#the way i'm like with neil is how i was with peter.

[transneilyoung]

okay...

[sherlock-is-ace]

[First image description: A screenshot of Georgia Tennant's instagram post. The photo is of Peter Davison holding a sign that reads "He's not that special!" In front of a line of people. The caption of the post reads "Here I am protesting in front of the half mile queue for your husband". The post is dated April 2, 2022. Below there is a comment from Neil Gaiman that reads "He's got the patience of Job, your father."

Second image description: A close up of Neil's comment. It's got 786 likes and was posted 71 weeks ago.]

[colleendoran]

I was curious how you manage to keep features consistent when you draw them? Do you use models? Is there a model for Crowley? He is very handsome.

I don't use models per se, but I sometimes keep files of photos or art that resembles the subject.

Crowley is based a bit on the French actor Alain Delon who was once considered the handsomest man in the world. He doesn't look exactly like Delon, but that is in my head when I draw him. I recall reading Neil and Mr. Pratchett once considered Peter Sellers for Crowley.

There is no reference for Aziraphale because he is entirely in my head and I can't really find anyone who looks exactly the way he does. I recall reading that Neil and Mr. Pratchett thought of Brian Dennehy at one point, but my head canon Aziraphale won. I think a Brian Dennehy Aziraphale would have been amazing, though. Anyway, he is actually kind of hard for me to draw because his facial structure is a bit outside my usual style. His face is a bit long and his eyes closer together than I normally do, and if I'm not careful, he slips away. He appears younger and more classically handsome as an angel than he does in his corporeal form, but I think he's quite fetching as a bookseller.

Michael Sheen is so perfect in this role it is really hard not to leak bits of his performance into the graphic novel edition, but I have to resist the impulse. I am not allowed to use any of the show actors as models.

I adore Michael Sheen. Who doesn't?

Adam is also a head canon character. He is a perfect young Greek God, so that's kind of drawing on a day with a Y in it for me.

The inspiration for Newt I'm keeping a secret. I submitted a number of sketches for Newt. The show Newt dug in deep and I had a hard time shaking him off.

The Them are based on kids I knew. They're in my head, I don't need any photos. They don't really look like the kinds in the show. The book version of Pepper, for example, is a freckled red-head.

Anathema is an amalgam of features that don't come from one person, which I think fits the description of the character. She's also unusual for me to draw but she's easier to draw than Aziraphale. I nail her every time.

Hastur is a caricature of the stereotypical English upper class you'd see in broadsheets 200 years ago. I have a file of pictures of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury for Hastur. I considered making Hastur more handsome in a Duke of Hell sort of way, but I think Hastur likes to be scary. I keep thinking of Peter O'Toole when I draw Hastur, too.

I feel kind of bad basing Hastur on Lord Ashley because he was a wonderful person and I'm sure he didn't go to Hell.

Ligur is a broad caricature of Danny Devito. I obviously can't use a DeVito portrait. That would be wrong. But I can tweak from there and come up with a general idea of the face I want to use.

Beelzebub and Metatron are head canon, and don't look a thing like they do in the show. I postulate some demons prefer to look like their angelic selves, and at other times prefer to be fearsome. Crowley can look fearsome when he wants, for example. In the book, Beelzebub appears as a young man in red flames.

Shadwell was drawn from reference at the direct suggestion of Neil.

Madame Tracy is based on a certain person, but no one you would have heard of. The original source might not be flattered, but I love Madam Tracy. She's really easy to draw because she's a bit over the top. I'm sketching around her scenes right now because I don't have final approval on some things yet. So she might need some changes later.

War is head canon, very easy to draw. She's a knockout. No reference required.

Famine looks a lot like Famine in the show, actually, but that's what Famine always looked like, pretty much. Except he has the grey eyes he has in the book.

Pollution is initially described as being a forgettable white guy, but later described as looking like a romantic poet, which strikes me as being memorable. Because he's only on one page in his forgettable white guy phase, I chose not to make major changes in his appearance between those panels and later when he appears as his true self, because that's a bit more confusing than it needs to be in the graphic novel edition. He's rather glamorous as the essence of Pollution, though. No reference needed.

Dog is a dog.

While I do give every detail a lot of thought, I am sure other people have other opinions. I understand that, and hope you enjoy what I do anyway.

Thanks for your question.

I'm still a bit under the weather, so may be stepping away from the net for awhile so I can concentrate on work. I have a lot of sick time to make up.

But don't think I don't appreciate your interest in the Good Omens graphic novel adaptation. Your wonderful support is acting on me like a tonic, let me tell you.

[ineffable-rohese]

Neil's picks for Aziraphale & Crowley's Angelic Playlist were Cry Me a River (Julie London), The Book of Love (Peter Gabriel), and The Show Must Go On (Queen).

Three songs. Two about the aftermath of a break up, and one about coming together in love. So very clearly, we can infer a Crowley POV song, an Aziraphale POV song, and a song for the two of them and their happily ever after. (Song lyrics for all three after the cut for reference.)

The Book of Love is a perfect wedding song. It's a song to play under two people declaring their desire to spend eternity together. With lines about dancing and reading and it's perfect. It's originally a Magnetic Fields song that was released in 1999. Peter Gabriel recorded a cover in 2004 for the movie Shall We Dance about which I know nothing but the Wikipedia summary. But since we know how movies are important here... It's a standard rom-com with a bored Richard Gere secretly taking up ballroom dancing after following a pretty lady from the train (J-Lo). His wife (Susan Sarandon) thinks he's cheating, turns out nope, just dancing, drama ensues, he gives up dancing but eventually his wife becomes supportive and he realizes he loves his wife. And dancing. And they live happily ever after, with both of them getting what they want. Maybe we can draw some parallels here? But I think the song speaks for itself better than its connection with what sounds like a standard early 2000s romcom.

The individual songs are where it gets interesting.

Cry Me a River was first released by Julie London in 1951, but became popular after she sang it in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It starring Jayne Mansfield as an aspiring rock 'n roll singer. Again, relying on Wikipedia here, but there is an interesting bit about a blossoming forbidden relationship, wiretapped phones, and someone editing the recordings to keep the love affair secret. But again, it's probably a stretch to look too deeply into the movie.

The song has a very classic jazz feel. It's from a decade and a half later, but if you were, say, an angel who enjoyed Moonlight Serenade or A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square, it has a similar feel. You definitely wouldn't say it's bebop. The lyrics are about someone who was in love and had their heartbroken. Their former love (who never shed a tear over the break up) has returned and wants to make up. The singer essentially says "you love me? Prove it. Cry me a river like I cried when you left." Which, fair, but in our context, ouch.

The Show Must Go On is a Queen song, and we know how much Queen we hear in association with Crowley in particular. But this just isn't any Queen song. It was written by Brian May about Freddie Mercury's struggles as he neared the end of his life, and it was recorded in 1990. (Coincidentally or not, the year Good Omens was published, a book co-created by friends, one of whom would die too soon, and the other of whom would reflect on his friend's end of life struggles as the story was told more fully. Yes, I'm crying about this.)

In the song, the singer is fighting to reach a place of freedom, away from empty spaces and heartbreak. They are fighting with pure will, and even though their heart is breaking they smile and carry on because the show must go on.

What I really appreciate here with the POV songs, is that they are cross-coded. Queen is Crowley-coded, but the song about someone fighting through heartbreak to achieve something vital, while forcing a smile for the audience? That's absolutely Aziraphale in Heaven. And the 40s/50s jazz ballad is absolutely Aziraphale's style, but the jilted lover who may be willing to give their love a second chance but needs to see proof that the lover cares as much as they do is Crowley all the way.

It's almost like... Well it's almost like even in their separation, they are each carrying a piece of the other. The book of love has music in it, indeed.

