#white collar favourite episode list

[whatsagirltoblogabout]

What are your favourite White Collar episode(s) and why?

I’ll start. My favourite episode is season 3 episode 10 Countdown, because I’m a huge fan of shenanigans. There’s just so much subterfuge and excitement packed into this one episode, I love it!

Spoiler warning, I’m going into detail under the cut.

First and foremost, the whole “throwing his fedora off the top of a building and then jumping after it, parachuting down and then picking it up and putting it back on” thing is everything to me. Like, that’s peak Neal Caffrey™️. The sheer audacity has me swooning.

That whole caper involves so much great stuff. A classic Caffrey forgery, some mind games in getting Peter to lock him in the closet, Mozzie running the technical side of things while wearing an elaborate disguise, delightful banter, a daring last-second escape that lands him right back where he started in the nick of time. It’s just *chef’s kiss* peak shenanigans.

And that’s not even all of it! There’s the whole thing with Agent Melissa Matthews from DC Art Crimes, which plays almost like psychological slapstick comedy as Neal tries to maintain the facade that he’s an Interpol agent without any of the White Collar team catching on. And it all comes crashing down at the end, but Melissa is so cool about it! I feel like she doesn’t get enough appreciation for taking it as well as she does, considering she’s an FBI agent who just got taken for quite a ride by a notorious con man. And she just gives him a respectful “well played” and peaces out! Legend behaviour. Especially compared to her boss, who’s the picture boy for sore losers LOL.

Speaking of Kramer, while he does have his annoying moments in this episode, he also has some really fun ones. His first meeting with Neal is pretty enjoyable, though I’ll admit to being biased because I adore chocolate. And the end, when Neal authenticates his own painting and then Kramer gets to plant the seed in Peter’s mind about Neal being the forger? Peter’s moment of realization is so good, it’s one of my favourite shots in the whole episode. The rest of the season didn’t quite deliver as much intrigue on that front as they seemed to promise with that moment, but they do have a fun callback in the season finale when Peter asks how Neal pulled off the switch and doesn’t believe the real answer.

-

My other favourite episode is 5.11 Shot Through the Heart, because the dynamics of two liars lying to each other is so delicious. But I’ll spare y’all the in-depth ramble about that one ;)

You, of course, do not need to go on for as long as I did, though you are more than welcome to if you’re so inclined. I’d just like to know why you’re choosing the specific episode(s) that you are, in whatever way and however many words you want to use :)

[thethirdromana]

Kerr Avon's costumes, rated

The sequel to Romana II's costumes, rated, here by popular* request! (*maybe not very popular.)

Screengrabs from here (copied rather than linked per their FAQs). Invaluable record of what Avon actually wears in which episode from here. I haven't included overcoats, spacesuits, or anything Avon doesn't actively choose to wear, like prison clothes. Which means that rating this monstrosity

is left as an exercise for the reader.

I've also not done every single variation on black jackets with studded panels, even when they are technically different black jackets with studded panels, because otherwise we'd be here all night.

As seen in Space Fall and Cygnus Alpha.

Ugh. It's fine. The heights of bonkersness that Blake's 7 costume design would reach are not even really hinted at here. It's a perfectly reasonable outfit - grey shirt, grey trousers, grey tabard-thing. Add a name badge and Avon could be stocking shelves in a fancy supermarket. I'll allow that it does look comfortable, which will not be a theme of much else on this list. 5/10.

As seen in Time Squad.

I don't hate the brown patchwork thing (though brown is rightly Blake's colour), but what's going on with the larger square over his stomach? I feel like he's about to do some welding or something and it's there to protect his clothes, but it is his clothes. Avon only wore this outfit once, and who can blame him? 2/10.

As seen in The Web, Seek-Locate-Destroy, Mission to Destiny, Duel, Project Avalon, Breakdown, and Deliverance.

I think this one may have suffered from the passage of time. Because I look at it and think, why has Avon chosen to dress like an old-fashioned stereo system? But from the vantage point of 1978, I guess Avon had chosen to dress like a decidedly modern stereo system. Look at those rounded corners, he could be a first-gen iPod. And the matching grey of collar and cuffs is a nice touch. None of this answers the question of why he has buttons across his tits, but there are some things that are not for us to know. 8/10.

As seen in Bounty and Orac.

Oooh, green. Green is a nice change. And if you're watching Blake's 7 and you're enjoying those green sleeves, you'd better make the most of them, because other than one very notable exception, this is the last time that Avon wears an outfit that isn't brown, white, black or shades of grey for the entire rest of the series. The rest of it looks a bit like someone's Star Trek Discovery uniform cosplay got out of hand. 6/10, because green.

As seen in Redemption and Killer.

Obviously, this is a classic. And full marks to Paul Darrow for wearing a costume that was literally bought from a sex shop and making it look like something that anyone might wear to their normal day of fighting oppression and engaging in homoerotic tension. 10/10.

As seen in Shadow, Horizon, Gambit, and Children of Auron.

OK fine I threw away the term "classic" too soon, this is the true classic, the time Avon decided to dress as a thermal blanket and then pair that with thigh-high boots. ICONIC. What I love about this is aside from being batshit, it's actually kind of a nice outfit? I imagine that shiny fabric was absolute hell to work with but the gathering at the shoulders means it hangs surprisingly well.

It also gains at least 5 bonus points for featuring in this, one of my all-time favourite Blake's 7 moments:

I wish I could find it as a gif, but you'll just have to join me in pretending these images are moving instead. And in heaving a nostalgic sigh for the era when men were allowed to have normal bodies on TV. 15/10.

As seen in Shadow.

I've tried to go for just one main outfit per episode, because this is already very long and we're only about halfway through. But I had to make an exception for matching! outfits! And all the better for being an outfit that looks great on all three of them. I only wish that Avon could have had some silver boots like Jenna is wearing, I think it would really have completed the look. 9/10.

As seen in Weapon, Pressure Point, Countdown, and Dawn of the Gods.

In some ways, this costume is quite practical. Avon is wearing something not a million miles from bikers' leathers here, and the quilted part of the chest and back would presumably offer him a bit of protection if he got into a fight. But also, it's the colour and style of a brothel sofa, and there's no way in hell he could wear this and retain the ability to lift his arms above his head.

God, I love this show. 10/10.

As seen in Trial, Hostage, Voice From the Past, The Keeper, Star One, Aftermath, and Powerplay.

I have less to say about this because - and I mean this in full tribute to the Blake's 7 costume designers - it's just a nice jacket! It stays in keeping with the design trends we see throughout the series, with panels of different fabrics, and spacewear shiny silver bits, but ultimately you could wear this on the street today and no one would give you a second look. I quite like that about it. 8/10.

As seen Aftermath. (And the loose black shirt in Voice From the Past is similar too).

Maybe this is just my mid-00s goth-adjacent phase showing through, but I am, and always will be, a sucker for a man in this kind of shirt. 8/10, please don't make me justify this further.

As seen in Volcano and Rumours of Death.

The first of many similar black outfits, where I'm going to be selective or this will get tedious very quickly. I think this is the best of them; after this, the 80s started up in earnest, and Avon's shoulders were never allowed to be their natural width again. 9/10.

As seen in The Harvest of Kairos.

My parents haven't been camping in years, but somewhere in the attic they still have an old tent, which lives in a bag that looks a lot like this outfit. As if I needed any more reasons to dislike The Harvest of Kairos. 1/10.

As seen in Ultraworld.

Avon what are you doing. Brown is not your colour. I think I might headcanon that this is Blake's jacket, because aside from the brownness it also seems to be a fair bit too big for Avon. After a couple of seasons of squeezing him into the lobster outfit and other tight leather things, the costume designers seem to have swerved hard into boxy shapes from this point onwards. I disapprove. Honestly, I was going to skip this one except that I love what Dayna is wearing. Wish Avon could have some of that energy. 2/10.

As seen in Death-Watch.

Let's pause for a second, look to the left, and appreciate that Dayna is wearing another fabulous outfit. Now let's take a deep breath, and look at the utter monstrosity that Avon is wearing. Like a matador crossed with a bumper car. 0/10.

As seen in Rescue, Power, Traitor, Stardrive, Animals, Headhunter, Orbit, Warlord, and Blake.

Avon wears some kind of black jacket with studs for nearly all of season D, but I've picked this as the definitive one. I don't know if there's some kind of clever character development thing going on here with how big this costume is, like Avon is expanding into his leadership role, but weighed down by the responsibility too. It could be deliberate, it could just be what fashion was like in the early 80s.

What I do know is that however meaningful this costuming might be, it's not flattering. 5/10, and Avon finishes the series, sadly, no better dressed than he began it.

[winterandwords]

💀 Join the Spin Cylinder tag list!

If you'd like to join the tag list for Spin Cylinder (see WIP summary here), drop a reply on this post or send me a message.

The tag list is for...

Advance notice of posting schedule for new episodes on winterandwords.com

Notifications when new chapters go live

Notifications of breaks between episodes

You can also subscribe to email notifications at winterandwords.com if you like 💙

What's it all about? ⬇️

📝 BASICS Contract killer Noah and white-collar criminal Brett retire from successful but stressful careers to build a home together on a foundation of obsession, shared secrets and murder. But when they start to feel restless and the downward spiral beckons them deeper, how far will they go to find their way back to themselves?

