…this is what he does to people” 

“Oh, he’s not the…”

[valeriemperez]

Thoughts on tonight's Flash episode?

It was my least favorite of the season so far, but it was still enjoyable to me. I really loved Cisco and Cynthia (!!!), and I thought Breacher was a lot of fun. The only part of that storyline that got a little meh to me was when he started trying to fight Ralph, but at least it gave Cisco the chance to be a hero. Anyway, the opening scene + Jitters + the goodbye scene made the story for me.

Ralph is… I really liked Hartley’s performance, but the fat jokes and body humor were a bit much for me. I thought it was an odd choice to make him someone who would plant evidence, but I liked that it caused Barry some self-reflection about the metahuman prison and whatnot. I also liked their tension and how they remained prickly even at the end of the ep, but I’m annoyed that they want to do for Ralph what they didn’t really want to do for Wally.

I am so happy Iris got to do some investigating and was very naturally presented as a leader in several scenes, I just missed her presence since she was such a big part of the last three episodes. I also would like to see some more WA quality alone time, but we have the rest of the show for it, so I’m not pressed.

Didn’t really like that Joe had no scenes processing the info from Cecile until he bought those cigars, and that scene was silent. So he seemed shocked and almost unhappy about the news, but then surprise he’s super happy. And like I mentioned before, I was not a fan of the body humor this week. A little goes a long way for me when it comes to that, and anything with a fatsuit pisses me off. But yay that Barry knows about Devoe!

So how the heck did the ep for next week get out?

No idea, but it looks like the girl gifing the episode got in trouble because she deactivated.

@eboniangelvibez said:

I’ve read on several blogs, people upset about sexy times (or the lack thereof) between WA. While I’m not exactly sure why there hasn’t been more (tv rating, lack of thought on the part of the writers, it’s a family show, etc.) I don’t think it’s really needed. B+I have a healthy RL based on genuine love+friendship. The couples therapy allowed Iris to vent to Barry without being OTT. Admittedly, if it works out that WA get busy after the girls save the city in 4x05 I won’t be mad! Your thoughts?

At this point, I wish we would get sexytimes so that other people would be happy and not upset about it. But I personally am not missing them, and if I ever want one I read fanfic. I definitely wouldn’t be mad if we got one, haha, but I think something like 3.04, 3.10 or tonight’s Cisco/Cynthia scene is totally possible for either 4.05 or 4.09.

I’ll be the first to admit that if they aligned The Flash to be more like the comics, losing the STAR Labs team in the process, I’d be less likely to watch. I think they’d lose a huge chunk of their audience. Having said that, the writers and producers could have done a much better job utilizing KF a lot better, rather than just sending him away. Like hello why not show him being a hero at school or something? Idk its all extremely weird

Yeah, even outside of STAR Labs, the treatment of Wally since his arrival has been subpar. 

I have to be honest with the way the writers & EPs are treating Wally it makes me a bit nervous for the future of Iris & WA, I mean yes they seem to like both now, but what’s to say that they won’t summarily change their minds down the road. I can’t help but think about Laurel from Arrow & how they treated that character. I think I have lost all trust in these writers & EP’s.

You can say that about anything, though. Writers can change their minds at any given moment and write something else, unfortunately. But Wally has never been treated right and neither was Laurel, whereas WA have been handled very carefully. So I don’t think it would be the same situation.

Has Danielle Nicolet been on set since 3.05? Yeah most of this pregnancy will take place off screen. I still don’t understand the purpose of this unless they want to give th the Tornado Twins only difference is they’ll be regular kids w no powers 😕

I thought she might have filmed for the crossover because she flew to Vancouver around that time, but there were no pics of her filming or on set, so there’s no telling. And yes, the poor woman didn’t even get to be there when Joe announced her pregnancy lmao. No, she will not birth the Tornado Twins. AJK said they were doing it because they thought it was the funniest thing that could happen to Joe.

@ “small quibble” anon:

I totally hear your concern, and would like to say that we are definitely joking because I doubt the show will ever go there. But we will address it on our next podcast! Thanks for the feedback, btw.

You don’t think Fe takes over SL in the GNO episode, do you? There she is in front of the computer as usual in the promo pics. I hope she asked the boss lady, Iris, for permission first. Lol

I hope she doesn’t! I think they’ll still have Iris be the one organizing and leading, even if Felicity has to hack something.

[aviewfromtheclouds25]

Haha I admire your comittment to the theory, I stuck with it for a long time but I've been really down the last few days. I've been here from the beginning and I've never before been this worried that Robron would get over something, I mean I'm sure they will but will it be in a way that still makes me see them as the Robron I know and love. I'm praying for any theory right now tbh haha. -Puts in gif of Castiel praying for ages-.

Hi, anon. Haha thanks! I will happily admit I may just be in complete denial, but there is still logic there so until the time it becomes completely illogical, I’ll keep clinging on. I’m sorry to hear this storyline’s making you feel down, though. I know a lot of people are feeling this way, and I have to admit I was feeling pretty down after Tuesday’s episode myself. Although I haven’t been on tumblr that long, I’ve been with Robron from the beginning too (lifelong ED viewer and Robron are my favourite characters individually) and, as you say, it’s not the worry of whether Robron will make it through - because we know they will - but how. And how it will feel to us, because it has come to mean so much to all of us. I feel like my own positivity has been revived after tonight’s episode, though, so I hope at some point the same can happen for you.