The Book of Love

The book of love is long and boring No one can lift the damn thing It's full of charts and facts, and figures And instructions for dancing But I I love it when you read to me. And you You can read me anything.

The book of love has music in it In fact that's where music comes from Some of it's just transcendental Some of it's just really dumb But I I love it when you sing to me And you You can sing me anything

The book of love is long and boring And written very long ago It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes And things we're all too young to know But I I love it when you give me things And you You ought to give me wedding rings

Cry Me a River

Now you say you're lonely You cry the whole night thorough Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river I cried a river over you

Now you say you're sorry For bein' so untrue Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river I cried a river over you

You drove me, nearly drove me out of my head While you never shed a tear Remember, I remember all that you said Told me love was too plebeian Told me you were through with me and

Now you say you love me Well, just to prove you do Come on and cry me a river, cry me a river I cried a river over you

The Show Must Go On

Empty spaces, what are we living for? Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on Does anybody know what we are looking for?

Another hero, another mindless crime Behind the curtain, in the pantomime Hold the line Does anybody want to take it anymore?

The show must go on The show must go on, yeah Inside my heart is breaking My makeup may be flaking But my smile, still, stays on

Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance Another heartache, another failed romance, on and on Does anybody know what we are living for? I guess I'm learning I must be warmer now I'll soon be turning, round the corner now Outside the dawn is breaking But inside in the dark I'm aching to be free

The show must go on The show must go on Inside my heart is breaking My makeup may be flaking But my smile, still, stays on

My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies Fairy tales of yesterday, grow but never die I can fly, my friends

The show must go on The show must go on I'll face it with a grin I'm never giving in On with the show I'll top the bill I'll overkill I have to find the will to carry on On with the show Show Show must go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on

[marchentraume]

Radio Omens Thoughts

General - 

First off, you can find the Radio Drama here uwuwuwu

The cast was 10/10 amazing, I love the audiobook but it was really interesting to hear how Neil and Sir Terry wanted everyone to sound before the show was even a thought. Dirk Maggs and Heather Larmour's Direction is so well done! I'm a huge fan of Hitchhiker's Guide so might try out his radio drama later...

The Them and Anathema are personal faves of the supporting cast so I’m always happy to get a new experience with those characters, Anathema’s gaydar going off the charts was perfect (“‘Angel’?” gets me good).

Just want to highlight Josie Lawrence as Agnes is perfect just like with the show, I’m so happy they didn’t change that after the radio drama, the adaptation made her so wickedly charming that I think was in the show but it goes by so fast with everything going on.

There are definitely parts in the book that are somewhat hard for me to get through, and I think the radio adaptation helped push those along a lot better. I do wish we got to hear the parts of Aziraphale spirit hopping around a bit before finding Crowley, but I just wanted to hear him talk more. Overall this is a good way to experience the book if you aren’t sure about reading it yet, or you’re like me and need help figuring out what it was I read in the first place. 

Aziraphale and Crowley -

No notes holy shit 20/10 casting, they’re only in the drama just about as much as the book which makes me sad but their scenes were absolutely burning with how flirty they were.

They are 100% already married here and comfortable with each other, the lull of their routine is only disrupted by Armageddon which is really annoying so now they have to do their jobs.

Aziraphale acting as narrator for some scenes was a good choice, blah blah something about reliable vs unreliable narrator Crowley (I just can’t put it to words right now oops).

Peter Serafinowicz your Crowley gives me so much gender it’s insane, also when he’s doing the nanny voice???? Hello????? I could have a whole chapter of him and Aziraphale during that time just chatting with each other and little Warlock.

I overall really loved the respective performances of Peter and Mark, both portrayed the two with this freedom of doubt and lots of mutual love. Crowley still wants to keep Aziraphale safe and he’s confident he can even as events get worse, the latter is stubborn knowing he’s right but confident that his demon will catch up and figure it out (even if begrudgingly so). They already have their happy ending, it can only get happier from here after they save the world.

I definitely recommend Radio Omens, it really is part of the golden triad of experiencing the story. 

My personal recommendation: Book, Show, Radio

If you have a harder time starting books (be it reading or listening) then: Show, Book, Radio

Next on my list is the audiobook with the show cast, but I’ll take a break for a bit since every time I read/watch the original story I get so worked up I need to calm down for about a month or so :’) 

What do YOU all think of radio omens? Please tell me or send me Radio Omens headcanons and opinions. I need them badly chomping at the bit here!

[tenebrius-excellium]

Neil being made to believe he can't change his ways by some stupid psychiatrist in 5x04 hurts so much T_T

Fascinatingly, we meet an ex-criminal who DID change his life for the better in the same episode. And on the other hand there's Dr. Mara Summers who sows this terrible doubt in Neals mind about who he is and who he can be. That he can never be anything else but a thief.

It's very untypical for Neal to listen to random strangers, and so that had me startled. However, there's a distinct difference between the woman's and the other ex-criminal's voice of influence on him...: He is just a family man, she is cunning and on his level intellectually.

When Neal meets Dr. Summers, they immediately spar a mindgame.

And I'm not sure what about that made Neal change his mind about getting clean of his criminal history, because he clearly despises himself for being a con man afterwards. He's learned to hate the manipulation which he is able to intuitively force on the people he interacts with. It becomes wildly apparent who Neal is and who he is not in Season 6 with Keller and Amy (no more spoilers but those who have already watched know what I'm talking about).

So what did Dr. Summers trigger in Neal that made him lose faith in Peter and in himself? Why does he give up on the legal life again when he - once free - could have easily found work that feeds his desire for the thrill within the FBI, within security firms or insurance companies (like Sara)? Of course the conversation with Dr. Summers may have reminded Neal of how much he missed the high life. But it shouldn't have tampered with his identity. Neal claims to not know who he is, I say he has a fairly good idea. He knows what he's good at, he knows he doesn't do violence, he knows he wants an extravagant lifestyle and he knows who his friends are. That's a lot more than can be said about just any person.

So in a way, Neal went back to old habits, but they became very purposeful. It stopped being a game to him and it became about getting out for good. He somehow went back to shady behavior yet grew as a person and lost all joy in it.

I feel that part of his arc remained unfinished at the end of Season 6. Neal was on his way to learn that he doesn't need to steal to be able to live out who he is. And it kinda stopped there halfway.

I feel like Neal was about to become a Robin Hood type of guy. In saying that he could never change, Dr. Summers solidified the fact for him that he had definitely changed, but since everything was going too slow for him, he used the old methods to speed up the terms of his release. One last con.

The con to get out. For good.

I just wish I didn't have to analyze that in a wholeass essay. I wish it had been spelled out for us in the ending of the show. I wish I didn't merely have to hope that Neal found his peace after Dr. Summers got into his mind, while deep down knowing he is haunted. I wish someone had told him that he didn't have to listen to her.

I wish him peace.

@e7y1 @kimkhimhant

[ingravinoveritas]

Hello! I hope you are doing fine! I am *definitely* going to add to you overflowing askbox, so I apologise in advance.... (I didn't know where to post this, and I seriously don't know how to feel about this post)

Hi there! I...wow. Okay, I clearly turned off my Anons just in time, or at the worst possible time (I'm not sure which). But this was a hell of a thing to see first thing this morning, and after seeing the notes on that post, I think this person was right to send this question via a throwaway account, because they knew they would get flamed for it.

First of all, whether or not this person should have even asked Neil this question is entirely up for debate. GO season 2 is done, it's in the can and about to be released, so it's not as if there is anything Neil can do about Peter and Ty being in it. I can also understand Neil likening this person's concern about the casting to people saying prior to GO season 1 that it was a huge mistake to cast Michael and David. I could see him equating the two, in his mind, and feeling like this is déjà vu all over again and thusly responding from that vantage.