✅ GENRE Transgressive, literary

📖 AUDIENCE Adult

👀 VIBE Slice of life, but life is drugs and crime. They deserve each other (derogatory). Violence as a substitute for therapy. Very elegantly wasted. My favourite mistake, my weapon of choice and the parts of ourselves that we can’t leave behind.

📚 READING ORDER Spin Cylinder (see WIP summary here) is the sequel to November Breaks (approx 52k words, see story summary here) which can be read in full for free at winterandwords.com.

[compressednerve]

📺🤓

thank you anaon for the ask 😎🌻🌞🌆 <- emoji spell of "sun" for the anon

📺 - Favourite show? a few to list:.

Mr. Robot

Kill la Kill

White Collar

Trailer Park Boys

Breaking Bad but I was watching it as it aired and I never finished Season 5 because by that point they'd killed all my favorite characters >:(

this list was going to be longer but I realized as I was typing it, I don't actually like that much TV. I spent most of my time in the Virtual World mainly playing video games and listening to music, and drawing yaoi. I don't really have the patience for TV... the episodes take too long, the camera work is usually very boring or agitating/flashy which causes seizures, the sound/dialogue does not captivate me... and not to sound too much like a wimp, but as I've gotten older and become more in touch with all parts of my self and my past, I realize that most subject matter on television shows is purposefully graphic for the sake of shock value, and indeed most forms of violence triggers me into panic attacks. It's not to say that I'm incapable of watching hardcore movies or shows, but at the end of the day... I guess I'm more of a movies person, if I want to watch anything at all... orrrr? extremely niche interest youtube videos, though my interest in watching youtube severely went down somewhere in 2014, when The Great Monetization Wave was really rolling,. Anyways. Most of the TV shows I do like have been shown to me by @parasitefun over the past 7 years, with great patience on its' part because I can't tolerate a lot of stuff. I'm a very sensitive boy :(

🤓 - How did you get your name? My current online name "Osman" comes from my full system member's name "Osman the Magician", who is an introject of the real life occultist, Austin Osman Spare. This alter formed around September 2022 when the Fiend Folio mod for The Binding of Isaac: Repentance dropped the fucking smash hit Scarred Womb boss, Cacophobia. Her many statue forms of endured abuse resonated with my greatly, and one of her forms/statues is of her in a "Death Posture". Learning about this terminology intrigued me deeply, as it's a concept of meditation that was discovered by Austin Osman Spare. The idea of putting yourself into a stress position, and purposefully causing pain, is something that many doctors, therapists, and other health professionals have talked about for forms of recovering from cPTSD... and it's no wonder that it would overlap with Occultism, as well, as all forms of spirituality can be crossed over with scientific interpretation of the world.

I found Austin's body of work and life as a laborer, an artist, and eventually a cripple who relied on other people to take care of him and sponser him so he could continue his passion, to be very inspiring, and from there, an alter formed. How could it not, with myself a cripple, relying on Parasite to take care of my every need for the past 6 years and indeed for the rest of my life? I actually go by a few different names in my IRL, none of which are featured on my blog, because a combination of my trauma, complex DID, and ASPD all combine into a severe allergy of "sticking to one single identity"

[redfurrycat]

❤️📺Ten (ish) TV-shows I love❤️📺

Tagged by the lovely @renai-chan to do the 'Ten Movies I love' Tag Game.

I already did that, so allow me to redirect you to this post listing my ten movies, and this other one (a much much much much longer version, if you feel up to it).

However, after reflecting about which 10 movies I like the best –what a dilemma it was– I also thought about which 10 TV-shows are my comfort rewatches. I came up easily (surprisingly so) with the selection, so let me share that with you instead! 😊 ❤️

Xena: Warrior Princess

The most badass warrior I have ever seen on TV. What a sight is Lucy Lawless, I fell in love with those gorgeous blue eyes since the moment my child eyes saw them… This tv-show is everything to me. Xena & Gabrielle, the purest soulmates. There were also lots of amazing characters and actors (Karl Urban and Kevin Smith, among others). Produced in New Zealand too… Which is so awesome! <3 (Strong opening theme!)

Stargate SG1/Atlantis

MY FUCKING SCI-FY babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t even tell you why I love these two TV-shows, because I got so overwhelmed about it! I. JUST. LOVE. THEM. SO. MUCH! (I actually watched several Stargate Atlantis episodes just before typing this list.) If you like the genre, GO.WATCH.THESE! (Amazing opening themes as well! <3)

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (the 20-min-episode tv-show)

I’ve watched every rerun on TV since it has been broadcasted. It is tied to my childhood, so I’m rather attached to it! I prefer this version over the more recent one, which is a bit too dark compared to the comedic one. Salem is so funny! He’s I-C-O-N-I-C! :P

Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman/// House MD

My absolute two favourite tv-shows involving doctors… though they are very different from one another. Western drama vs. medical drama. It’s really not your typical medical show however.

A female physician from a 19th-wealthy family moving in the wild west to establish a practice. She feels very deeply and has a strong moral compass. The themes mentioned are quite serious (which I like) as you have, for instance, a close-minded-white-men little village, a woman working a man job, Cheyenne tribes being mistreated so are the black people and any other non-White people. Of course, it is still a tv-show, so I don’t how historically-accurate it is. But so not as sappy as Grey’s Anatomy if you know what I mean. 😊

AND the Sherlock doctor. Hugh Laurie is magnificent in this out-of-the-ordinary, junkie, snarky genius of a doctor!  

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Do I really need to spell it? MASTER OF THE ELEMENTS. AIRBENDING. WATERBENDING. FIREBENDING. EARTHBENDING. THIS IS SO FREAKING COOL!!!!!! The Legend of Korra is good too!

White Collar

The adventures of an FBI agent and his con artist/thief consultant. YUP. It is as cool as it sounds. All the characters are lovely as well!

Downton Abbey

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE BRITISH PERIOD DRAMA EVER. It is about the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants’ life during the earliest 20th century. The cast is realllllllllllllly good! A lot of good characters, strong episodes (very emotional sometimes)! Dame Maggie Smith is killing it as the Dowager Countess of Grantham, the sass in this character’s lines and faces!!!!! XD (Again, the opening theme is SO GOOD!)

Once Upon a Time

A very nice tv-show where fairytales characters are transported into the real world because of a curse. The cast is INSANE! :O Nice revisit of famously known fairytales!!!! I have a thing for the accents…Well, there are a lot of different accents to listen to!

Lucifer

It’s probably one of the last (new-ish) TV-show I’ve watched from the beginning to the end. The British (again with the accent) Devil’s adventures with the Detective (yeah… it’s her official name! XD). Very good chemistry between Tom Ellis and Lauren German! And the other characters are equally as good!!!!!!!!!

Prison Break

Season 1 was the best. Truly. The idea was so original when the tv-show came out! Wentworth Miller’s acting is pure *chef’s kiss*. (That’s why I love Captain Cold so much btw, especially because Dominic Purcell is also his Rogues buddy in The Flash). Also, I’ve never loved the crookiest of the crook characters so much than how I love T-Bag. He’s the worst, but OMG his lines and mimicking (Robert Knepper did a fine job!)

As I already did the tagging before, I won’t do it again, but I let this open. Anyone feeling like talking about their comfort TV-shows are more than welcomed to do this “other version” of the tag game! 😉

[praisetheplatonicism]

Thank ye kindly for the tag, @ivaspinoza. I'm chronically indecisive, so this may take a while.

Last song: Pruning Shears, by The Amazing Devil. Aka my favourite song of all time.

Favourite Colors: sky blue's my favourite, followed by turqoise, purple, and pale green. I like my cool colours. Combine any of those with black, or silver/gold, and I melt.

Currently Watching: I'm too busy being crushed by a dissertation and final course essay due three days later to watch much right now. ...Is what I would be saying, if I were responsible. In truth, I've been revisiting my favourite episodes of Supernatural recently. They help me through the pain of writing about Renaissance lovesickness all day.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: I generally prefer savory, but I like them all. Which is weird, cause I'm a notoriously picky eater, so I'm not sure how that happened.

Current Obsession: This is a Complicated one. I have a very obsessive personality - I tend to get taken over by whatever I'm watching, so naturally it's Supernatural right now (to be fair that one holds a special place in my heart, it never really leaves), but there's also Efteling of course, one of the loves of my life (I literally have a shrine to it in my room), then there's bromance in general (my url tells no lies), and there's depictions of lovesickness in Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, not because I want to be but because dissertation. Past obsessions include: Undertale, Hamilton, Be More Chill, White Collar, etymology (word history is so interesting), Dutch, Othello... the list goes on.

Last things I Googled: 'cachexia', which apparently means 'weakness and wasting of the body due to severe chronic illness'. Because dissertation. Also the closing time of my nearst KFC, cause I didn't want to order too close to closing and bother the staff.

Favourite Season: Winter. I have a really nice long coat, and winter's the only time I get to wear it. So. Winter. Also I like it when it's dark ourside. Plus, pretty lights.

Skill(s)I'd Like to Learn: well I'm trying to learn Dutch at the moment, but I'm not totally sure how to go about it. I'll hopefully be living in the Netherlands next year, so it would be nice to have even foundational Dutch knowledge. I know they have extremely high English proficiency over there, but still, it feels impolite to not at least try to engage with their language.