The main reason I’m clinging onto hope of The Theory (or some variation of) is because I refuse to believe ED has suddenly become this uncharacteristically predictable, clichéd and messy. As I say, I’ve watched ED for a long time and this just doesn’t feel like them. There’s a lot of holes in the plot, as so many people have pointed out, but more than that it just feels like it’s lacking the depth and substance that we’re used to. It’s almost like the whole storylining and writing team couldn’t agree on the direction of the plot so they went on strike, and were hastily replaced with people who are now having to get to grips with that and the characters. Because that’s how inconsistent it feels right now, as much as it pains me to admit that. It doesn’t make any sense, and that’s why I just can’t accept it. Not yet, anyway. But I completely acknowledge that it may just be my long-term loyalty to, and love for ED in general that means I have too much faith in them, maybe. (I hope not, because I find that prospect more disappointing than the actual storyline, really.) But that still doesn’t change the fact that there is something missing, and just really random things - clues, even - that must surely be connected..?

There’s the silence. The silence is odd.If the storyline was really going the way the narrative is leading us to believe, and the fandom was falling into disrepair with many choosing to stop watching the show altogether, surely there would be some message to placate the fans? They were more than happy to put a placating tweet out when the fandom was stressing over the spoilers, so why not now the storyline has actually become fact? Unless it isn’t fact… Unless there is something more… Unless there is a twist… And the fact that we haven’t had any quotes from Emily or Ryan, or even Danny, is extremely odd. All right, maybe there will be quotes from Danny and Ryan with the reveal - but that would imply the reveal is the big part of this storyline, not the pregnancy. I honestly think it is this silence which is making us all find this situation so perturbing. We’ve grown used to ED interacting with the fandom. And maybe it had become too intense and the lines had become somewhat blurred, but to go from continuous - almost non-stop - interaction with the fans to nothing? That’s a major factor in why we’re all finding this storyline so unsettling. And I can’t really understand the two extremes - unless something big is underway?

The pacing is just ridiculous - are we honestly supposed to expect a storyline this fast-paced to go on for months? I can’t see it, myself. Then there’s the actual narrative itself. We could discuss The Theory and what even may or may not have happened on the night of The Incident until we’re blue in the face. The fact is, things still don’t add up there. And probably won’t until the final pieces of the puzzle slot into place - if they do. But even beyond that, there’s holes. Rebecca’s adamant it’s Robert’s, fine. I’m not even going to bother discussing that. But we’re slowly getting to see more of what’s going on in her head, but vitally, we have never once been shown any of the action from her perspective. There’s a complete difference between seeing her emotions and seeing her point of view, and I’m wondering if this is intentional? We’ve found out about what she’s been through in the past; it’s now abundantly clear that there’s more than one reason she can’t just let go of Robert. Crucially, aside from Rebecca’s scenes with Ross and Vic, we’re seeing the whole of this storyline from Robert’s point of view. And that gives me hope - that potentially this is leading to the breakdown that so many of us want to see because it’s what he needs for his emotional development as a character. And that fills me with even more hope about what I believe is the whole point of this storyline. Because the one thing that has been indisputably clear throughout this storyline while the rest of the plot has become hazy, is the reaffirmation of Aaron and Robert’s overwhelming dependency on each other. Their entire happiness and wellbeing depends solely on each other. We’ve seen it in so many ways, even the counselling session where Aaron couldn’t stop looking at Robert. He needed him, he takes his strength from him, and the suggestion of doing something he enjoys or which makes him happy simply made him think of Robert. Because his happiness is entirely dependent on that man. And while I know many are unhappy with the inconsistent writing of Robert and feel like his wondrous character development is in jeopardy, I have to disagree with some of the thoughts on this. Yes, I have some concerns at times because I love this Robert, I love Aaron’s Robert. But to me, what we’re seeing with his behaviour now is his dependency on Aaron. The idea that Robert might lose Aaron? The one person he’s ever needed himself? The one person who enables him to be himself and like himself? It’s unthinkable to him, and he’ll do “whatever it takes” to stop that from happening. Because nothing has ever mattered more to him than Aaron. And he does keep trying to change, to be better, because he wants to be the man that Aaron makes him feel capable of being, truly the best version of himself. And fundamentally, I believe this is the point. We’ve seen the boys can’t cope without each other, at all. We’ve seen that they’re both literally only half a man without the other. I believe the point of this whole thing is to break them down and establish who they are on their own so they can then work out who they are together. They’re both incredibly complex, multi-faceted, three-dimensional characters, but I believe the difference is the audience (general, of course) is able to understand Aaron better. They’re able to sympathise and empathise with him. With Robert, it’s not that easy. Aside from his own idiosyncrasies of bottling up his emotions and never allowing his true intent beneath all the layers to match what we see on the surface, Robert’s characterisation has been inconsistent since his return in 2014. He was, essentially, brought back in as a two-dimensional villain. The show has gradually - and authentically, I feel - fleshed him out as a three-dimensional character. However, a certain level of inconsistency remains in that we’ve primarily only ever been allowed to see one side of Robert at a time. So I genuinely believe - whatever direction this goes in - the aim is to break Robert (and probably Aaron) down and rebuild him, showing us that all of his complexities co-exist, just like Aaron’s. To make them equal as individuals, characters and within their relationship. And then to rebuild that relationship on stronger (and healthier) foundations than those built during an affair, marking the beginning of a whole new era of Robron 2.0.