However...I'm really at a loss as to his opening sentence, in which he describes the person's question as "creepy." I've read and reread the person's question multiple times, and for my part, I did not think there was anything creepy about this question. The person seemed to take great care in asking it--especially with English not being their first language--and did not make any threats toward anyone, nor say anything inappropriate (again, as far as I could tell). This leads me to think that Neil very deliberately used that word, setting the stage for and tacitly encouraging what he alluded to but did not say aloud--that this person is silly and stupid for asking a seemingly harmless question and deserves to be treated accordingly.

There was one part of the person's question that Neil homed in on (and that seems to be a common refrain in the notes and on Twitter), which was that this person cannot separate the characters from the actors, nor tell fiction from reality. Yet I also did not get this feeling from their question, and was taken aback by Neil seemingly twisting around what the person was actually trying to say. The specific focus on this part of the question also seemed to serve the purpose of steering discussion away from the heart of the person's question, which was about nepotism. And it's here, at this particular point, that Neil's response does not really seem to stand up to scrutiny.

First of all, the comment about "a season that hasn't even been commissioned in parts that haven't been written" is disingenuous at best, as not even a week ago, it was Neil himself who said that Georgia was offered a part in season 2. So this is not really a hypothetical concern, as Georgia actually was offered a part. I also thought it was interesting that Neil conveniently did not mention the bonus episode of Sandman, in which both Georgia and Anna had voice roles in scenes with their respective partners. So again, not a hypothetical, but something that actually previously happened. And in both these cases, it does not seem that an audition was required, but rather that the roles were offered to Georgia and AL because they happened to be there/it simplified things since Sandman was recorded during Covid times.

Another thing that has been overlooked was David himself at the Basingstoke Comic Con this past weekend being asked about his favorite scene in GO 2. After mentioning that his son is in the scene, David also says his father-in-law (Peter) is in the show. The interviewer then asks, "And your wife and your neighbor?" to which David's response is "They are not in it, but it’s a sore point, so don’t dwell on it." I thought that was an interesting choice of words, because if everything involving offering Georgia a part did go exactly the way Neil described, why would it be a sore point? If Georgia researched the role and had absolutely no compunction about turning it down, why would she be annoyed or upset? It seems like something small, I know, but it just makes me question some of the things we're being told.

In terms of Peter and Ty's roles, I do understand that Peter is a fixture on the acting landscape in the UK, so I fully get Neil offering him a part, but I find his answer regarding Ty to be extremely dubious, at best. Neil and David have been friends since 2017--so, six years now--and is he truly expecting us to believe that he has no idea what David's son looks like? Even if they haven't had occasion to meet in person, does it really make sense that David would have never shown him a picture? Especially given how he beams with pride when talking about Ty and his accomplishments. Also, I realize the days of traditional audition tapes are long gone, but does it seem at all plausible that Neil wouldn't have seen Ty's name on the clip he watched, or that if he'd seen the name "Ty Tennant," it wouldn't have rung a bell?

But rather than address any of this, Neil--for reasons I can only begin to guess--decided to respond to this person as condescendingly and dismissively as possible. The bit about "shattered the fragile illusion and revealed to people that the David Tennant and Michael Sheen who play Crowley and Aziraphale are actors" was beyond insulting (as if we don't know that Michael and David are actors?), but what really grates my cheese is the fact that it opened the door to people in the notes accusing people who have had concerns about these issues of being "in an echo chamber." I would argue that the people who are somehow not aware of these concerns are the ones actually living in an echo chamber, because there has been a LOT of talk about this ever since Neil shared that cropped photo two months ago. (Also, I am aware that a combined 146 votes is by no mean a representative sample of an entire fandom, but if the results of the two polls I recently posted are any indication, a lot of people seem ambivalent (in the case of Ty and Peter) or outright against (in the case of Georgia and AL) these casting choices.)

Overall, I would say that I am deeply disappointed in this type of response from someone I've always thought was a brilliant writer and a really cool guy. I fully acknowledge that Neil can say whatever he wants, of course, but it's really strange to me that someone who has been so tight-lipped and "wait and see" about everything GO 2 up until now is suddenly delving into details. For months, Neil gave no answers regarding a trailer or character names or even a crumb of plot, so I'm just downright confused as to why these particular questions merited an answer. Neil could've even simply said, "Your concern is noted and appreciated, but everything is fine", or not answered this question at all (which I think probably would've been the better route), but instead, he went the way he did, and here we are.

So those are pretty much my thoughts on this whole thing. I am still looking forward to GO season 2, but this has definitely colored my perceptions to a degree. I guess we'll see what happens...

[swayhere]

canon starter call - open to anyone !

i have a strong urge to write some canon muses, so if you would be interested in writing against any of the canon muses listed under the READ MORE below, please comment/IM me and i can send a starter your way or reply to one of your starters.

i do not require you to know anything about my muse's canon, but i'm more than happy to tell you about it if you ask. i'd be happy to write canon muses against your ocs! also, mixing fandoms is 100% ok with me unless your canon muse is problematic and makes me uncomfy. my canon muses do not have all their memories or relationships from their life unless we plot it, but they will have the same general personality/ambitions.

if you are willing to write against my canon muses but don't care which, just like this post, and i'll take a look at your open starters and/or send you a closed starter at random with a muse i think fits the vibe.

*please don't agree to write against my canon muses if you're one of those picky weirdos that will be up in arms if i don't write a cannon muse exactly how you would.

( if you'd prefer to write against an oc muse only, check this post. )

canon muses i'd like to write: bold = extra big muse rn. strikethrough = exclusive, so not rn.

muses from tv shows: 

911 — eddie diaz , evan buckley , athena grant , bobby nash , karen wilson

911: lonestar — carlos reyes , grace ryder , judson ryder , t.k. strand , owen strand

as the world turns — dr. reid oliver , luke snyder

boy meets world — shawn hunter , jack hunter , angela moore , topanga lawrence

chuck — sarah walker , chuck bartowski , bryce larkin 

degrassi — jimmy brooks , sean cameron , ellie nash , marco del rossi , sav bhandari , drew torres , zoe rivas , miles hollingsworth iii , tiny bell , esme song , 

gilmore girls — jess , luke

good trouble — gael martinez , jamie hunter , callie adams foster , mariana adams foster , evan speck , joaquin perez , dennis cooper 

how i met your father — sid , ian , sophie , jesse

how i met your mother — marshall eriksen , lily aldrin , victoria

how to get away with murder — laurel castillo , connor walsh , oliver hampton , michaela pratt , frank delfino 

jessica jones — jessica jones

lost — kate austen , juliet burke , daniel faraday , desmond hume , sayid jarrah , sun-hwa kwon , claire littleton , walter ‘walt’ lloyd , charlie pace , hugo ‘hurley’ reyes , shannon rutherford , miles straume 

new amsterdam — lauren bloom , elizabeth wilder , casey acosta

new girl — nick miller , winston bishop , cece parekh

one tree hill — nathan scott , lucas scott , keith scott , chase adams , brooke davis 

outer banks (obx) — jj maybank , kiara carrera

please like me — arnold 

rosewell, new mexico — michael guerin , maria deluca , isobel evans

scandal — olivia pope , prezzy fitz

scooby doo — daphne blake

stranger things — robin buckley , steve harrington , jim hopper , chrissy cunningham , eddie munson , max mayfield , eleven , mike wheeler 

superstore — jonah simms

the 100 — finn collins

the bear — richie jerimovich, carmy berzatto , marcus , sydney adamu  

the mindy project — danny castellano 

the office — ryan howard , jim halpert , pam halpert , kelly kapoor , holly flax

the politician — river barkley , astrid sloan 

the young & the restless — sally spectra , adam newman , chelsea lawson , phyllis summers , lily winters , sharon newman , chance chancellor , victoria newman , tessa porter , amanda sinclair , cole howard

younger — josh , kelsey peters

muses from books: 

along for the ride ( book version only ) — eli stock , auden west , maggie  

one of us is lying ( book version only ) — cooper clay , nate

red white & royal blue — alex claremont-diaz , prince henry , zahra bankston

we were liars — gatwick ‘gat’ matthew patil

muses from movies: 

dead poets society — neil perry , charlie dalton , todd anderson

harry potter — lee jordan

les mis — enjolras , grantaire 

super 8 — joe lamb , martin , preston

twilight — irina denali , jasper cullen

[frodopotter7]

Puck- Chapter 1

Wake up!