Best advice: try not to overthink things too much. I frequently get myself tangled up in knots trying to decypher something that wasn't actually that complicated, and I end up understanding it less than when I started. Cheesy as it sounds, there is merit in listening to your gut. Sometimes you just need to let things happen rather than try to logic them into submission.

Tagging my other two moots: @penna-nomen and @ladyofthelake. As always, no pressure my dudes.

Nine people to get to know

Thanks for the tag @bloodmoonloveletter and @cssnder :)

Last song: Echoes, Pink Floyd.

Favourite Colors: Black, pink, red, purple.

Currently Watching: I rarely watch anything.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Savory!

Current Obsession: Etymology of words related to water.

Last things I Googled: "Chicken restaurant", "zine" and "substack"

Favourite Season: Autumn.

Skill(s)I'd Like to Learn: Survival skills.

Best advice: Don't try to fix other people's problems, just love them while they fix it themselves, because everyone has the right to figure out life and grow, and they will do it when they are ready to take responsibility and action.

Tagging @remnantofabrokensoul @valyalyon @goodluckclove @bigwipscholar @godsmostfuckedupgoblin @gracechoreography @poethill @crow-with-a-typewriter @fairyvess @praisetheplatonicism @icantdance @yakultstan

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

The Men of September

The Avengers / Patrick MacNee as John Steed

No list of well-dressed screen men would be complete without John Steed! He wears many wonderful suits over the years, including some designed by Pierre Cardin and some designed by Patrick MacNee himself; but for today's example, I'd like to focus on a blazer-and-odd-trousers combination. He expertly matches patterns so that they don't clash. I also like the gold shirt with dark tie, and the brown bowler.

Here's the writeup from The Fashion Guide to The Avengers (from which I nabbed a bunch of these photos):

"He wears a single-breasted sports blazer with a green and brown tartan pattern; it has small, flap covered, pockets on the left breast and each hip, fastened with bone buttons. The jacket is fastened with three bone buttons & has a notch collar. The skirt has two vents above which is a small ‘belt’; under the yoke is a large pleat to allow the wearer complete freedom of movement. It’s normally worn with black and white houndstooth trousers, a light khaki shirt, green waistcoat and dark green and bronze tie, brown bowler hat, black umbrella, and brown suede Chelsea boots. [Note that the shoes are different in some photos.]

"This is Steed’s favourite outfit, and appears in half of episodes of series 5."

Screencaps are from "From Venus with Love," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station," "Death's Door," "The Hidden Tiger," and "The Winged Avenger."

[cina-full-moon-xanadium]

What are your favorite wolf/dog themed suits in tokusatsu?

So, hey, lemme start off not answering the question but giving some funny trivia

I used to think Snake Orphenoch was a dog. And when I say "used to" I mean literally up until one of the final episodes. Kaido had in his debut said "am I a dog now?" and one of his most prominent powers was scent so I just figured oh yeah dog, and it wasn't until one of the last episodes where he said something along the lines of him being a snake that i was like oh fucking SHIT i have had this wrong the whole time.

Anyway!

Despite Fuwa being one of my favourite Kamen Riders literally of all time, his Shooting Wolf base form is unfortunately one I don't like a lot. It's warmed to me over time but have to admit that's mostly down to it literally being Fuwa and me just being happy to see a SHF of my fav on my shelf.

Which is where both his final forms come in to be a hell of a redemption arc because GOD both of these fuck for different reasons! Rampage Gatling is a WILD final form that's like a synthesis of Kamen Rider's thing of taking something really dumb and silly and making it the most badass thing on the planet. It's the all-powers-combined form but on the secondary rider (well, I guess this didn't actually break the streak of the main rider getting it) and it's a really cool thing where one half is this really sick looking blue and gold clean design that would have been great if it was the whole form, but then the other half is this tangled mess of robo-skeletons and the contrast does so much work for representing both Fuwa's character and the thing going on at the time where Naki was in his head?? Topped off with a really sick 'feather' design on the helmet and it's one that's so nice.

Lone Wolf meanwhile has pulled the almost insurmountable task of overtaking it by having this quality to it that's, like... it's like one of the ultimate Kamen Rider designs to me? It's all the details together that get it for me in context of its place in the movie -- the re-use of the MBJR undersuit, the name itself, the muted colour scheme, the way that Vulcan's usual wolf-head-behind-the-mask thing has now inverted to have the wolf head chomping down on his head, the simplicity and how he's been pared down to just a man using his fists to do all he can for the will of the friends that he's putting down but in reality have been long gone for this point... 01hers is a duology that has its flaws but which ultimately done a lot for me, and Lone Wolf is a fantastic representation of that.

I absolutely cannot leave Naki out, by the way? Lot of 01 on this list but what can I say, the series done work for wolf toku hero lovers! It's a design I didn't even fully appreciate until I had his figuarts to see how it truly all came together, but the straps hanging off and the claws and the cool thing of the head being a wolf head from the side, and then like the collar, and the sharp white and black colour scheme with blue eyes shining through?? It's just super good and it's nice that the first non-binary kamen rider got a design that was just this solid

Is... is Wolzard a wolf? He's got the things on his shoulders, and his name is presumably "wolf wizard", and it's in his attacks but like it has nothing to do with him and his mech is a horse that turns him into a centaur but... oh fuck it I'm counting him, Wolzard is sexy as hell and you do not need me to tell you this, this is maybe the most uncontroversial suit opinion I could ever have on here. It's an incredibly intimidating dark knight design which eventually feels so good to have on your side in shining red. Just sick as hell

This list is now 5 picks long and this isn't even a 'hero' suit but hell if I'm leaving Wolf Orphenoch off. I usually don't like Orphenoch designs much but when you've got one like this that's as striking as it is and has such a huge impact in the show it's hard not to love it. This is one of those monster suits that still gets figures to this day despite the character himself having much easier options in Rider form and that goes to show just how much people love this thing, and they're not wrong. Awesome suit

[mattchless]

05.03.2022 | 51/100 days of productivity

10 minutes on Portuguese duolingo

reading materials for Sunday class

reading material for clinic project

studied and summarized unit 10 on Practice Portuguese and scheduled on tumblr

march challenge:

day 5: What are your favourite shows? Is there anything specific you like about them?

my favourite shows are friends and grimm. also in my top are merlin and white collar. I'm very much a film geek, so I'm very sensitive to things like bad editing/writing/acting (and also why this answer is so long haha). when it's regarding long tv-shows (not mini ones) I like when there is something new that happens in each episode but also something relating to a bigger story. the shows that I listed above are exactly like this, and they do it so well (except maybe friends, but that's another story).

tv-shows these days don't do these concepts well, and most of the time just continue the larger story with each episode ending in a "cliffhanger" that is meant to keep us on our feet. well, I hate that. if it's done in a mini series that's okay though.

[whatsagirltoblogabout]

Beautiful, brilliant, showstopping, fantastic, phenomenal, incredible, amazing, awesome, mind-blowing, exceptional. The White Collar season 3 finale is one of the best finales I've ever watched. One of the best episodes of anything ever.

It's so beautifully put together, so cumulative and climactic, elegant and craftily woven. So many callbacks and plot threads and character beats and moments. The overall arc is both satisfying and bittersweet. It's got the perfect balance of character growth and consistency, in everyone, not just Neal. And the framing device of the interviews is sheer brilliance! An excellent way of threading pure, grounded emotion between the more action-packed and tension-filled moments.

And gods, the ending. That freaking ending. It's so damn powerful. We see how fantastically competent Neal is on his own, but also how he understands the importance of relying on his support system, AND THEN he still falls short and gets saved by the extended support system that he's accumulated throughout the seasons. It's the most incredible display of this episode's theme of comparison between where he started and where he is now. AND THEN HE'S FORCED TO LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND. Gods, it's brilliant. It's so painfully brilliant.

[ofcowardiceandkings]

I think you mentioned listening to podcasts? Do you have any favorites to reccommend? I've run out of content :(

that i do !

im not entirely sure what kind of podcast you'd be interested in but i'll throw out a few of the goodies in my huge library of stuff , i'll miss out a few of the HUGE podcasts that have been all over tumblr though

a LOT of it is true crime or human interest stuff , or history because im nerd ,, and a few of these dont have nearly enough attention so [shrug] i'll try to keep this short i guess lol this isnt EVERYTHING ive got in my library or listened series' by any measure

i AM gonna pop a shout to both Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff You Should Know from iHeartRadio because their HUGE archives have kept me from losing my mind many times over , and they cover a wide range of both important and wacky topics

BomBARDed (ongoing) this is the only fiction podcast i have happening right now really but its DAMN GOOD ONE .... it's an actual-play D&D 5E podcast in the DMs own musically-inspired world, focussed on a group of multiclass bards going to music school !! and all players (+DM) are members of the Texas band Lindby !! and they actually use and play music in the show with one original song an episode !! Kyle's worldbuilding and storycraft are truly incredible, and (Nick) Goodrich, (also Nick) Spurrier, and Ali's characters are in depth and interesting as well as an absolute powerhouse :') i actually made a piece for its first fanzine, Bardic Dreaming, which published earlier this year and is free to view now, all the players and the community are super wholesome its just very good overall 💙

History & Humans;

Fall of Civilisations (ongoing) legit one of my favourite podcast finds, im so glad my youtube autoplayed one of these ... it took me like 2 hours to realise it was 1) not the same as what was playing before and 2) had been on for 2 hours and wasnt near finished lmao. anyway, this is a series by historical fiction writer Paul Cooper, and is honest to all thats good one of the best documentary series ive encountered in years - and ive consumed a LOT of documentaries. it covered the downfall of various civilisations through history, and the episodes run from an hour to FOUR hours depending on the topic. its so chill to listen to and just get done, but over the pandemic all of the episodes have been given full movie-quality video versions too on youtube if youre more of a visual person.

Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast (on series break) yeah that says that lol ... its a SUPER niche topic but its very interesting and treated very well despite being kind of comical at times, the hosts are just naturally funny lol ... it delves around from the history of cannibalism in whole regions to specific incidents as recently as the 1970s, and of course the first episode is about the Donner Party, and it covers things ive never heard of despite being kind of important ?? anyway Alix and Carmella are good eggs

Sawbones (ongoing) i probably dont need to mention much here other than say that Justin and Sydnee saved me from being SO BORED sooo often, the history of medicine is wacky as hell and its what most of my history GCSE was on so [shrugs]

Cautionary Tales (on series break) this was a wild-card find lol ... it's by Tim Harford "the undercover economist" who writes for the Financial Times, and its topics kind of weave modern topics and science with how to learn from historical errors ... its a bit weird but well worth a go, also each series has a few celebrity guest voice actors which is pretty awesome

Ephemeral (ongoing) this is a very strange but thought provoking series about sounds and other things just barely saved. topics include the last castrato, the hello girls, hand-stamped records, the spread of kīkā kila music, and acoustic fossils of wild places.

Neat! The Boozecast (ongoing) history and bartending whats not to like lol ... hosted by Teylor Smirl and now their dad Tommy, they're just digging around in how important booze is to human culture

True Crime (white collar and weirdness);

Swindled (ongoing) this is an amazing show full stop. A Concerned Citizen details some of the most impactful and unruly things to happen in white collar and corporate crime. very factually accurate but given the sheer bullshit of the topics the deadpan snarking is [chefs kiss] absolutely warranted ..

American Scandal (on series break) this one is a series within a series type, and spends a few episodes at a time poking holes in some of America's biggest scandals, from a dramatised but fact-based point of view. such as what the hell was going on with Enron, how big tobacco was forced to own up to covering its own ass, how Iran-Contra happened, etc. it also now has a sister show called British Scandal, which does the same thing for British cases but with a slightly different format.

Missing in Alaska (finished) this was a fascinating series, a deep dive into what happened to two US government officials who disappeared on a small chartered flight in Alaska in 1972. it goes some really strange places, but it actually turned up a lot of previously unknown information through the audience. John Walczak's new series in a new feed is Missing on 9/11 which looks into what happened to Dr Sneha Philip.

Pretend (ongoing) Host Javier Leiva holds interviews with anyone living a lie, or who have been touched by them. con artists, snake oil salesmen, former cult members, catfishing victims, anyone and everyone.

Power: The Maxwells (finished) hosted by journalist Tara Palmeri, the story of media tycoon Robert Maxwell from nothing to empire to mysterious death and the scandals uncovered after he was gone.

Lets Talk About Sects (ongoing) Sarah Steele covering cults from around the world, in particular those in Australia - where she is from. She often has former members on the show to share their stories, and share knowledge of how they left. each story has the relevant content warnings at the start of each episode.

Brainwashed (finished) investigation of the CIA's covert mind control experiments, centred on the experiments performed at a hospital in Montreal, and its cultural impact.

Dr Death (2 series finished) two series investigating huge cases of fraud and medical malpractice, and how they were brought to a stop. series 1 covers Dr Duntsch and his horribly butchered neurosurgery, series 2 covers Dr Fata and his fraudulent cancer clinic

The Immaculate Deception (finished) untangling the weird and disturbing fertility fraud of Dr Jan Karbaat, who fathered children himself through his fertility clinic, and the impact of his deception. later episodes also touch on other similar cases.

True Crime (Violent/General);

The Casual Criminalist (ongoing) Simon Whistler of-the-many-youtube-channels cold reads a script about the case of the day, with some of his daft commentary thrown in.

Southern Fried True Crime (ongoing) Crimes from the American South hosted by Erica Kelley, she puts all the facts out there but refreshingly for true crime she doesnt hesitate to tell you if she thinks someone is human garbage lol

They Walk Among Us (ongoing) probably one of the most popular UK crime podcasts, very measured and well put together, not weird or annoying about it either.

All Crime No Cattle (ongoing, feed slowed down for now) specifically about crimes from Texas, hosted by Erin and Shay, they're very sensitive hosts and a lot of the cases they cover shed light on why the Texas criminal system is how it is or show an impact at a national level

Canadian True Crime (ongoing) Canadian crime from an Aussie who's lived there for a decade, Kristi is again a sensitive and measured host covering some important topics

True Crime (Violent/Deep Dive);

Hitman (finished) journalist Jasmyn Morris digs around in the sticky tangle around a book published by fringe publisher Paladin Press, and its apparent use as a blueprint in the killing of a mother, her friend and her 8 year old boy for financial gain.

Camp Hell: Anneewakee (ongoing) this series is exploring how a wilderness camp "correctional facility" was endorsed by the Georgia care and juvenile reform system, despite widespread abuses and shady practices the whole time. warning for csa and child cruelty throughout.

True Crime Bullshit (on series break) this one is a huge huge rabbithole but a very interesting one where the host Josh Hallmark has spent years digging into the life and potential crimes of Israel Keyes. Keyes is often mentioned as a serial killer with no pattern, but in picking it apart thats not quite true, and has sparked some re-evaluations of missing persons cases and stumbling upon information the FBI has redacted organically. there's also a series in the middle looking into the crimes of Kelly Cochran

Forgotten: Women of Juárez (finished) this series looks into the huge numbers of missing women of Ciudad Juárez, the strange circumstances surrounding them, and the potential cover-ups and corruptions on both sides of the border, trying to give a voice to all of the forgotten women and girls and their families without answers. the series itself is finished, but a spanish language edition is being released every week now.

aaaaaand i'll call it there before i list everything lol, i hope you find something to plug your boredom hole with !!

[bourbon-ontherocks]

GG and the Columbo legacy: a (pseudo and mostly crack) analysis

@sothischickshe​ replied to your post:

Rio/columbo is a very important ship that needs more attention!!!

And she is right! In fact, it’s the whole show that blatantly has a tied relationship to the famous 70s-80s-90s (I won’t talk about the infamous 2000s episodes) cop show. Let’s look at the facts one thing at a time.

Rio is a Columbo impersonator

Rio’s “one more thing” bit in 4.07 was an obvious clue, but we’ve been given several hints throughout the show:

Like Columbo, Rio instantly knows when someone’s (more generally Beth) is trying to bullshit him. And like Columbo, he never lets them go.

Columbo never revealed his actual first name (it is known from a zoomed-in analysis of his cop badge, but it was never said out loud on the show). Rio-Chris-what did you say, again?

Like Columbo, Rio enjoys fucking with his target (=Beth) and having fun with it a little bit before making his point. When it comes to actual fucking, granted, Columbo didn’t bone his suspects as far as I know, but there have been some attempts at seducing him from female murderers. There is no on-screen evidence that Columbo gave in but hey, that’s what fanfiction is for. (okay I was  joking but I just checked the Columbo page on AO3 and... there are... actual... columbo x reader fics like... wtf.... leave my baby Frank in peace how dare you??? I have tears in my eyes 😂)

Columbo has a thing for dramatic yet very annoying entrances? Have you met Rio?

Columbo likes to show up in a trademark and notoriously ridiculous vehicle? Exhibit A:

Columbo constantly mentions/brings his dog named The Dog? Well, what exactly do you think happened to Buddy?

Columbo always shows up in the same clothe style/colour (to the point that it almost causes a mini-scandal the day he comes to work in blue)? I’ll send you back to the list of Rio’s lookbooks by @mrslackles​

Columbo has an annoying speech gimmick and always provides very random bits of conversation to destabilize the suspect? How odd...

Columbo is obsessed with pools and loves gangster movies??? Hmmm...

Columbo makes himself at home in EVERY suspect’s house? I see you, expired OJ!

Columbo constantly whistles/plays on any instrument a children’s song? Let me tell you about Rio’s love for nursery rhymes.

Rio probably squints to mimick Columbo’s missing right eye

It’s been canonically mentioned that Rio’s family background loves classic crime novels. Baby Rio probably spent his Sunday afternoons watching Columbo with Grandma.

Columbo often refers to the proximity of his last name with Columbus the sailor. Whose first name was???? CHRISTOPHER. And don’t get me started on Rio => river => water => what do you sail on? #conspiracy

Stan and Ruby are Columbo stan

Have you ever wondered where Stan’s vocation for justice and police morality comes from?

Ruby explicitely mentioned knowing the show in canon

Stan constantly mentions his wife at work

Speaking of which, you can’t tell me that Mr. and Mrs. Columbo aren’t the Hill’s couple goal

Columbo’s favourite meal is chili con carne. Now SOMEONE needs to go easy on the Cayenne but you see where I’m going with this?