I don’t know how the Rebecca thing will go, whether there will be a baby or not. We can argue a case either way - because there are still options (yes, multiple) for twists. Like I said, we haven’t seen anything from her perspective. We didn’t see her take the test - could she have faked it? We didn’t see her inside the clinic, but we saw her outside so why not show us that scene?? Unless there’s something else going on… The month comment was weird, I don’t know how it works but having seen this situation portrayed in ED before I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the case with Kerry or any other female character… Maybe she isn’t pregnant. Maybe she’s further along than she thought. Ross made a comment to Pete “You’ve never been good with maths” while looking at Rebecca’s name on his phone - maybe this was a sign? And then there’s the Adam theory if anyone’s still into that… Out of the three young couples, the only person who wasn’t there for the reveal, who doesn’t know, who happened to find the test and think it was his wife’s, whose said wife hasn’t yet told him that the test wasn’t hers and is actually Rebecca’s, who we’ve seen apologising to his wife etc etc., is Adam. Who knows, there might be something in that yet. Particularly now Ross is out of the equation, so it would actually be a triangle…

There’s so much more I haven’t even mentioned, but I realise this has got ridiculously long and I don’t even know if my ramblings are remotely helpful to you?? So sorry haha! All I would say in regards to the future of Robron is that while my faith may waver occasionally over ED and the plotty storylines, I 100% believe in the magic that Danny and Ryan create. And I wrote a post to this effect after The Incident, but while Danny and Ryan are still doing what they do best, I don’t believe that magic is going to go anywhere. And I do believe Robron will get through this, stronger than ever. Ultimately though, we all have to do what’s best for ourselves - whether it’s taking a step back from the fandom or the show in general, surrounding ourselves with like-minded blogs on here, draining ourselves by trying to work out what on Earth this plot is, or just plain old living in denial and theories. And if this ramble hasn’t been too much, you’re more than welcome to message me again. Even if you just want to discuss daft theories because laughing about the mess makes us all feel better. I’ve recently ventured into sci-fi parallel universes and time travel to try to make sense of this plot, so pretty much anything goes really. :)

[timeflies1007-blog]

Doctor Who Reviews by a Female Doctor, Season 6, p. 1

Warning: These reviews contain spoilers for this and other seasons of the reboot, as well as occasional references to the classic series. 

Previously on Doctor Who: The universe ended, but then it didn’t. (Hurray!) Last season ended on the most unequivocally positive note of any season of the reboot, in which nobody died (at least not permanently), nobody suffered a catastrophic fate, and everything concluded with a lovely wedding. This season is a very different kind of story; in spite of the numerous deaths that don’t stick, this season is full of consequences, and of the dark side of the much brighter narrative that we got in Season Five. “Dark side” is the easiest term to use in describing this shift, but it doesn’t get at the entirety of what is going on here. I would argue that this is, in some senses, among the most hopeful seasons of the show, and certainly one of the most redemptive character arcs. Problems are awfully hard to fix this season—much, much harder than in most previous ones and certainly than in the immediate predecessor—but our heroes try so strenuously to emerge from these problems that I wind up with feelings that are a lot warmer and fuzzier than one might expect from the relative bleakness of this narrative.

This season has a reputation for devoting too little attention to Amy’s feelings, particularly in light of her pregnancy and subsequent separation from her baby. It’s a widespread view, but not really one that I get. To me, about 90% of the season is about Amy, to the point that I can understand criticisms that it’s too closely focused on her feelings more than I can understand the opposite. I do think that the season is better at representing her feelings of loss and grief than it is at exploring her bodily experience, but overall we get enough detail about her mental state that I only very rarely feel like she’s being underwritten. A more complex issue is the methods by which Moffat portrays Amy’s crisis. This season is pretty thoroughly wrapped up in concepts of silence and, to a lesser extent, vision. This raises the possibility of ableist metaphors, the kind that develop when writers use blindness, deafness, muteness, etc. as ways of making a point about moral failings. For the most part, I think the season avoids falling into this trap. As I’ll explain in more detail later in the season, I think that the inobservability of certain forms of trauma, as well as the difficulties in communication that stem from them, are very real parts of Amy’s circumstances, so that while there are metaphorical treatments of these issues, they are tied to very real mental health issues in which sight and speech play integral roles, and so it doesn’t come across to me as using disability as an analogy for unrelated experiences. It’s a difficult issue, though, and one that I’m trying to be attentive to as I write about these aspects of the season.  

There are so many ways to interpret this season, and this can lead to questions about what Moffat actually meant this narrative to be about. It’s certainly a question worth considering, but I’m not terribly invested in the answer. Amy’s story this season means very specific things to me, grounded in my own experiences, and I’m not particularly concerned with whether or not Moffat completely intended the story to function in the way that I see it. I do think that at least pieces of the story seem to have been intentionally composed in the ways that I understand them, but there are so many pieces to this narrative that my interpretation of some of them might be completely different from what Moffat meant. Explaining how this season comes across to me is especially difficult because it’s so dependent on how the episodes fit together with each other; it’s hard to articulate the importance of individual episodes, sometimes, and so this season’s review may be more than usually centered on the review of the season as a whole at the end.

This is also the season in which we get a pre-credits voiceover sequence, a.k.a. Amy Pond telling us “When I was a little girl, I had an imaginary friend…” and then going into a tiny synopsis of her friendship with the Doctor. I’m not really sure why this is here or who it was intended to be useful for, because anyone who’s seen the show before knows this information and anyone who jumps into the show in the middle of this season is going to have a lot of questions that aren’t answered by this segment. It’s pretty annoying, but if you watch on Amazon the fast-forward button is a very helpful friend whenever this voiceover comes up. Given the unusual amount of connection between this season and its predecessor, though, something of a recap of what has gone before is appropriate, particularly as a way into Amy’s mentality. A more accurate and useful version might go something like this: “When Amy Pond was a little girl, she had an imaginary friend, and she spent much of her childhood struggling to keep believing in him. He came back, and so did Amy’s belief in his capacity to rewrite time. He’s done so many wonderful things that even death seems rewritable. Amy’s particular brand of faith ran away with her, and they’ve been running ever since.” And…here we go.