Back to my masterlist

Back to the series

(Not my collage, but I sadly don’t know the creator anymore)

The corps of Neil Perry laid still and no movement was in it anymore. No hope, no energy. His blood was still. His body was cold. His eyes were closed and the crown made out if twigs seemed more like a curse. The curse that caused his death. It was dark. The darkness of death was the only thing leaved. No tears left to cry. All hope was gone.

Suddenly a little light cleared the dark and flooded in his crown. The red berries between the twigs begann to glow and soon the whole lifeless body was glowing. The warm orange light whispered in the ear of the corpse:"Wake up!" The glowing stopped and the blood in the body started pulsing again.

Neil opened his eyes. He felt weird and different. As if someone knocked him out and he awoke out of a coma. But this hadn't been a coma. He had a bitter taste his mouth. The taste of death. And that's exactly what he should be now a dead poet, not just metaphorically. It was dark all around him besides a light on top of his chest. Neil's mouth was dry and his voice wasn't used to talking yet. There were so many questions in his head, but no words came out of his mouth. The light revealed his clothes. This weren't usual clothes at all. Those were clothes you would see in a fantasy movie or in the Middle Ages. His clothes were green and brown and looked like a deep forest. His shirt was made out of leaves with golden glitter from his neck till his collarbone. A brown belt and a light brown trousers out of leather covered his lower body. His feet felt cold and without anything that covered them. He felt like Peter Pan in this costume. After all his body parts had been dressed freshly, he wanted to move, but instead he bumped his head on a wooden wall on top. He tried to move but he couldn't due to the tight walls all around him. Neil started to panic. What the hell was going on? He needed to find away outside. It was all too tight for him. It felt like the walls would strangle his soul. After a long knocking against the wood around him, he finally remembered something. Neil Perry is dead and he killed himself. That was the first tough he had. He remembered starring in his fathers eyes and seeing no other way. Military school or the death. Both ways were dead ends anyways. No way to say goodbye to Todd. Todd! Todd Anderson! That was his next thought. "Todd" and that was the first word that came out of his mouth. He needed to get to him. He needed to talk to him. "You need to find out how to get out here first. Silly Puck!" The light talked, which didn't helped Neil and made him panic even more. Did this thing just read his mind? "How? I'm buried alive." "Not quiet alive." "What? I mean I breath and I feel more alive then before so..." "No! Let me speak!", the light interrupted harsh. It was a male voice. Deep and powerful. "My dear Puck. Fairies and elves don't need to breath." "I surely do." "That's my Puck always interrupting his king. Now just make yourself transparent and fly up." "Puck? My name is Neil and I can't fly." "Calm down. I will explain when you are out of your grave. I don't want to use a fairlight for communication too long. Now think of something nice. The best memory you have and that's it." The light disappeared. Neil was lost and still in panic. What the hell was going on? His name was surely not Puck and he couldn't fly. But he surely needed to breath right? He hold back his breath just to try it. He died once and now he might die twice. He waited. It felt strange. There was no need for breathing. As if their was enough of oxygen in his lungs forever. Neil was confused but he also needed to get out of this tight coffin. And a positive though wasn't the problem. His fear of losing them was the reason he killed himself and this memory was the last though he had before he toke his life.

Neil wasn't even noticing that he had just lived up and was now over the earth and the ground again. Laying in the grass, flowers around him and the wind gently touched his hair. He jumped up. He was in a garden. A well known garden. His father's garden. It was night and maybe already spring, since the flowers were blooming. He touched his hair and noticed the crown. He was still wearing it. He tried to put it down, but it wouldn't come off. It was connected with his hair. "That's alright. The crown belongs to you." Neil turned around in shock. It was the voice from the light, which turned out to be a very tall blond man with a beard. His clothes were golden and shining and a golden crown rested on his head. Quite old maybe around 50. "Oh thank you, but I'm 420. Big celebration this year. Not that we elf kings would ever celebrate small. Anyways great to have you back Puck. I hope we don't argue anymore now. Come with me in the fairyland. Be my servant again and I will give you the beautiful life you had with lots of fairies and elves." The king grabbed Neil's hand and wanted to to fly away with him. But Neil pulled back. "No! I am Neil Perry and not Puck. I played Puck, but that doesn't mean I am Puck." "But you wear his crown." "Yes, because I played him." "Listen, you just forgot it." "No!", Neil yelled. Yelling at a king was risky especially a elf king, but Neil had already the worst behind him right? "Of course. As the prophecy says:

A tormented young soul will take his life too young,

before love could touch his tongue,

full of life and love he will kill himself

and he will wear the crown of the elf.

After the first flowers begin to bloom,

his new life as Puck shell bring the doom.

And then the true Puck is back

with golden glitter on his neck.

This seems very obvious for me." "Wait, 'bring doom'?" "That's what it says." "But what does doom mean? The doom of the world?" "I don't know. But you will come in the fairyland with me." "No, no, no. I need to talk to Todd." "Definitely not. Talking to humans. I mean yeah you are a special elf, but last time you switched two lovers and everything just went wrong." "You mean Lysander and Demetrius?" "Yes, you remember? See, it must be you Puck." "As I just said. I played Puck. Obviously I also know the play...Wait, if you believe in this then...you must be Oberon the elf king." "Exactly. You surely remember more in fairyland."

Suddenly Mr. Perry stepped out of the backyard door. Neil ducked back in fear of his father. His father just went straight up to him. "I'm sorry father. But I didn't saw another way. I mean...I don't ever want to be a doctor and..." His father ignored Neil. "Are you angry and that's why you just ignore me? Not even happy to see me again?" Oberon giggled slightly. "What?", Neil asked confused but noticed the truth one second later. His father just walked through Neil. It gave Neil a short cold shiver, but nothing more. He was just thin air. "Am I a ghost?" "An elf. Obviously." "Not obviously." "Look at you. The clothes, the gold, the ears..." "The ears?" Neil carefully touched his ears and immediately regretted it. They were pointy and on the top the stood a bit a side. "I am an elf!", Neil shouted. He wasn't sure if he would be frightened or happy. "Finally. Can we go now? You definitely need some now shoes. A Puck needs decent shoes." Neil looked down on his feet to see another shocking surprise. His feet were barefoot and little golden wings came out of his ankles. "Isn't that from Hermes?" "Indeed Puck has them to represent his quick running." "Running?" "Yes. How else should you have brought me the love flower from the end of the world." "Oh right I remember in the play it said Puck is a super fast runner. What else can I do?" "As fast as the light, unseen from the humans, a bit of flying with fairy sand and our special power: intervention in the human life with magical practical jokes." "Intervention in the human life?" "Yeah, but without the grounding of the fairyland you lose your powers." "So I have a chance to contact Todd." Neil got interested in this whole Puck thing. It was like another way. Not just doctor or die. Also Puck. That might be a way that could work. "Yeah, but I have no idea how exactly your Puck magic works. But I can show you how to fly for a short time and we will have a big celebration just for your return." "Only if I can come back." "As if anyone could ever hold you back. But I warn you. Don't stay too long with the humans without grounding. Now take my hand!" Oberon was somehow a bit like Mr. Keating but Mr. Keating didn't looked so frighting nor was he so dominant in appearance, but no wonder it was a king. The king toke Neil's hand and snapped with his finger. Both lifted off the ground and flew of the house into the next wood. It was a stunning and a wild feeling pumped trough Neil's veins. But as soon as Neil had gotten used to it and wanted to look around a bit, he already found himself on a clearing in a forest. Probably the forest next to the Welton Academy.