Columbo and GG in general

Both shows air(ed) on NBC

Just like in Columbo, GG’s plot is based on improbable and convoluted schemes that would never work in real life

Just like in Columbo, we have to wait 20 minutes each episode for the most interesting character to appear on screen

The villains get caught my bad, this one’s definitely not on the list  😂😂(Boomer death wen?)

Just like in Columbo, GG’s characters think they’re smarter than everybody else while they are in fact complete morons

Just like in Columbo, Good Girls explores the class privileges and shows that even white collars can be bad people who eventually pay for their crimes and... whoops sorry, I did it again 😂

So.... Crossover when???

[cookiedoughmeagain]

Thanks for the tag @halfthealphabet ! Fanfic writer questions ...

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

er, 190 apparently. Not really sure how that happened. There are a few more on the way for the AU-gust challenge :)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

Not including the episode notes; 491,066

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

It’s actually more than I thought: the total list is 16, though almost all of my fics are for Haven. In fact I got curious enough to work it out; literally 90% of them involve Haven.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Wrong Number (Nuke/Threegulls)

Anticipation (Threegulls)

Tell Me You Meant It (Naudrey/Nuke/Threegulls)

I Love the Sound (Nuke)

I Could Stand To See A Little More (Naudrey/Threegulls)

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Definitely ‘Addicted to the feel of her skin’, by a long shot. 110% angst from start to finish.

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Hmmmmm well … maybe ‘Made of Aether and Held Together with Love’ (an alternative version of Dwight and Duke’s final scene). Or I like the ending to the series that begins with ‘I Could Stand To See A Little More’, and also the ending to ‘Tell Me You Meant It’, aaaannndddd the ending to ‘The Three Of Us’ which I just went to re-read and it actually made me cry because it is kind of emotional but in a happy way :)

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

Yes, I’ve got a few. Not sure about the craziest, maybe The Smuggler and The Big Bad’… Haven and Buffy ... what happens when a vampire drinks Crocker blood full of aether?

8. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yesssss, mostly M/M or M/M/F, mostly Nuke or Threegulls. Almost all of it is Haven. There’s some fluffy stuff, some angsty stuff, some stuff with restraints and planned out games, some where they just jump each other, some getting-together stuff, some established-relationship stuff, some based closely on canon, some in AU settings pretty far from canon, some non-con stuff, some crossovers. I’m currently working on something involving shibari (even though I know nothing about it, so we’ll see how that goes!) Oh and a couple of things in the works for Lost Girl :)

9. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes - it’s lovely to get comments, so it just seems like the natural thing to respond.

10. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No. Mostly due to writing in a small and friendly fandom I think :)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Someone copied and pasted some of my stuff into their fic (without any prior interaction with me). That was a pretty surreal experience reading my exact words in some stranger’s fic. 

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes!!! Amazingly yes! Into Russian!!! Still blows my mind that that happened. The original is here (explicit PWP)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not much, a little bit with @greyhavenisback - ‘Proposal’ (fluffy Nuke fluff :)

14. What's your all time favourite ship?

Nathan/Duke

15. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Too many. There's a Buffy/Firefly crossover that I’m kind of sad I stalled on. And a Haven/Firefly crossover that I can’t quite seem to get together, even though I know how I want it to end which is usually a fairly solid sign I’ll finish something. And my current ongoing WIP has potential plot spanning at least 27 years so that … is going to keep me busy for a while lol

16. What are your writing strengths?

Well … we’ve established I’ve written a fair amount of smut, so I guess that’s probably on the list. Most of those top-five-by-kudos are pretty smutty ones. And, idk maybe characterisation, dialogue. I think what I’m drawn to most is describing how these characters talk to each other, how they feel about each other, how they react to each other. So sometimes that’s a line of dialogue, sometimes it’s trying to describe the tone of voice or the type of smile or the way one person reaches for another, or the way their breath catches when one of those other things happens. Trying to capture an emotion and pin it down into words on a page. I think that’s a big part of what keeps me writing so hopefully I have some aptitude in it XD I’ve had some really nice comments about specific lines of dialogue being in character :)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot. Planning anything out, but specifically any detailed kind of a plot. Like I always have really vague thoughts that it would be cool to do a Haven crossover with something like White Collar or Leverage … but those intricate crimes and cons type of plot lines are really just beyond me.

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don’t have the language skills to do that. It’s not something I’ve come across as a reader.

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Haven! I never expected to even read any fanfiction, let alone write anything. Then Duke Crocker and Nathan Wuornos buried their way into my head and here we are ;)

20. What's your favourite fic you've written?

Ooooof, I’m supposed to pick one?

OK Let’s go with Made of Aether and Held Together with Love (an alternative version of Dwight and Duke’s final scene, in 1770 words) because it tackles the one aspect of canon that I really can not get my head around why the writers did that. Like, I’m not saying everything else is perfect but I can kind of let most things go. And I can understand why they might have wanted to write Duke’s ending the way they did … but in that case, guys, you can’t also give Lizzie the ending you did. It doesn’t make any sense; pick one or the other. And there’s no attempt in the show to explain that contradiction; it just feels like they didn’t think it through, which is frustrating.

And I like how that fic worked out and how I can visualise it happening because it would have been so easy for them to actually film it like that - I can almost convince myself it actually happened on screen ;)

Tagging ... anyone who sees this! I think most people I'd tag already have been, but if you see this and you write stuff, give it a go - always interesting to look back over old stuff :)

[erinsworld]

content creator appreciation!! list five favourite sets/art/fic you've made and send this ask to five other content creators! 💕(Spreading some love and self appreciation to amazing content creators! If 5 overwhelms you, choose one, or three! Whatever suits you)

Thank you for the ask, my friend 🥰

I think among my top favorite fics I've ever written is Heat of the Moment , a Supernatural, Sam/Dean, 2 chapter fic. It was my very first explicit fic I have ever written, a challenge to myself and a gift to my best friend of 30+ years.

Means To The End Macgyver. This is short, a drabble. Jack Dalton is always portrayed as the jokster, goofy and funny and too often a side-kick. But he's a highly trained operative, dangerous, and will do anything to protect his family and get back to them.

In Remembrance and Honor Macgyver. A tag to S5E5, one that wouldn't leave me alone, Mac finally goes to Jack's grave.

Fairy Tales and Fractured Hearts White Collar, a 3 chapter tag to the episode, Gloves Off. Such an emotional episode, I couldn't get the words to this story down fast enough.

[love-musicheart]

NoirBug - Chapter Two - Episode 2: Don’t Touch that Dial! (1960s)

(AO3)

Summary:

Yes, NOW everything is perfect. For sure. Marinette's mind is free(er), and Adrien has both her and his mother back. Everything is also supposed to be black and white. Yet colour is making an appearance. ...maybe everything is still not quite so perfect after all?

“Adrien!”

Adrien awoke with a jolt, his eyes coming open, their icy blue bright even in the darkness.

“Mother?”

“There’s something outside,” Emilie Agreste whispered, her voice tense with fear.

Adrien was swinging his legs out of bed before she had even finished. “Where?”

“Something was tapping against my window,” Emilie explained, holding a robe close against herself as she padded down the hallway back to her own room. “I was too scared to see what it was.”

“I can go outside and check if someone is there,” Adrien offered, one of his hands already fluttering down towards his wrist.

“But what if it’s a burglar? You could get hurt!”

Adrien gave a smile that held no joy and showed all his teeth, barred in a predatorial grin. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

Emilie wavered, then relented, giving a single nod.

“Just don’t open your curtains,” Adrien added over his shoulder as he headed for the front door.

As soon as he was out of his mother’s sight, Adrien unbuttoned the cuff on his pyjama shirt, tugging out a bracelet from its hiding spot. Changing direction, he headed instead for their window, undoing the bracelet’s knot with expert fingers. He pulled the silver ring off the string, then tied the knot again, slipping the bracelet on his wrist once more and hiding it beneath the cuff.

Pausing before the window, he slipped his ring on.

Instantly, a small black being emerged. He drooped, and a small part of Adrien’s heart squeezed and twisted on itself, knowing that it was his fault that his friend was in such a state.

But as much as he loved Plagg, if that was the price his kwami had to pay for Adrien and Marinette to be together… he’d gladly pay it.

“Plagg, claws out,” Adrien whispered.

There was a flash of white light, and a moment later, Chat Blanc opened up the window and emerged silently, his claws easily finding chinks in the wall to sink into.

Swarming like a white spider, he made his way to the apartment’s corner, peeking around, his eyes narrowing.

There was nothing along the side of the house other than a tree. The topmost branches were too small for anyone of any real concern to be able to perch upon without breaking.

A small breeze stirred the air, and Chat Blanc leaned into the wall slightly, arching his claws deeper into the chinks in the wall to keep his grip.

Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap.

His eyes snapped into focus instantly, finding the culprit that had scared his mother.

One of the small tree branches, waving back and forth in the wind, was tapping the window pane.

Chat Blanc made his way along the wall quietly, reaching out and easily snapping off the end of the branch. He quickly went back the way he came, branch piece clutched in hand, complicating his journey back somewhat. But there was no more sound from behind him other than the wind.