A Christmas Carol: There are about sixty billion versions of A Christmas Carol, but to my knowledge this is the only one with flying sharks. This episode features a lot of whimsy, both shark-related and otherwise, but it’s deceptively serious as well. Some Doctor Who Christmas episodes are integral to seasonal arcs on the show, while others function more as standalones. This one is unusual in that it looks like the latter, but turns out to be much more connected to the season than it initially appears. In fact, it’s connected to two seasons, and one could see it as Season Five’s endpoint almost as much as the start of Season Six. In some ways, it functions as a sort of bridge between the two seasons, but I see this primarily as our first foray into the odd combination of light and solemnity that characterizes much of Season Six. “Halfway out of the darkness” could be seen as the theme of this season, and so the Doctor’s use of this phrase to define Christmas is our introduction to an important concept.

           It’s also our first step into the troubling side of the “time can be rewritten” idea, which is hugely important for Season Six. At the end of the last season, the Doctor basically rewrote the universe, fixing at least some of the pieces of existence that disappeared through the time crack and rewriting time on a very large scale. Here, this happens on a much smaller, more personal level, and while it brings about Kazran Sardick’s redemption, it also comes across as invasive and potentially destructive. Season Six devotes a great deal of time to the human cost of miracles, and it’s pretty concerning that, while Kazran might have wound up a better man because of the Doctor’s interference, he’s also a different one, to the extent that his technology no longer recognizes his brain. The ethical implications of essentially rewriting a person, even if the rewrite is morally superior to the original, are not really discussed here but this moment of his brain literally becoming unrecognizable highlights just how much of an impact the Doctor’s actions can have. It’s such a dramatic change that it’s difficult to avoid thinking “Would the Doctor really be all right with just giving someone an entirely new backstory, complete with memories of experiences and connections that had never existed before?” and this question persists until we go back to the honeymooning couple and remember that last season’s happy ending pretty much depended on exactly that happening to Amy.

We also get the season’s first mention of silence—not, in this case, a scary monster, but an aspect of loneliness. I didn’t really listen to the lyrics in Abigail’s song the first time I watched the episode, but they’re eerily appropriate for the upcoming season. Lines like “When you’re alone, silence is all you know” and “Let in the shadow; let in the light of your bright shadow” are awfully cheesy, but Christmas episodes can get away with a little bit more cheese than usual, and the song is just so pretty that it gets away with the lack of subtlety. Given the rest of the season’s attention to Amy remaining steadfastly silent about a lot of her problems and refusing to acknowledge the shadow in her life, in retrospect it seems like a song about the growth that she needs to do this season. Because the episode feels like a commentary on Amy’s arc this season, I’m ok with her relatively small role in this episode, and even the return of the kiss-o-gram outfit only annoys me a little bit.

I am more bothered by the treatment of Abigail herself, even though I love her and I’m happy whenever she’s on screen. It’s sort of weird to apply the concept of fridging to a character who is so vibrant and lively throughout the episode, and who doesn’t actually die in it, but if you’re going to have a female character’s impending demise operating as an important plot point, it’s probably a good idea to avoid literally putting her in a giant freezer. There are quite a few rankings of Christmas specials on the internet, and while there are of course fluctuations between the lists, this one is the clear favorite. I do think that it’s the most creative and possibly the most fun, but I would rank it behind at least one and maybe several of the other specials on the grounds that Moffat doesn’t manage to give Abigail a storyline that’s meaningful to her (as opposed to being a motivation for Kazran’s narrative) to go along with the dynamic personality and gorgeous voice.

           When it’s not putting Abigail on ice, this episode is thoroughly delightful in spite of its serious attention to the season’s darker themes. The production design brings together exactly the right combination of quirk and genuine beauty in creating a stunningly gorgeous planet. The fish/sharks are brilliant—the whole scenario is weirdly believable as the basis for this planet’s economy and power structures, and young Kazran’s account of the bonding that he missed out on when he was away from school during a fish attack gives us an intriguing glimpse into the role that the fish play in this culture. The Doctor reacts charmingly to them, particularly in his optimistic assertion that “I bet I get some very interesting readings off my sonic screwdriver when I get it back from the shark in your bedroom.” Even beyond the goofy charm of the fish, the episode is a strong adaptation of Dickens’s novella. This is partly because of Michael Gambon’s strong performance as Kazran Sardick—a name that nicely exaggerates Dickens’s proclivity for character-appropriate naming. What’s most impressive, though, is the way the episode works with the past/present/future structure. Much of the episode weaves smoothly between the first two, allowing us to watch the older Kazran remember the memories that didn’t exist until the Doctor showed up. I fully expected the future part of the story to involve a trip into Kazran’s near future, as the TARDIS would make it easy enough to get him there. Just when the episode looks like it’s going to do a pretty conventional take on Christmas Yet to Come, it does something thoroughly unexpected; this season is pretty plot-twist heavy, but few of the later revelations startle me quite as much as the sudden appearance of young Kazran, staring fearfully into the old man who has become his future. I can’t quite articulate why this works so well, but I was so surprised by this approach when I first saw the episode that it completely took my breath away.