Continue: Chapter 2

[ineffablymanic]

The Origin of Bickering Married Couple Apology Dance

I listened to this radio show with Neil Gaiman sharing his favourite writing. I haven't seen anyone else do this post as of late (I'm post S2 generation in the fandom, hello, very new here) so I wanted to share this tidbit:

"These days I'm married to an American singer and songwriter Amanda Palmer, and we've been together now for about 10 years, and we've been arguing gently, all of that time. About most things."

"Somewhere in there we actually came up with the idea of the "You were right" dance. As a way of gracefully stopping the other one saying "I told you so."

*hilarity ensues in audience and other performers*

"There are different variants to the dance depending on how wrong you were. Amanda, because, she is never very wrong, tends to do [a short version]. I often wind up doing full on [aggressive, prolonged dancing]"

This further nails down Aziraphale's and Crowley's centuries, if not mayhaps millenia of marriage-like relationship. They bicker. They (sort of) make up. Life continues. They make each other better people. They love each other, not only that but they're in love with each other. They haven't felt the need to vocally express their emotions, until the events in S2. Aziraphale had clearly been planning it for quite some time and was about to confess, and Crowley got his "Oh..." moment when Nina questioned their relationship.

There's multiple incredible analyses about how their miscommunication is a result of necessity of hiding their friendship, and won't be easy to resolve. Until then I'll be silently sobbing under the coffee table

[metatronhateblog]

The Nightmare of our Dreams?

Okay so I watched a video a week or so ago on Youtube by @sendarya while falling down a rabbit hole working on the Angelic Language a bit. And I had some thoughts after i that I was going to add onto a reblog of this post and then it got all spirally and I had a lot to say all of the sudden, so I'm making this a ✨separate post✨ instead of adding a huge ass reblog. I'm tagging @sendarya anyways because it was their post to begin with and I like to give credit to the people who say things that make my gears start turning.

That being said, enough of this rambling and it's time to move on to the other rambling.

I don't know if anyone has speculated this yet, because weirdly enough I haven't seen much going around about the 'nightmare sequence' Neil talked about. I think my sister sent me a post about it, and I was like 'oh cool neat' then forgot about it and didn't give it a second thought.

So then I was looking to find a transcript or something about Peter Anderson mentioning the Angelic language can be solved (these people word things in the trickiest way and I want to know exactly what was said....because I still don't know) I stumbled instead upon this video of someone (sendarya that's you) talking about Ineffable Con. And that's where I saw it. That's the moment I saw the pictures of the bookshop surrounded by destruction for the first time.

I sat there staring at it for a bit, trying to process it, my sister explained it to me, and then I continued the video and got a bit more explanation.

So when it comes down to it, this post is ENTIRELY about speculation, and my thoughts on it. I have nothing to back this up, and for all I know it contradicts what Neil says about wanting it to be the ending of the episode.

I feel like this image induces a looming dread on its own, especially when paired with the ending of Season 2 (RIP my boys but you're on separate sides again.) But I'm not talking about the end of Season 2.

I'm talking about the end of Episode 2 'The Clue ft the minisode A Companion to Owls.' That's a mouthful.

Neil said that he wishes he would've put this nightmare sequence at the end of that episode, because it didn't have a proper ending. And so I was sitting here thunking about it, trying to figure out how a nightmare sequence would fit in after Bildad and Aziraphale have their silly little moment where they sit on the rock together staring out at the sea. And I realized how jarring it would be from a writing stand point, unless of course there was a scene that segued into it so that it wasn't just BAM them on the rocks then BAM Nightmare time.

Then it hit me. The scene where Aziraphale zones out then comes to only for Jim to tell him Crowley left a while ago. Here's the first shot of his face as soon as we see him again in present day.

I'm not even sure how to describe this look? Pensive? Little bit of pouty girl? Brow furrowed? I don't know, it's just weird.

But then he starts to speak, trying to get Crowley's attention....and something in his eyes...

He also looks to the side and back several times

It's just...there's this look about him that feels like he could maybe be doing more than remembering the happenings with Job.

And Jim says to him 'He went away...while you were thinking' and I KNOW that he's remembering the Job stuff here, because he whips around and follows it up with 'You know you really used to be awful.'

And like...after remembering the Job thing it seems like a perfectly valid reaction.

And I'm aware this scene IS NOT coming out of 'a nightmare sequence' like Neil described. Not to mention we don't even know WHO had the nightmare sequence. But I just personally think this would be the perfect scene to place after a sequence like that.

Think about it, Aziraphale is seemingly all in on the ball, like HE KNOWS it's his last chance. This man is determined to get everyone in the bookshop, telling Maggie and Nina they're safe and I think even telling Crowley such at some point 'We're perfectly safe in here.'

Safe from what, babygirl? Presumably whatever that scene with the bookshop sitting on a destroyed Earth. But also what if Crowley saw a nightmare sequence? It'd make sense for him to have seen it too! I mean like...we obviously don't know who would've been seeing the nightmare sequence.

But maybe Crowley would've going out to try and do something about it. It would make him being uncomfortable in the bookshop with Gabriel all the more emphasized. It would make him willing to go into Heaven and use Muriel to do it make all the more sense. So he can figure out what's going on.

It would make the Metatron telling Aziraphale that 'it's this thing we like to call the second coming' hit all the harder. Because this is something Aziraphale's worried about after having a vision like that. Could you imagine if Aziraphale was the one who had the nightmare sequence, and Metatron says that to him and he realizes how badly he fucked up SPECIFICALLY because he can't make sure the people he cares about (really just Crowley) are safe in the bookshop when that does happen? Could you imagine his newfound determination to go to Heaven and stop the second coming to prevent that from happening.

Could you imagine if Aziraphale came back from Heaven to find the only thing left was his bookshop?

I just, have a lot of thoughts and speculation on this nightmare sequence and it makes my brain go brrrrrr. So just imagine how impactful it would've been if that moment had taken place right before Aziraphale comes to after his long zoning out only to find out that he's been zoning out for a while. And Crowley is gone.

Anyways thank you for coming to my speculation post in which I have to live with these thoughts in my head and now so do you.

But that's just a theory---

Anyways keep an eye out for more posts on the opening sequence and the various other things that have been plaguing the minds of me and my sister.

[starsapphire]

25 17 12 8 9 & 3 for the choose violence ask game...I love ur haterisms you're always so correct in it

HI ignore how long it took me to answer this. thank u i hope i am not just a mutual to u but also an irredeemable hater

25. common fandom complaint that you’re sick of hearing

you know what? trying to answer this one made me immensely grateful for how normal the mutual circle is. couldn't think of anything. thanks guys 🩷

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

i know you're here for dc but i must speak my truth. we need more johnnywyatt content in the marvel fandom. spideytorch is dead. it's never going to happen. peter is either straight or too oblivious to ever realise he likes men and either way marvel is going to be milking the petermj divorce remarriage magic-divorce remarriage divorce remarriage cycle in every media form possible until the company shuts down. maybe in the ultimate universe i could see spideytorch working out but it literally exploded. rip gay emo 1610 johnny but we need to move on. i'm sorry everyone. HOWEVER. we are ignoring the beautiful truth of johnny storm and his hot 6-foot-massive husband. when i think about them my mind fills with static but like. he doesn't have powers. johnny is a living star. and he will still step in front of johnny every time. he treats johnny's niece and nephew like his own. they're married in every sense but legally. only 37 works in the ao3 tag. we are living in hell. at this point i will take crumbs from dan slott. DAN SLOTT. but i stay silly

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

zinda blake. purely because of "holy crow! the boy is FANCY?!"