_

“And then end with a backflip going into the splits.”

Adrien did as instructed, easily landing in the position.

“Nicely done, kitty,” Marinette smiled warmly at him. She gave a quick sprint towards him, did front flip over his head, and he could hear the thump of her landing in a pose behind him. “How’s that?”

“Purrfect, my lady.”

Marinette snorted. “Okay, I think your miraculous is going to your head.”

“Plagg, claws off.”

There was a flash of white, and Adrien detransformed. Once again, Plagg was droopy - and silent.

“They seem a little tired,” Marinette noted as her own pink kwami appeared in the air before pulling her earrings out. “Are you sure we should be using these for our routine?”

“It’s fine,” Adrien waved her concerns away, getting up off the floor. “Everyone will just think we’re wearing costumes of their favourite superheroes: Ladybug and Chat Blanc!”

“But… we aren’t really supposed to be using them for personal gain,” Marinette pointed out, rolling her earrings between her fingers.

“It’s not for personal gain,” Adrien pointed out, accepting the earrings. “We’re doing it for the children, remember.”

Marinette flashed a quick smile. “Right. For the children.”

“Think how happy Manon will be!”

Marinette let out a breath, sending her bangs fluttering away from her forehead. “All right. Fine. But take good care of those, okay?” She tapped Adrien’s hand holding the earrings with one of her fingers.

“When have I ever not?” Adrien smiled easily in return. “Remember, you always entrust them to me.”

Marinette paused a moment, her brow wrinkling.

Adrien’s heart skipped a beat. Had giving Marinette her own mind back been a bad idea? He hadn’t given her back her memories, though, so shouldn’t it be fine?

“Right,” Marinette finally said. “That’s what I always do.” Her face melted back into one of her easy smiles as she turned and headed for the door. “I need to get going to the planning committee with your mother. You’d better get going as well.”

Adrien gave a two-finger salute. “Right-o. I’ll see you at the show!”

Marinette snapped her fingers. “That’s what felt wrong!” She hurried back over to him, tapping his hand again. “You need to let me keep the earrings.”

Adrien’s heart did stop. “What?”

“I won’t be able to wait for you at the show and then just transform in front of everybody! I need to be able to transform in an alley first and then come to join you. It only makes sense.”

Adrien relaxed. Just his lady with her plans. “Right.” He slipped the earrings into her waiting palm. “Be careful with them.”

“Of course,” Marinette flashed one last smile before heading out her front door.

A dopey grin stretched across Adrien’s face. Even in black and white, Marinette’s smile was a glorious thing to behold.

_

“I’m ready!” Marinette announced, joining Emilie Agreste in front of the house.

Emilie smiled at her. “Your first committee meeting! How exciting!”

Marinette linked arms with the woman as they began strolling down the sidewalk together. “Anything I should know?”

“Oh, so much!”

That was… a little worrisome. Marinette glanced up with an uncertain smile at Emilie, trying to see if she was joking - then noticed the bags under her eyes. “Mrs. Agreste, pardon me for asking, but are you getting enough sleep?”

“Remember, dear, you’re supposed to call me Emilie.”

“Emilie,” Marinette repeated. “Right. Sorry.”

“No problem, dear,” Emilie waved it off before considering Marinette’s question. “I’m sleeping all right; it’s just that last night…”

Emilie’s voice trailed off, piquing Marinette’s interest. “What happened last night?”

“There was something tapping on my window. It woke me up. Adrien took care of it, though. He told me it was a tree branch.” Emilie suddenly frowned. “Though, come to think of it, I’m not entirely sure how he got it down. It wasn’t exactly near the ground if it was tapping on my window.”

Marinette had no problem figuring out how Adrien had done it - but their superhero identities were supposed to be a secret, so she steered the conversation back to safer waters. “You have a very good son; but you were saying about all the things I needed to know about the committee?”

“Oh, of course!” Emilie flashed a smile, her mood bouncing back easily. “All the girls on the planning committee are just dears - but there’s one person whose scrutiny it’ll be a little difficult to get past.”

“Who’s that?” Marinette asked - though, seeing as she was Ladybug, she felt pretty confident she could handle whatever these girls threw at her.

“Her name is Lila Rossi,” Emilie explained. “Everyone else looks up to her and wants to be friends with her; she’s essentially the key to everything in Paris. She knows many prestigious people, so she can get you practically anything you want or a meeting with anyone you want.”

“Sounds like someone I’ll want to become close with.” She also sounded like a fat liar to Marinette. “I’m sure I can pass any test she tries to give me.”

“Oh, I’m sure you can as well,” Emilie assured her. “It’s just that… Lila had her eye on my son for quite some time. She’s likely to be… a little grumpy with you at first.”

She’d had her eye on my son for a long time.

“Grumpy Rossi,” Marinette nodded. “Got it.”

As Emilie went on about a list of other things Marinette needed to know - mostly saying to always pay attention to details, as Lila liked things to be perfect - Marinette slowly found her head feeling more and more cluttered with all the information. There was so much for her to remember!

A small part of her, however, couldn’t help but wonder why she hadn’t joined the committee before this. She’d lived in this part of Paris all her life. Why wouldn’t she have done something like this?

In fact… why didn’t she even remember having ever so much as heard of this planning committee until now?

Marinette had been forgetting things a lot recently - like today, she’d forgotten to bring a hiding spot for Tikki. She never brought her kwami with her anywhere, seeing as Adrien held onto the earrings, so it felt stupid that she hadn’t thought to bring a purse or anything with her. Her poor pink kwami was currently squirming beneath the collar of her shirt.

But to forget an entire committee of people?

Marinette screwed up her face in concentration, trying to remember the last time she’d heard of the committee, but just as the wheels in her brain started turning, Emilie’s voice jolted her back to reality. “There she is now!” She waved cheerily. “Lila!”

Marinette paused on the sidewalk beside Emilie, peeking out behind the woman and spotting a girl with dark brown hair eyeing them. “Emilie.”

“Is that a new dress?” Emilie asked breezily, somehow managing to ignore the tension in the air and the lazer beam eyes of death that Lila was shooting at Marinette.

“Yes, it is. Why don’t you join us? The committee is about to begin.” Lila gave a sugary-sweet smile to Emilie, shot one last look at Marinette that promised murder in her near future, then turned and flounced off.

Marinette grunted. “A little grumpy?”

_

Adrien headed out not long after Marinette. He’d taken a minute to pull himself together: keeping straight what everyone else knew versus what he knew to be true was sometimes difficult. His mind had to race to keep up with the web he’d spun - and, of course, there was Marinette.

She was reason he’d done everything he had. She was worth that. But as such an integral piece of this puzzle, so closely connected with him, they’d become even closer due to what he had done. Quite literally. He could constantly feel her presence in the beating of his soul.

Now, however, without the earrings, it had dimmed. Slightly, but enough to put him slightly on edge.

He slipped his ring on - just in case - quickly helping a droopy Plagg into his jacket. He needed to hurry if he was to be on time to his meeting.

But as he went out the gate, something flashed in the corner of his eye.

Something… blue.

Adrien stopped in his tracks.

The blue stayed.

He turned toward it.

Staring where he’d seen it, he saw almost nothing of it at this angle. He was looking straight at the bushes.

But then, as he slowly moved closer, and, he began to make out something beneath the foliage. Something blue.

Adrien’s breath caught.

What was that?

He reached in, ignoring the way the branches scratched at him. He was a cat. He was used to scratching.

Adrien’s hand closed around it, scooping the… thing up.

Holding it between his thumb and forefinger, he scrutinized the object. It was an odd ball of sorts, a bright blue oval decorating the front of it and a cone attached to the bottom sticking out from it.

How did this get here?

It couldn’t have come from here.

Everything was black and white.

Even beautiful Marinette.

“You don’t belong here,” Adrien whispered to the ball, eyes hardening, his whole hand closing down on the cone part of it.

He turned on his heel, marching back to the house. As soon as he was behind the closed door, he whispered, “Plagg, claws out!”

White flashed.

“Mega cataclysm!”

_

“I’m Wang Fu,” the old man smiled warmly at her. “I actually don’t know what I’m doing here.”

Marinette gave a wry chuckle. “I’m starting to feel that way myself.” She held out her hand. “I’m Marinette. And may I say, your turtles are peachy keen!”

“A little less chatter and a little more focus,” Lila said, her gaze as cutting as voice as she stared at them for a moment before returning to talking about chairs and the elementary school. Or something like that. Marinette could already tell she hated the girl, and she was just doing her best to tune her out.

“Thank you,” Wang Fu said, a little more softly this time. “I can’t stand to leave them anywhere.”

Despite the meeting being full of just females, Wang Fu, an old man, seemed cool as a cucumber. But his presence wasn’t even the strangest thing about him; instead, it was the fact that he had a tank on wheels with him, filled with turtles.

Marinette leaned over the tank, peering for a closer look, Lila’s voice droning on about how someone named Rose really should have remembered the seats. Emilie had definitely been right about Lila liking everything being perfect.

No wonder Lila had liked Adrien, Marinette reflected as she leaned a little closer to the aquarium, peering in at the turtles.

And, with no warning, the little pink being of creation tumbled out from beneath the collar of her shirt, falling with a soft plop! into the aquarium.