While Abigail’s literal fridging diminishes my enjoyment a bit, I’m incredibly impressed with how well this special brings together serious psychological issues with a truly fun, entertaining story. We get a lot of attention, in this season, to the rewriting of time, and to the presence of Silence—in most cases, these are part of big, complicated, large-scale stories. Seeing them operate as pieces of a much more intimate, personal tale of loss is an important introduction to how one should think about the events that lie ahead. The episode isn’t without missteps, but a beautiful set, stunning character work, and flying sharks all in one episode are a pretty fabulous Christmas present. A-

The Impossible Astronaut: This is technically the start of the major arc of Season Six, but it picks up so many ideas from “A Christmas Carol” and from the end of Season Five that it feels like the opening number of Act Two rather than the beginning of a completely new story. Watching the Doctor die a few minutes into the episode is a shocking moment, both because it’s the protagonist’s demise and because of the unusualness of the murder method—namely, being shot by an astronaut who has emerged from the depths of an American lake. It’s pretty clear that the Doctor isn’t really dead, as the show can’t exactly move forward without him, but trying to figure out exactly what happened and how he wriggled out of what looks like certain death is fun even in the certainty that it won’t stick.

           There is an immensely enjoyable sense of silliness at work here that erases any sense of self-importance that might otherwise come from appearing to kill of your lead character in a season premiere. The Doctor’s attention-getting historical forays at the beginning of the episode are a bit hit-or-miss for me, but the scenes at the White House are sublimely funny (with the very brief exception that we definitely didn’t need the Doctor referring to his companions as “the legs, the nose, and Mrs. Robinson.”) The shocked reaction to a big blue box turning up in the oval office is particularly well done, as is the dialogue in the ensuing scene: the Secret Service officer yelling “Do not compliment the intruder!” is probably my favorite line, but the Doctor trying to requisition a fez and some jammy dodgers is a close second. Canton is an immediate delight, coming across as smart and snarky and just a little bit bewildered about all of the sci-fi material that is suddenly unfolding around him.

           The episode’s considerable humor competes with quite a lot of serious material. This is due in part to River’s increasing consciousness of the difficulties of her relationship with the Doctor, who knows less about her each time they meet. Even more importantly, Silence has been threatened, foreshadowed, and even sung about, but this is the episode in which it finally becomes monstrous. I don’t think I’d get a lot of agreement on this, but to me, the Silence are Moffat’s greatest monsters. Yes, I like them better than the Weeping Angels. The idea of a monster that you forget when you’re not looking at it is inherently frightening, offers a lot of potential for really interesting subtext, and works incredibly well in a visual medium. Watching the characters go back and forth between terror and total ease is fascinating, and the music underscoring some of these scenes helps to make these moments even more effective.

           The monsters aren’t the only things creating emotional imbalance in this episode. Amy, who is finally in an outfit that no one could reasonably interpret as an attempt to over-sexualize her, goes through quite a lot of turmoil here. After the events of the previous season, it’s unsurprising that her ability to process grief in a healthy way is slipping. She does react tearfully to the Doctor’s “death,” but her immediate reaction to it also essentially involves rewriting it in more palatable terms in her mind—“maybe it’s a doppelganger, or a clone,” she insists, as she frantically tries to piece together the version of this story in which things will turn out okay. Even after she sees the Doctor alive again, she starts thinking about how his eventual death can be unwritten. This reaches its climax when she grabs a gun and shoots at the astronaut, which is shot in crazy slow motion that should be awfully cheesy but somehow is marvelous. There is a lot of focus this season on Amy’s disillusionment with certain aspects of her relationship with the Doctor, and this is the first moment that she turns away from his principles, even if it is brief and she misses. (I would see this as a cop-out if the events of the season finale didn’t happen, but they do and so I don’t.) “Time can be rewritten” is a hopeful expression, sort of, but it’s also one that takes away the possibility of closure, that stops one from recognizing the need to move on. Amy’s willing to do anything to rewrite time here, even to the extent of pointing a gun at a stranger and pulling the trigger, and for all the excitement in this episode, it’s her psychological state that I find most chilling. A-

Day of the Moon: Sometimes, Moffat has a tendency to write something stunningly brilliant and then distract from its brilliance by including one or two really annoying things, and this episode is one of the most prominent examples. This story, and particularly this second part of it, is terrific, and if it were not for a couple of glaring missteps, I would put this episode well within the top 30 of the reboot. Its ranking plummets, however, (to, I think slightly outside my top 70 in the eleven seasons so far) because of a couple of brief moments that draw attention to their own stupidity and distract me from how fabulous the rest of the episode is.

           I’ll get into the things that bother me in a little bit, but let me first say that what definitely doesn’t bother me is the plot-driven nature of this two-parter. It is inarguably the case that a LOT is happening here, and the sheer magnitude of the plot is one of the things that puts a lot of people off about this season. There are definitely some aspects of the seasonal arc that suffer from the narrative twistiness, and while I do think that there is far more character-driven work this season than it tends to get credit for, this episode is one of the plottier ones. The thing is, plot twists are usually intellectual devices grounded in being flashy and impressive, but sometimes events come together in such a perfect way that I do wind up reacting emotionally. Watching what looks like chaos be revealed as order carries with it a sort of surprised sense that things look nicer than what I expected, sort of like suddenly seeing a kitten. My heart just goes, “My goodness, I wasn’t expecting you!” and pieces of this episode bring out that kind of reaction in me, to the point where, if I were a person who tended to cry at television shows, I’d be sniffling about how lovely the narrative structure is.