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

ummmm everything about the "stalker tim" thing. like no he did not follow batman and robin around with a camera for 5 years. janet and jack didn't send him to school at arkham ok he was not able to escape every weekend and go downtown in gotham at 3am. but also i have seen people be very adamant that tim did not stalk batman and robin until jason died (which like. if he hadn't followed anything about batman and robin in that period, how would he know how much more violent bruce was getting or that robin had changed hands?) and that's not true. he was stalking them neil josten style. i want to see his creepy stalker binder full of newspaper clippings. from actual newspapers. like a psychopath

9. worst part of canon

cassie sandsmark's stupid fucking costume for the last 20 years. i would suffer through tom king's writing just to see her in a normal outfit i'm dead fucking serious. i'd buy the fucking issue. her ugly ass britney spearsification twig arms tt2003 redesign deals me actual psychic damage when i have to look at it (IT WAS SO OOC and johns' justification was so misogynistic. what if i kms) and every time i have to see cassie's stupid fucking impractical little girl eight-year-old-in-2011 outfit from rebirth i want to die. there's this one panel i saw that i cannot find where diana, donna, and yara are walking in their really beautiful, regal armour, looking like warriors, ready for battle, and then cassie is next to them in her skort. it's so embarrassing… someone please free my girl. actually free her from everything originating in tt2003 she deserves so much better

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr

i get what they're trying to say but also I Was Literally There And That Is Not What Happened

<3

[jabbage]

My Favourite Fanfics

2022 was the year I discovered fanfiction that I enjoyed reading, and I thought I'd share my mountain of fics that really stood out to me!

Jeeves and Wooster

Green Ice - Jeeves and Wooster & Lord Peter Wimsey

I'm hesitant to explain why I like this fic so much. It was 'spoiled' for me before I read it, and I wonder what the experience would have been like if I hadn't known where it was going ahead of time. So, perhaps I'll just say that it uses Bertie Wooster's position as possible unreliable narrator to add a really interesting dimension to his character and explore an aspect of note about the Jeeves and Wooster universe, and does so within a rip-roaring mystery which feels very authentic. AND Peter Wimsey is in it!

The War of the Worlds and All That - Jeeves and Wooster

In which Jeeves and Wooster thwart an alien invasion. Which is an utterly bonkers idea, somehow pulled off because said invasion hinges around the exact kind of dilemma which is entirely commonplace in Bertie Wooster's life. I was absolutely hooting with laughter throughout this whole thing.

Sherlock Holmes

The Craven Hive - Meticulously researched and textually deep historical pastiche with some absolutely beautiful character moments. Dr Watson returns from his war service and decides to assist in the treatment of shellshocked soliders. Of course when danger is at hand, he has to call in his old friend...

The Unsinkable Ship - Another meticulously researched piece. Holmes and Watson end up on board the Titanic. Much of the work is the pair going around exploring the ship, talking to each other and their fellow passengers (often real people), and dealing with navigating retirement together. They have such an old married couple vibe in this. Oh, and then the ship gets struck by an iceberg.

The Afterlife of Dr John H Watson - Good grief thing thing is absolute exquisite torture and I've read it I don't know how many times. Has entirely changed how I read 'The Blanched Soldier' and 'The Lion's Mane'. I get very very bored at 'kissy stuff' in stories, but the pivotal kiss in this GOT ME BAD.

The Taste of Truth - Delicious dark fantasy. If Neil Gaiman had written it, it would have won a Nebula.

Grit in the Sensor - Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century - Ok ok just hear me out on this one.... Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century is a very fun but silly Saturday Morning Cartoon which had a wealth of absolutely dynamite sci-fi concepts bubbling below the surface which it didn't ever address. One of these is that there is a robot who appears to have gained sentience by reading Watson's work. This fic unpacks that concept in a beautiful heartfelt way. It's narrated from Robot Watson's point of view, which leads to a delightful mixture of 19th century patois with machine logic.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Of Skulls and Secrets - I really enjoy it when people bring in the very bonkers real life history of alchemy into FMA stories, and this piece honestly feels like it could have been an extra chapter or OVA.

FMA Beyond - I don't know what to tell you. It's like Hiromu Arakawa wrote and illustrated more Fullmetal Alchemist. I got tingles when I started reading it. It gets Al right, which is always important to me :D

Others

Ciel D'Oro - The Name of the Rose

I can't believe somebody wrote a very decent sequel to The Name of the Rose and it's on Ao3 and you can read it for free.

Mister Vimes'd Go Spare - Discworld

If you were to tell me that this was actually written by Terry Pratchett, I would believe you. In my heart, this is what happened to Sam Vimes in the end.

A Man from the Stars - Doctor Who

Officially set my mind to rest about poor Joan Redfern.

Sing Down the Stars - The Chronicles of Narnia

Very beautiful reflection on Rilian from The Silver Chair ***

That's it for now! I'm sure I'll keep adding to this as I read more stuff :D

[a-mag-a-day]

MAG 33 - I think I accidentally skipped this episode during my first run because when I heard it on my second listen I didn't remember any of it, not Tim and not the statement. I think that's also why I totally missed the Lukas family until Peter Lukas himself stepped into the Institute. So… When I first listened to this episode, I was on my way home from the dentist.

"Boatswain" - one of many English words, of which I don't understand why it's pronounced the way it is.

Ha Tim, back when he was still a cheery character.

Oh someone's pissy when they realize they made mistakes…

You hear voices in the background, like the door is open and we can hear all the commotion of a workday in the Institute.

"Ohhh… okay… Alright, so what happens if more than one statement is given on the same day?" - Well, if it's intentional like MAG 39 and 40 it just gets the suffix A and B. But if it's… probably unintentional? (like MAG 15 and MAG 150… though the 1 and 5 coincident is funny…) nothing, just the same statement number.

God, hearing Jon spiraling into the stress of the chaotic Archive pluuuus him feeling that there's something very wrong with some of those statements is really sad to hear…

"It’s getting bad. I mean, Martin keeps showing me his tongue (uncomfortable laugh) and asking if it “looks infested”." - hehehehe

05:06 "container ship", thump… Is some of this intentional? With 4 of these in the previous episode and now again and the statement hasn't even started yet…

"Well, that and my bad Spanish." - ok, the majority in Brazil speaks Portuguese and not Spanish. I tried to google Spanish-speaking regions but all I can find is like, close to borders with Spanish-speaking countries. Porto do Itaqui is not near a border. I thiiiink, I remember them talking about this in a Q&A or something? That this region is Spanish-speaking? However, I did also google Itaqui (without the "Porto do"), which actually is near a border, but it's not the same as Porto do Itaqui!!! XD Porto do Itaqui is in the north of Brazil and Itaqui is in the south bordering to Argentina, which would probably make sense for this region to speak Spanish xDD

Just the nature of this statement, having a work place requiring a group with a secretly creepy boss… Having one space, which will be occupied by another "victim", only to then purposefully get rid of one member to do it all again… It reminds me of Krabat, a German fantasy book by Otfried Preußler (Haaa, get a load of this letter! ß!). It's really cool, if anyone wants to check it out, it's been translated into English and by googling this I found out it's apparently one of Neil Gaiman's favorite scary stories for children! Cool, didn't know that. I grew up with Krabat, so there's that.