Marinette and Fu stared at her.

A moment later, Marinette plunged her hand into the tank, swiping up her kwami and rescuing her from the water.

“Marinette!”

Marinette jerked her head up, only to find the whole committee staring at her.

“Please leave the old man’s turtles alone,” Lila told her, the expression on her face clearly saying how she didn’t know how Adrien had chosen her to be his girlfriend.

Marinette flushed, tucking her hands between her legs. She was the only one there wearing pants, but now, she used that to her advantage. There was no way tucking her hands between her legs like that would have helped make her look more normal if she’d worn a dress, after having apparently just tried to snatch an old man’s turtles. Everyone here probably thought she was crazy. But now, she attempted to warm up her kwami that way, keeping her hands closed tightly shut.

Although, what she really wanted to do was transform into Ladybug and punch Lila in the face.

But Adrien would tell her to take the high road, so she refrained.

_

“Mylene likes the songs I’ve been writing,” Ivan said, tapping his pencil against the table, a blank sheet of paper out in front of him. “I keep coming up with new ideas - but, of course, with a muse like her, it’s easy.”

Adrien grinned at his friend. “That’s great, Ivan. You’ll have to share some with us sometime.”

“I could help you with some melodies to go along with it, if you want,” Luka offered, leaning forward and pushing a radio further into the middle of the table so he could rest his elbows on it.

The guys had met up, and though all the girls probably thought they were doing something productive, they were just enjoying each other’s company.

Adrien most of all.

He had missed his friends.

But, as time went on, something began to feel… off. Adrien frowned, his mind drifting away from the conversation as he tried to figure it out.

Was it Marinette?

Partially. But he felt somewhere deep within his soul that, if she were in any real danger, he’d know instantly. This was more of a… deep worry.

“Adrien?”

Adrien jerked his head up, blinking.

The whole table was staring at him.

“What do you think of Ivan’s lyrics?” Nino said, obviously repeating a question.

“I…” Adrien’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, his mind trying to focus.

What lyrics? Had Ivan just read them to him?

And why was the radio getting louder?

“Sorry, Ivan, could you repeat them?” Adrien asked, glancing at Luka. Was he turning up the radio?

Ivan began reading the lyrics again. “Mylene, my oxygen…”

Yes, the radio was definitely getting louder. But, more than that, the static of it was.

“…you, most beautiful of college girls…”

The radio crackled. And then, a vague voice filtered through.

“Adrien.”

“…stronger than oak for others…”

Adrien stared at the radio, the sound of the words pounding seemingly louder and louder in his mind.

It couldn’t be.

Wait.

Someone was trying to get in.

“Adrien, can you read me, over?”

Bang!

“I knew it was bad!” Ivan cried out, his face flushed, fist shaking as his grip tightened on his pencil. “You can’t even find anything to say about it!”

“It’s not that,” Adrien quickly said, even as the radio became louder and louder, drowning out even his own words in his mind. “I’m just speechless from how beautiful it is!”

“Adrien?”

Snap!

R E D.

Instantly, the radio was back to normal.

But Adrien found himself staring in shock at Ivan’s hand.

Ivan had snapped his pencil, and it had slashed a cut into his hand.

From which poured blood.

Red blood.

Adrien’s breath sped up, his heart pounding in his chest.

Colour.

Again.

_

For the rest of the meeting, Marinette stewed, sweat slowly dripping down the back of her neck. She couldn’t bring herself to so much as look at the man beside her. There was no way he could know what the creature even had been, or that it meant she was Ladybug, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to ask her what it had been.

“Achoo!”

“Bless you,” Marinette said automatically before realizing it had come from her hands.

She cracked her fingers open, too concerned with Tikki to even notice the odd looks she was getting now from the rest of the members.

Between her palms, Tikki was shivering. Her eyes drooped halfway closed. Marinette had noticed how tired Tikki looked recently, but this looked a little less tired and a little more sick. She looked nothing like her normal, healthy sel…

Wait.

What did Tikki look like as her normal, healthy self?

Marinette stared at her hands, now not even pretending to be listening to Lila as her heart galloped faster and faster in her chest.

Why couldn’t she remember?

_

Thinking fast, Adrien grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket, reaching over and tying it around Ivan’s hand, hiding the colour. “There, all good.”

But it definitely wasn’t. Everyone at the table was staring at Ivan’s hand, different levels of shock playing out across their faces.

Across the table, Luka leaned back in his chair, eyeing Adrien. “What was that about?”

“Nothing.” A blatant lie.

Luka’s eyes narrowed. “Your melody is discordant. Are you sure about that?”

“Positive,” Adrien said, starting to eye the door while keeping an eye on Ivan. “Ivan, why don’t we go and get your hand checked out before the show, yeah?”

“We’ve heard things about you.”

Adrien froze, then slowly turned back to Luka. “Oh?”

Luka leaned forward. The entire table was silent. He was playing them all better than his guitar. “You and your girlfriend.”

Adrien forced himself to try and calm down. He was in charge here. “Well, I don’t know what you’ve been told, but I assure you I don’t mean anyone any harm.”

Luka’s eyes slowly narrowed at him before he simply said, “I don’t believe you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien could see red starting to seep through the handkerchief on Ivan’s hand.

“I need to go,” Adrien said abruptly, turning to go, dragging Ivan with him.

Behind him, the radio went static-ey again, and he stopped.

No.

He wouldn’t let anyone get through.

He turned back towards the table, his gaze instantly landing the radio. Adrien let go of Ivan, his hand clamping, clutching the ring close to his hand. He didn’t have both of the miraculouses, but he didn’t need full power. Only half of the source of all of this.

The radio let out a sudden pop, and smoke began to pour out of it.

Everyone jumped at the table.

“Who are you?” Luka asked, eyes widening.

The radio flickered, glitching in and out of focus.

And then, all at once, it stopped.

Quiet music played once again from it.

Everyone at the table relaxed.

“I was thinking that we could change our act,” Nino said, as if nothing had happened. “The detectives really should kiss.”

“In the view of the public eye?” Max asked, scandalized.

Adrien took his cue and went out the door, dragging Ivan behind him.

_

Marinette paced up and down the small space behind the stage, waiting, waiting for Adrien to arrive. She chewed on a fingernail, nerves rocketing through her system, Tikki still clutched in one hand.

The little kwami of creation was shivering.

One job. She’d had one job. To be careful with the earrings.

And she’d dropped the little being of creation into an aquarium with turtles of all things.

“Sorry I’m late!” Chat Blanc dropped down in front of Marinette so suddenly that she almost screamed. “Ivan cut his hand, and I - wait, why aren’t you… you know…“ He gestured at Marinette. “In ‘costume’?”

“Adrien!” Marinette whisper-hissed at him, relief and anxiety colliding within her. “Thank goodness you’re here! It’s Tikki!” She shoved her hands out to him. “You take care of the miraculouses! What should I do?”

“What happened?” Chat Blanc asked, gaping at the kwami.

“She dropped into an aquarium!”

“Into a-?!” Chat Blanc stopped short, shaking his head. “Now’s not the time. Plagg, claws in.” There was a flash of white, and a moment later, Adrien stood before her.

“What are you doing?” Marinette asked, worry tinging her voice as she glanced toward the stage. “We’re going to be called on any minute now!”

“We’ll have to do this the way we were going to be pretending to be,” Adrien shrugged. “In costume, acting like the superheroes of Paris.”

“But… we’re not even dressed like them!”

Adrien was already buttoning up his white jacket, glancing about. “You’re the designer here.”

Marinette cast about wildly for something, anything to use. She looked nothing like Ladybug.

Then again, what did Ladybug even look like?

Black and white, right?

So she could pass off as her no matter what. It would be better to have a skintight suit, but her clothes would do. The mask, on the other hand, was another matter…

Her eyes landed on a spare curtain for the stage, tossed to the side in the bustle of getting ready for the show, and she instantly snatched it up. “Help me rip this up!”

“What?” Adrien stopped his buttoning to stare at her.

“We’ll just rip off two strips, tear some eyeholes into them, and tie them around our heads! Voila! Masks!”

Adrien picked up the sheet, ripping off two strips as instructed. “Do you think anyone will be suspicious? Seeing as we were supposed to have more time to put our act together and all.”

“Nah, not at all. As long as we wear masks, everyone will think we look exactly like Ladybug and Chat Blanc.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Didn’t everyone think that when we dressed up as each other for…” Marinette’s voice trailed off, her brow wrinkling. “I… I mean…”

Adrien glanced up from tearing out eyeholes. “You okay, princess?”

“No,” Marinette shook her head, confused. “I… I mean… I could have sworn that we dressed up as each other. Once. For someone else. All we wore were the masks, and everyone thought we looked just like the superheroes for some reason.” Her brain hurt, as if it almost were fighting against her, trying to stop her from remembering. It was so, so close to finally remembering something…

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Adrien assured her, handing her the makeshift mask.

“Clara!” Marinette suddenly burst out, the name hitting her like lightning. “Her name was Clara Nightingale!”

Adrien froze. “What did you say?”