           We begin the episode with precisely the kind of giddily brilliant scenes that I’m talking about, as Canton appears to hunt down and kill the entire Pond family, while keeping the Doctor locked up in a familiar-looking prison. (And yes, you could see this as a bit repetitive, but I kind of love that there was pretty clearly an offscreen exchange in which Canton asked the Doctor how to construct the facade of a perfect prison for containing him, and the Doctor just described the Pandorica. It’s nice when he’s willing to get ideas from all his worst enemies. I hope the Doctor did impressions of all the monsters while he was explaining the plan to Canton.) The invisible TARDIS suddenly coming to light, the Ponds complaining about a lack of airholes in their body bags, River falling backwards off a building and into the TARDIS swimming pool…it’s such a stunning bit of goofiness and I love it. The show can’t spend too much time on hijinks like the swimming pool business or it would start to look awfully self-indulgent, but in small doses it’s just incredibly charming.

After the delights of the opening sequence, we learn more about the Silence and the efforts being made to remember them. The lines drawn on the skin as a memory technique never fail to scare the hell out of me this season, but I also like the implanted voicemails, which are nicely creepy ways of getting across just how much is being forgotten. The children’s home is a solidly atmospheric setting, and while I get a bit annoyed about the amount of time spent on a kidnapped Amy pleading for help, her initial wander around the house is a strong introduction to her role in the little girl’s life. The notion that the Silence have manipulated humanity into traveling to the moon so that they can get access to fancy spacesuits is also pretty frightening—this whole episode really emphasizes just how much influence the Silence have had on Earth, and their input on space exploration is a good example of how far their impact has extended. I do have a few qualms about the role that they have played in influencing human affairs; there are moments in this episode that seem to lurk pretty close to just removing human agency altogether through the suggestion that the Silence have been manipulating us into almost everything we’ve ever done. The depiction of 1960s America is so vibrant in this episode, though, and the characters are so full of purpose and energy, that it doesn’t come across as a brainwashed world.

The entire plot is captivating, but the Doctor’s defeat of the Silence is the clear high point, and is one of my favorite resolutions ever on this show. A couple of factors make this work, the first being how suggestible people are when they are looking at a Silent. The Doctor makes clear—by having Canton look at a Silent and telling him to adjust his bowtie—that people can be influenced by what they have heard while looking at a Silent, even when they have forgotten the entire experience. The quasi-hypnotic possibilities certainly play a role here, but I would say that the pattern of remembering and forgetting associated with the Silence also makes the Doctor’s plan work. It has been established that everyone forgets the Silence only when they are not looking at them; Amy, for instance, remembers seeing the Silent at the lake when she sees another in the White House bathroom. Everyone who ever watches the footage of the moon landing will therefore see the “You should kill us all on sight” message, immediately forget it once the image has passed, and then remember it only if they happen to come across another Silent. The proper version of the moon landing thus stays intact in everybody’s memory, but if they find themselves in the company of a Silent, they will suddenly regain the knowledge that they need to see the Silent as an enemy. In spite of the hypnotic influence of the Silent’s words, this doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will actually try to kill them—I can imagine that some would be too frightened to take them on, and others would just be incapable. The increased presence of human knowledge and aggression, though, means that the Silence face a world that is more hostile and dangerous, and have a legitimate reason for seeking a new planet to rule. What’s especially brilliant about the Doctor’s plan is that because of the general state of forgetfulness, it doesn’t push humanity to hunt down the Silence and try to drive them away; whether the “kill us on sight” line is functioning as hypnotic influence or people are remembering instructions when they see a Silent, the impulse depends on being in close enough proximity to the Silence that they are actually visible. This gives the Silence the information that their safety has been compromised, thereby giving them the incentive to go somewhere else, and so if they’re careful about not being seen, they should be able to get away. (They’re good at appropriating human technology, so I can imagine that they would be able to get themselves to another planet.) It’s a revolution by warning, in which nobody really needs to get killed, and the whole notion of uploading cell phone footage into a 1960s video in order to let scary monsters know that they need to abandon Earth is just such a creative way of resolving things that I absolutely love it. You could make the argument, and many have, that Moffat can get too clever-clogs for his own good, but watching the narrative click into place like this—I don’t know, the world just looks a bit sunnier for a while. It’s not often that you want to hug a cell phone, but I really do by the end of this story.

The surprises don’t stop there, as we conclude the episode with the revelation that the little girl that they have been looking for is regenerating. We know so little about her at this point that I don’t have that much of a reaction to the character’s experience, but it’s such an unexpected moment (at least it was to me) that it makes for an extremely strong ending to the story. There is as much genuine surprise in this episode as almost any other in the episode, and these twists are incorporated so beautifully into the story that it’s a joy to experience the rush that comes from realizing just what has happened.