"Hell, not being too comfortable around people is a damn fine reason to go to sea." - Yeah but… What if the crew is like reaaaally shitty and then I'm stuck on a fucking boat with them for God knows how long, having to work with them…

21:31 "interesting", thump.

22:27 "Elias", thump (understandable xD).

22:39 "this", thump

22:52 "UK" and "even", thump thump, the hell??

22:58 (twothousandand)"ten", thump…

I propose a new Magnus drinking game: Every time you hear a thump, drink!

It's the eyes surrounding Jon bouncing off the walls

[vergess]

Curious question, how many Sherlock Holmes adaptations have you watched? Also, if you watched several , which one is your favorite?

Well, setting aside the Great Mouse Detective because it's unfair to compare other adaptations to something I loved as a child and thus can only view with perfect adoration in spite of any actual truths.

I am a tumblr user of repute, so I've of course seen the BBC's Sherlock. I think that A Study in Pink is the best episode in the show because the editing and cinematography are outstanding and serve the story beautifully. The writing is mediocre but competently sets expectations for the quality of the rest of the show. Then the second episode is so shockingly racist. So overall, it's bad, but influential in fandom whether we want it to be or not. I enjoyed it at the time, but as a more... like. Informed adult? It's bad. Don't bother.

A Study in Emerald. Short story by Neil Gaiman. Barely constitutes an adaptation, but we deserve to be reminded of good writing after that last one. It's available for free on Mr Gaiman's website, here:

Apparently there's a graphic novel version of Emerald, but I've not read it. Unless the graphic novel is just the fake newspaper on the website? Wikipedia was somewhat unclear.

Downey Jr movies: I love them. Absolutely horrible adaptations, but fucking amazing films. More fun than you're expecting. Highly recommended.

Elementary: Probably the best modern adaptation. Captures the serial spirit and commitment to Solving Mysteries Realistically of the original. However, I cannot watch it. The lead actor's performance is basically perfect for 'what would the Holmes character be like today' but I cannot stand it for some reason. I haaaaate watching him, and that makes this one hard for me. I recommend it highly anyway.

I watched two of the Basil Rathbone films to the point of nausea as a kid, but over exposure to the Worst Kinds Of White People in high school discussions of his body of films left a bitter taste for me. Because these films were an adaptation for an audience MUCH closer to the audience of the original stories, there is a period and character authenticity that just cannot be matched by anything else. Honestly, if you only ever watch one adaptation, it should be one of these. I say that in spite of these movies attracting the worst people on earth. There's a reason the 'generic' image of Holmes looks that way, and it's Basil Rathbone.

I've only seen the Peter Cushing movie, not the show. But, he's very much the performance I imagine in my head when reading the stories these days. My favourite live action Holmes actor, and a really top tier Watson. Definitely worth the time. I'm told the show is, um. Not so good on the Watson front.

I didn't like The Private Life of Holmes. I thought it sucked. I have no redeeming statements for it. It's objectively better that the 2010 BBC show, but I have nostalgia for that one's fandom. I just hate this one. It's bad!! Watch anything else. Watch the Great Mouse Detective, it has the same plot but it doesn't suck.

Young Sherlock Holmes is also a bad movie, but it's a bad Pixar Kids Movie so it's still perfectly competent for what it wants to be. If you need something to give a Holmes loving kid under 12 has 'seen them all' give them this. It's forgettable, and thus kids never really see it anymore.

I haven't seen Enola Holmes yet, but I'll probably get around to it. So I guess that's a tentative recommendation there.

The BBC radio drama Adventures of Holmes and its sequel Further Adventures of Holmes is REALLY FUCKING GOOD. If you like podcasts or audio books or stage plays, you have GOT to try these. The first half is a complete adaptation of every Holmes story, and the second half is professional fanfic of identical quality. I've never tried the American version and don't intend to.

I liked the 3 VHS tapes of the Granada tv series that I watched as a little kid, but I honestly couldn't tell you if they're good. I haven't watched any of it since I turned 9. A lot of people like them to the point of thinking Jeremy Brett is THE Holmes actor, so they had to be doing something right.

Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century and Case Closed are both like... impossible for me to parse as Holmes adaptations. Wikipedia says they are but like........ okay. I've seen them both and they are their own entities to me lol. Case Closed in particular is bomb as hell, highly recommended. But like... in a retro anime way, not a Holmes way.

Miss Sherlock has been good so far. I haven't watched enough to have a strong opinion beyond, like. Gay shit. As a Known Fagotte, I gotta say. They sure did cast very attractive actresses and leave all the homoeroticism in place. This, reasonably IMO, distracts me from having anything valuable to say.

The Star Trek TNG episodes with Data and Moriarty are obviously personal favourites. If you can suspend your disbelief enough to accept the god like powers of the holodeck, I think it's a really good time.

And the only one I can remember that wasn't on the Wikipedia list of adaptations is Slylock Fox. These are riddle comics for very young kids, like, ages 3-7. They're to help early readers learn new vocabulary and practice critical thinking. They were my very, very first Holmes media.

I. Hated. Those. Goddamn. Comics. I wanted to kill them. Not the characters or the author, but the comics themselves as a concept. I NEVER solved ANY of the fucking riddles, and to this DAY I will NEVER FORGET that latex paint dyes water and oil paint doesn't.

Probably good for kids who get bored in class a lot, but be ready for the rage.

[dollarbin]

Dollar Bin #22:

Ringo Starr's Goodnight Vienna

Pop quiz time. Open your Dollar Bin exam booklets and begin:

True or False: Ringo Starr was and still is the oldest Beatle. He's older than my father, your father, Bob Dylan and even Bernie Sanders. And that means he's way older than Biden or Trump. What do you think: true or false? Answer: True! Ringo for President - he'll be 88 at the end of his term.

True or False: Around the time the Beatles were collapsing Ringo bought a mansion from Peter Sellers while they were making a film together (The Magic Christian) which is dedicated to exposing the evils of capitalism. Answer: True! Ringo and Peter were perfectly content to savage the very same economic system that had turned each of them into mansion owners. The film climaxes with the ignorant masses jumping into a giant vat of blood and feces in order to get their hands on ready cash. Ringo and Peter don't jump in; they already had plenty of cash in hand and they understood the evil nature of capitalism. Such savvy gents. Again, Ringo for President!

True or False: Starr turned around a year later and sold that same mansion to none other than Stephen Stills; Starr would go on to play on Stills' first solo record under the deeply undercover nom de guerre "Richie". Answer: True. Stills had somehow already made enough money at that point to buy a Beatles sized mansion. You can't make up stuff like this!

True or False: That same mansion's ancient caretaker was named Johnny. Stills, who surely had no idea whatsoever that his band mate, Neil Young, had just written and recorded a song entitled Old Man all about the caretaker of Young's own new home, just so happened to have the inspiration (where it came from no one knows) to write a song about his own new caretaker. Stills' song, Johnny's Garden, is not in any way whatsoever plagiarism of Old Man and is a truly wonderful piece of music. Answer: False, obviously. Stephen Stills sucks. The sections above in bold, however, are all true.

True or False: Ringo and his wife Maureen, who started dating when she was 15 and Ringo was 22, are the only two people I'd actually enjoy spending some quality time with in the entire 6 hour Get Back film. Answer: Totally true! After all, the Lennon-Ono's were on heroin; the McCartney's would have asked me to stand bloody well aside so they could gaze deeper into one another's souls; George would have made me talk with his terrifyingly silent hare krishna stalker dude; and Glyn Johns might have made me smell his fresh kill fur coat:

How are you doing on the test so far? Need extra credit? Okay, here's your final, bonus question: True or False: Ringo, although he would later report that he spent all of the 70's blind drunk, somehow did not fall off the top of the Capital Records building while filming of this video for his 1974 album Goodnight Vienna.