In spite of the fabulousness of much of this episode, it doesn’t make my all-time favorites list because of a couple of smaller pieces that lower the quality of the entire episode. One problem with this episode is the brief and thoroughly unwelcome return of the Amy/Rory/Doctor love triangle. It’s present only as a miscommunication—Rory hears Amy say something to him that sounds like it could be addressed to the Doctor, and worries that she is regretting her choice to marry him. She also tells the Doctor that she’s pregnant without telling Rory, suggesting that she places more trust in the Doctor. Of course, everything is resolved by the end, but while her explanation that she didn’t want to tell Rory about her pregnancy because she’s worried that her baby will be born with “three heads, or like a time head” is believable enough, this whole element just comes across as extremely contrived. Amy’s use of the “fell out of the sky” language to describe Rory doesn’t really accord with the notion that they’ve been friends since childhood, and so it just looks like Moffat made her say intentionally confusing things in order to create a space for marital drama. The interaction between the Ponds at the end of the episode is awfully cute, though—I particularly liked Rory’s jubilant exclamation that he’s “never going to stop being stupid!”—so while I did not enjoy this throwback to last season’s most irritating subplot, I was still happy with the Ponds as a couple by the end of the story. The larger problem is the exchange between Canton and Nixon in which we learn of Canton’s sexuality. I really, really like Canton; the actor is great, the character’s combination of obvious intelligence and befuddlement about what on earth is happening is endearing, and he’s a solid source of support for the Doctor and Ponds in this story. I’m glad that the show is making more of an effort to include LGBT characters this season, after not doing at all well in this regard in Season Five, and Canton was, I think, at this point the second-most screentime for an LGBT character, after Captain Jack. Given that for both Captain Jack and the soon-to-debut Vastra and Jenny, their sexuality is a defining element of their characterization, it’s sort of a nice bit of variation to have a character who is primarily known for his work in the monster-fighting plot, and whose sexuality emerges as a minor part of his background. However, while getting across Canton’s sexuality in just a line or two is a reasonable move on those grounds, the actual lines are completely misguided and deeply problematic. Nixon’s reaction that the moon is “far enough for now” just comes across as laughing at the sixties for being a homophobic time period, which is blatantly unfunny both because of the tremendous discrimination facing gay couples in the 1960s and because in many ways that discrimination hasn’t stopped. Nixon’s inability to accept such a relationship is the punchline here more than Canton himself is, but it’s a completely inappropriate piece of humor. Even the soundtrack emphasizes the jokey nature of the exchange, making this even more grating.

If you took out the five seconds devoted to Nixon’s reaction to Canton’s sexuality, you would have a very, very strong episode; I would put up with the brief return to the Pond Relationship Drama in exchange for all of the fascinating stuff that happens to them here. There’s just enough that annoys me, though, that I don’t love the episode as much as its stellar plot warrants. In a way, this makes this two-parter a fitting opener to the regular season, as Season Six is, in general, a giant mass of brilliance that wanders off into total stupidity at intervals. Overall, this two-parter is a mostly glorious, intermittently frustrating opening to a season that is full of both wonderful and terrible things. B+

The Curse of the Black Spot: It’s a shame that this utterly boring episode happens here, in what is otherwise a terrific string of episodes. A few questionable things in “Day of the Moon” aside, the string of eight episodes that starts with “Vincent and the Doctor” and ends with “The Doctor’s Wife” is full of glory—except for this episode, which manages to make pirates dull. I do like the setting for the episode, which is what keeps it out of my bottom five episodes of the reboot—watching the characters run around on a pirate ship is entertaining enough to lift the episode above the slog of unimaginative plotting that otherwise characterizes this story. Still, for an episode that has the automatic fun of featuring pirates on a pirate ship, this is a huge disappointment.

           There are some decent moments here; the beginning of the episode, in which pirates react with terror to extremely minor injuries, is relatively intriguing, and Lord Grantham from Downton Abbey does a good job as the lead pirate suddenly forced to take responsibility for the son he abandoned. The whole Siren story is just so inane, though, that the poignancy of the father/son narrative gets completely overshadowed. The Doctor interprets events incorrectly over and over again, which is an approach that appears to good effect in a number of other stories but is mostly just annoying here. The usually delightful Ponds are reduced to yet another silly love triangle, this time with the mysterious Siren: Rory spends a significant amount of time being spellbound by her beauty, leading to extremely tiresome jealousy on Amy’s part. The Siren herself is sort of a fragmented version of the sexy nurse cliché; she spends part of the episode nurturing sick and injured pirates, and the rest of it trying to sensually lure men to their deaths, or at least so it seems. Nothing makes me quite as angry as Ursula the paving slab in “Love and Monsters,” but this episode probably spends a larger amount of time on sexist nonsense than any other in the reboot.

           There are some nice pieces of continuity here with the rest of the season; I like that a season in which magic eye patches are a major plot point has a pirate episode in it, and the episode provides one of several installments in the season’s thematic focus on the inseparability of parents and their children. Otherwise, though, this is an awfully pointless episode. C-

[amandaj718]

Confusing Rebecca White

Photo Credit and Beta Reader: Justine @BeauitfulHusbands and @klainedestined.

Rebecca White is a confusing character.  If one were to watch her first scene and compare it to her last scene, it is like watching two different characters. Normally, this would be ok. That means the character has developed and changed with time. However, that is not Rebecca’s case. She has developed many different personalities. Currently, she is rocking the victim look. Now, there has to be a reason for these drastic changes.  People have talked about it but haven’t come to an exact conclusion.  So, I decided to take a whack at it. I broke down her time on the show, all the changes I’ve noticed and what could be the reason for these changes.

I don’t like Rebecca White.  I might never like her, but that doesn’t negate how problematic her arc and characterization has been on Emmerdale. It’s important to remember this as we go forward.

So, let’s go!

Rebecca Whites Timeline (In Three Parts)

The Beginning – Helicopter Plans

Rebecca White enters the scene in a helicopter (something the town fears after that terror) and finds her way to her family, The Whites. Robert calls her in help get her family admits that they set Andy up for the shooting.  She starts off helping but slowly it becomes evident she wants to know if she is an heir to the White fortune and she wants Robert Sugden back.  Robert tries to keep her sweet and on plan when she starts enjoying her time with her family.  Then she keeps pushing before after the second kiss Robert tells Aaron what has been going on. After Rebecca finds out she is a White, she decides to start protecting her family (especially after Andy’s name is cleared).  Once Robert pushes her away declaring Aaron as the one he wants is when she wants her revenge. Trying to embarrass Aaron in the pub, who knows all, she is unsuccessful and leaves.

Rebeca is presented as someone who has traveled the world. She was raised with money and went to, the best schools. Wearing the latest styles (in large hats), she was someone who has done and seen a lot.  She is flirty, young and headstrong.