Answer: Totally True. Only you, Ringo, could have made anything this ridiculous while your lovely wife was at ground level, having an affair with George Harrison (yes, that detail is also true; being a Beatle, or a Beatle wife, sounds like it was one big incestuous joy ride).

Okay, pencils down. Please report your scores to your nearest loved one. I'm sure they totally appreciate you reading this instead of paying attention to them.

Now, let's talk about Ringo's ridiculous, but not ridiculous enough, 74 record, Goodnight Vienna.

Listen: I'd love to tell you that Goodnight Vienna is Ringo's masterpiece. I can assure you that he's not the second best drummer in the Beatles (he's not; listen to A Day in the Life) but I cannot, in good conscience, advise you to participate in the evil system Ringo tells me is capitalism so as to buy Goodnight Vienna. Nor can I, in good conscience, advise you to stop reading this, continue to ignore those loved ones and instead get busy with the presale for yet another, inevitable, Ringo's All Star Band tour, even though "the last" Beatles song is currently captivating us.

(I really like Now And Then despite the terrifying Forest-Gump-meets-the-Beatles-as-remade-by-a-14-year-old video that accompanies it).

Simply put, Goodnight Vienna kinda sucks.

Yes, it's got one of the goofier covers in my entire collection (and maybe that alone is enough to justify your dollar). But nothing on the record has anything to do with Ringo in a cheesy spacesuit and it's pretty clear that Ringo's warbling atop that Tower Records Building wasn't the only period of drunken and coked up self-indulgent buffoonery that took place during the making of this record. When things could be funny on the record, they're either dull or off the mark. The rather tasteless vibe of the No No Song permeates things.

Sure, James Newton Howard makes his recording debut on this record (you know James: he's the guy responsible for the soundtracks of a zillion terrible films including My Girl, The Postman and Waterworld, and a few sublime ones: Michael Clayton and The Dark Knight come to mind). But he plays a synthesizer you can't even hear on one single track of this record so even soundtrack geeks can skip on this one.

And yes, there's a veritable list of big names on this record, from Lennon himself, who wrote the almost-catchy but ultimately head throbbing title track, to Elton John, Robbie Robertson, Dr. John, Steve Cropper and Billy Preston. But at the end of the day I think there are just two tracks worth your time and consideration.

The first is Snookeroo. Elton brought this track to the Goodnight Vienna sessions and it's an odd one from his catalog. I'm no Elton John buff (I'm afraid I don't own a single record by him; feel free to advise on if/where to start), but I like Tiny Dancer as much as every other reasonable human being on earth and I respect his chops; the guy, after all, was the first to cover Nick Drake, turning Drake's brooding, worshipful closer Saturday Sun into a fervent, stand at the keys and pound on them, white soul track. Is Elton's version any good? Well, let's listen.

Sure, I guess it's alright, and I can certainly understand why a guy like Ringo wanted a guy like Elton in his cacophonous studio instead of inviting poor Nick, who at that point had just a few months left on earth with us all. Just imagine Drake standing in Goodnight Vienna's darkest, most awkward corner while Lennon shouts incoherent directions. Nick's trembling and mortified, like Jane Austen at a pro wrestling event...

Snookeroo is obviously written for and about Starr himself. Starr's dad was the kinda drunk described in the chorus and Ringo had clearly given Elton and his lyricist, Bernie Taupin, back of the napkin bullet points from his Dickensian childhood.

The third verse is where things get weird. Did Ringo like this description of himself? How did a gay songwriter like Elton feel about a guy who eagerly and triumphantly sang about needing a factory girl to cook for him and turn him loose at night? Was Ringo proud to embody toxic masculinity in this song or was he making fun of the sexist character he plays here? Hopefully the later. After all, he was born in July, not on the eve of Halloween, as he claims in the song. But maybe he was too wasted to get his birthday straight on the cocktail napkin? Who knows!

But listen to Robbie Robertson and Elton leapfrogging each other in the song's second half. This is a song worth your Dollar Bin buck, right? Or at least your dime... Maybe a nickle?

The second song from Goodnight Vienna worth your slight attention is Husbands and Wives. It's the one straight-up country song on Goodnight Vienna and, if you're like me, and you only own this one single Ringo record, you'll wish you had Ringo's second solo album, Beaucoups of Blues, in your own personal Dollar Bin instead of it. That's because Beaucoups of Blues is the "Ringo goes to Nashville" album from his career.

You know the "(insert the pop/rock artist of your choice) Goes to Nashville" genre: think Almost Blue; think Jonathan Goes Country, think all the great Joan Baez albums between 68 and 72. For that matter, think Harvest, the Neil Young album Stephen Stills has still never heard. Apparently.

I suppose Dylan invented the genre, in a way, with Blonde on Blonde, though the Dylan record that most truly fits the genre that I'm suggesting here (rock star of your choice sends themself temporarily to Music City to a) go on a bender and b) make a slightly or fully voyeuristic country record at the same time) is Nashville Skyline.

So if Beaucoups of Blues is Starr's Nashville Skyline, maybe that's what we have left to get excited about after listening to Goodnight Vienna: at least we now have an excuse to buy yet another Dollar Bin record. Even so, I can't say I'm totally on fire to get it. Happily, Neil Young regular Ben Keith plays steel guitar on the record, and I'm always game for any record with Keith on it. But bizarrely, Kenny Buttrey, the Chewbacca of Nashville records, does not play on Beaucoups of Blues. Very weird. Maybe Buttrey was faking imprisonment on the Death Star at that point or something.

Okay, that was supposed to be the sputtering end of this post. But hang in there a moment longer Dollar Binners: I just turned our time with Ringo into something way more exciting: suddenly and unexpectedly I have just discovered a far more worthwhile Dollar Bin quest.

Had you turned the tables around and quizzed me five minutes ago, not on Ringo's second marriage to a Bond girl or his decision to quit the band during the White Album, but instead on details about the song Husbands and Wives, I would have initially failed the test. Never heard it before, I would have responded, and while I like the melody whenever Ringo finds it, that's all I've got to say about the song.

But, just now, I dug deep into my pea sized brain when I saw on the Ringo credits that Roger Miller is the songwriter, and I remembered that Cousin Kris digs Roger Miller, just like he digs Charlie Pride. Take a listen:

Once I remembered that Miller has the Kristofferson seal of approval I fired up this new website I've been experimenting with lately; it's called Google and it handed me a nugget of Dollar Bin gold: Roger Miller is the guy behind the greatest moment in Disney history:

My famous brother and I loved this movie as kids, watching it over and over again in our parents bed from a cutting edge, bootlegged off the TV, VHS copy. Remember all the foxy romance? The flying arrows shot into the lake that pierced Robin's cap? Remember the giant dancing nun chicken?

Of course, my famous brother, I now ashamedly remember, has urged me more than once to get into Roger Miller, explaining patiently to me that he's the guy largely responsible for our childhood love of the film and that he's worth my Dollar Bin buck many times over. But did I listen to my famous brother's wise sage counsel? No. I went and bought a Ringo record instead. One would think I was the one who was drunk for all of the 70's.

But realizing who Roger Miller is has me ready to strike out on a new Dollar Bin quest. There's nothing quite like leaning into a Dollar Bin in hopes of finding a specific artist you know you should be in there, because they were popular 50 years and are now forgotten by people like me. You've passed them up for decades with sneers or indifference because you failed to hearken to your famous brother's earnest directives. But now things have changed: you are ready, at long last, to enjoy Roger Miller.

So, somebody, please summon Starr's spaceship pronto. I need to get my drunken ass off the top of the Capital Record building and into a Dollar Bin fast. I have the sense that Roger Miller will be more trustworthy than good old Ringo when it comes to Husbands and Wives.