Roberts and Aarons Separated – The Incident

A few weeks after Aaron tells Rebecca off, the three are now friends. Rebecca is listening to Aaron and his issues with Gordon, helping Robert out with plans for Aaron and even helps out Liv after Robert is left alone after Aaron goes to prison. During this time, something shifts. Her flirting gets heavy and seems to want, a different Robert. Robert keeps pushing her away but trying to keep her as a friend.  After a nasty fight with Aaron in prison, Robert, who is drunk, sleeps a sober Rebecca. After he pushes her away, she gets angry and throws their past in his face, especially after she finds out she is pregnant the same time Aaron comes home.

Rebecca is well on the soap vixen road.  She appears to get everyone into a false sense of security through friendship while wanting to steal Robert away from Aaron and his family.  Then she gets what she wants from the incident only to be pushed away.  From that point on she becomes the victim of Roberts ‘user’ ways.  She starts to hate him.

Pregnancy and Beyond

Rebecca finally tells Chrissie about the pregnancy and decides that she wants to do this on her own. She doesn’t want or need Roberts help.  When Robert says he doesn’t want the baby, she gets angry and lets Ross shake Robert down. Then changes her mind. Then gets angry when Robert thanks her for not keeping the baby and decided to keep from him that she was pregnant.  So, to a shocked pub and Robert and Aaron, Chrissie tells everyone that she is pregnant.  She doesn't want to be in the way of Robert and Aarons relationship but still tells Aaron to break up and run from Robert. After Robert decides to not to be in the baby’s life he keeps his distance but doesn’t. Rebecca stays with Victoria, decides she wants Robert on the birth certificate, wants money to help with the baby and shows him the scan.  Soon, Robert and Aaron fall apart, and she gleefully talks about it with Debbie and Victoria at the pub.  Happily, she accepts Robert wanting to help with Home Farm and be in the baby’s life, acting like everything will be fine because the baby has both parents around.

Her personality changes from happy to sad during one episode.  She needs Roberts help at every turn but dismisses him the minute her father gives her attention.  She seems happy to see Robert and Aaron fall apart but then hoped that the three of them could have raised the child together. She even wanted the two to be together but still told Aaron to run for the hills in the same episode. She just invites herself into Roberts life and thinks she should right to do that. It’s confusing and makes the character hard to follow.

Confusion as Big as Rebecca’s Hats: Personal Thoughts

See the confusion? How did this happen?  Here are some of my thoughts.

Audience Reaction

Rebecca, in my opinion, was brought in to stir up the White Family, Robert, and Robron. A classic soap vixen, which is fine. I love a great soap vixen.  From my memories and some research, people were mixed on her but didn’t see a real reason to get too upset. She seemed to be heading down that vixen road and have so interesting conflict with her family when it all seemed to stop, right around November and Aarons pub fight. Something happened that made everything confusing. Her character varied from episode to episode. The storyline seemed to stop and go depending on what was happening to Robert and Aaron. The family storyline appears to slow too. Only coming up in weird moments.

So, with that, the general audience seemed to fall from mixed emotions to hatred. Predictability, the Robron fandom turned on her (I know there are fans of the character in the Robron fandom as well). The audience seems to be having a hard time relating to someone who keeps changing personalities from episode to episode. It also doesn’t help that she was a factor in the breakup of a very popular couple. When that happens, the character needs to be developed and handled with care. Rebecca? Was not handled with care. She was thrown at us with no instruction or warning, and now she is a mess.

Writing

Usually, soap writers can keep a steady characterization when reading for a soap. Especially the writers for Emmerdale. However, when it comes to Rebecca, that steadiness goes out the window. I can tell when certain writers are writing for her. There is a set that writes her as a saint; there are set that write her with an edge and then a set that writes her like she is a blank wall.  There is no continuity there which is odd for a show like Emmerdale. That is a problem. There is a miscommunication happening there that is ruining her character.

(Ok…it happens for a few characters. I know two writers who hate Robert and it shows.)

Script Changes

In the same vein as the writers, there has been talk of the story changing and rewrites happening (some even think the story changed after the second Robert/Rebecca kiss).  This hasn’t been confirmed anywhere, but that could explain the confusion with the character.  When changing the direction of a story, it could mess with the characters motivation and direction in a show.  That might explain why the writers are all writing her differently.

Chemistry with Cast

Again, this is subjective. Personally, I never saw a connection there between Rebecca or Robert. I saw a small spark between Chrissie and Rebecca but its thin and flickers easily.  Not having chemistry with the people, you work with the sell the character and the relationships, plot points are hard to sell, and then things become confusing.It happens on every show, but usually, people don’t keep the character around.

Acting/Directing

Again, another subjective topic. I don’t want to step on toes but my own opinion? I’m not a fan of Emily Heads acting. It feels forced. Sometimes it seems like she is overthinking a scene and sometimes it feels like she doesn’t care. Again, personal opinion. However, that might be affecting how people see the character. Relate to the character.Much like the writers, different directors could be the reason why people are confused by her.

I hate Rebecca White. I can’t stand her. She isn’t a character that was written correctly. She was designed to shake things up with one of Emmerdale’s big couples. It needed a strong actress, writing, and direction. However, we have this mess. A polarizing character that has caused nothing but confusion, anger, and fighting among the fans and even media.  Hopefully, as we go into those Fall months we finally get some answers or a reason for Rebecca’s confusing behavior.

What do you think? Do you find Rebecca confusing or do you see a method to the madness? Tell me below or tweet me @AmandaJ718.  Until my next piece, see you around Emmerdale.