“Her name was Clara Nightingale,” Marinette repeated, more sure this time. “I don’t know why we were dressed up for her, but that was definitely her name.” She slipped the mask about her head, tying it in a knot above her pigtails. “My normal mask feels a lot better,” she grunted, the subject of Clara Nightingale already leaving her mind. It was unimportant, after all.

…wasn’t it?

But her mind really didn’t want to focus on it. It wanted to move on to other, more important things. Like the show.

“Let’s just do the act the way we practiced,” Marinette decided. “We don’t have time to prepare another. And, it’s still us, right? We should be able to do it.”

Adrien let out a slow breath, his nerves seeming to be rattled. “If you think we can, then I’ll follow you, milady.” He tied his own mask about his head. “Done.”

Marinette smiled, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. “Break a leg, Adrien.”

He flashed her one of his adorable smiles, his face flushing. “You too.”

“Marinette! Adrien!” Alya whispered, peeking her head out between the curtains. “We just called your name! You’re on!”

“Come on!” Marinette said, grabbing Adrien by the hand and racing for the stage.

_

Marinette was wonderful.

She was right that everyone seemed to think they looked just like themselves as superheroes - which was a little odd, once she’d pointed it out. But perhaps the black and white helped fool them.

They executed their routine, which was a mix of different recognizable moves from different akuma attacks. The audience was eating it up, buying the entire act.

On the inside, Adrien felt… normal again. Everything was right again. The strange coloured ball had been taken care of, and so had the blood on Ivan’s hand. He and Marinette were doing their act, and it was everyone’s favourite to an unbelievable amount, as if they were the protagonists in an old movie.

Adrien pulled off the ending of the routine as Marinette had instructed him earlier, doing a backflip going into the splits. Marinette ran at him, front flipped over his head, and Adrien turned his head just to watch her strike a pose at the end.

He almost liked seeing her do it as Marinette better than as Ladybug.

The day he’d discovered her identity had been… horrible. She’d been forced to break up with him by his father.

Not that Marinette remembered that.

To her, she remembered a scene that had never really happened: the way they had dated, then eventually revealed to one another their secret identities, unable to hide such a secret from the the one they loved any longer - except they’d chosen the same night, as they were so in sync.

They’d never spoken about that night again after it. Adrien hadn’t brought it up; he’d never even lived it.

And to Marinette, it just was.

But Adrien knew the truth.

And now, as applause greeted the end of their act, and Alya awarded them the inaugural Superhero Performance of the Year, and everyone cheered how this was for the children…

Adrien felt that he could live with this lie.

_

“That went great!” Marinette enthused as soon as they were backstage again, all alone. Tikki was once again clutched in her hands, but with the show now behind them, she felt ready to tackle the problem of trying to heal her kwami. “I think everyone loved it!”

“Indeed,” a familiar voice agreed behind her.

Marinette froze. Slowly, she turned around, forcing a smile. “Wang Fu! I didn’t realize you’d be here… or backstage”

The old man smiled. “My apologies for the surprise. I was at the committee meeting for the show, and wanted to congratulate you on your performance. You remember me, do you not?”

“Oh, of course!” Marinette said, slapping her forehead - mostly just hoping that her dramatics would be enough to distract him from remembering Tikki falling into his aquarium earlier. She turned to Adrien. “Adrien, this is Wang Fu; we met earlier today.”

Adrien stared at the old man, an odd expression playing across his face as he shook hands with him. “Adrien Agreste. Pleased to meet you, sir.” He glanced at the aquarium. “You bring turtles around with you?”

“Yes,” he smiled easily, then turned his gaze back to Marinette. “I was wondering if you needed help with your cat.”

“My… cat?” Marinette blinked.

“The small one you brought with you today,” he nodded. “I thought it would need some help after it fell into my turtle aquarium.”

Marinette brightened. “You can heal her?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

Marinette glanced at Adrien, excitement flooding her system. Wang Fu was so old, he must’ve not been able to realize what Tikki really was! If he could help, then all her problems were solved.

“So you know about cats and turtles?” Adrien asked, seeming amused. Yet there was something about the way he was showing his teeth in his smile that seemed almost… predatory.

“Yes,” Wang Fu said, totally at ease.

Marinette decided to trust him, opening her hands to reveal Tikki. “Here she is.”

“Place her down in front of me,” Wang Fu instructed.

They sat down on the grass behind the stage together, Marinette gently setting Tikki on the ground.

“What kind of cat is she?” Fu paused to check.

“Um…” Marinette thought fast. Wang Fu was sweet, but obviously easily confused; as long as she was vague enough, he likely wouldn’t ask anything else. And if there was one thing Marinette was good at, it was being vague and confusing. “Right! Rare hairless flying species from kingdom of Achu! I was allowed to have one because I won a zoo tap dancing contest when I was in the kingdom of Achu.”

“Hmmm,” Fu hummed. “Unusual.”

“Yes,” Marinette agreed, nodding vigorously. “Very.”

Digging into his bag, Fu produced a gong, holding it over Tikki. He gave a final encouraging smile to Marinette before saying, “This may take some time.”

_

At last, Wang Fu nodded, putting away the gong. “We are finished; your cat’s health has been restored.”

Adrien looked up. He had been suspicious upon seeing the man, seeing as he looked like Master Fu - a person he hadn’t recreated in Paris.

But, strange turtles aside, he seemed harmless enough. And he was healing Tikki…

“Thank you so much!” Marinette exclaimed, scooping Tikki up. “You’re a real magician, sir!”

Adrien nodded courteously to him, and then took Marinette by the hand, heart warming at the touch. It felt good to be able to hold Marinette’s hand again; he’d missed that for so long… “Let’s go home.”

Marinette chattered the entire way back as the sky slowly darkened: one of her long, rambling kind of talks. Adrien didn’t mind; he adored her for them. She jumped from subject to subject, telling him about Lila, reliving the talent show, and explaining in more detail how she’d met Wang Fu.

What had Fu been doing at that meeting - especially when he wasn’t supposed to even exist?

As they approached the house, Adrien was reminded of the ball from earlier. For a moment, he considered whether he should tell Marinette about it or not.

But she was so happy…

And it wasn’t as if she knew anything.

But a small part of him was still disturbed, recalling the moment Marinette had remembered Clara Nightingale.

“I have a surprise for you,” Marinette announced as they entered the house.

“A surprise?” Adrien cocked an eyebrow. “Does it happen to be food? This cat is starving!”

Marinette giggled. “No! You definitely may not eat it.”

“Before you show me,” Adrien said, taking her hands in his, “could you give me back the earrings? We never ended up using them for the show, so I should probably take them back.”

“Oh! Of course,” Marinette said breezily, smiling up at him. She took the earrings out, handing them over to Adrien. He instantly clutched them in his fist that he had his ring on, the feeling of power flooding over him.

He was back in total control.

Thump.

Marinette stopped. “Did you hear that?”

Adrien turned toward the door. “I swear, if it’s the tree again, I am going to rip it out by the roots!”

“It’s fine,” Marinette assured him, but hurried over to the window nonetheless, peering out. “I can’t see anything. It’s dark out.”

“Let’s go outside,” Adrien said decisively. Not waiting for an answer, he strode to the door, throwing it open and heading outside.

“Be careful,” Marinette warned, only a step behind him.

Adrien peered about the front yard. It was dark, and he wished he’d thought to transform into Chat Blanc again before coming out. He would’ve had night vision if he had.

Buzz.

“What’s that?” Marinette suddenly gasped behind him as they reached the sidewalk. He felt her hand press against his shoulder, and a moment later she was right beside him, pointing down the road, eyes wide.

Adrien followed her finger…

And froze.

Coming down the road was only what could be described as a bee keeper. They didn’t seem to have any particular destination, just wandering about, head turning left and right as if they were looking for something.

But then, the bee keeper stopped.

Adrien couldn’t see their face, as it was covered.

But he could practically feel the way they were looking straight. at. him.

“No,” he whispered. The word was quiet, but had the weight of power to it.

He clutched the miraculouses in his hand, the ring on his finger clinking against the earrings-

Marinette giggled. “No! You definitely may not eat it.”

Adrien blinked. He was right back in the house with her.

Slowly, he smiled. “All right. What is it?”

“I don’t have it yet, silly,” Marinette scolded. “I wanted to put you in suspense for it! Expect it soon, though!”

She smiled lovingly at him, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

…her blue eyes.

Adrien blinked, taking a step closer.

They were blue.

Slowly, as he watched, colour seeped into Marinette’s skin, spreading out across her body and around the room.

“Adrien…” Marinette whispered, her big, blue eyes fluttering in surprise. “Is this really happening?”

“Yes, my love,” Adrien murmured, staring into her eyes. How he’d missed the colour in them… “It’s really happening.”

He took her hands into his, love and satisfaction mingling inside of him. Everything was as it should be.

But…

There was one thing that still bothered him.

Despite being able to feel Marinette’s discomfort, he seemed totally unable to know when someone was trying to get into the paradise he had created until he saw them himself.

Who else was hiding right beneath his nose?

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Adrien asked, tugging on Marinette’s hands and leading her to the kitchen.

“You just want the popcorn,” Marinette teased, grinning at him.

“Can you blame me?” Adrien grinned back, pulling her close for a kiss.

Fade to black.

“Marinette? Who’s doing this to you, Marinette?”

“Marinette?”

First / Next

[disappearinginq]

The fifth question in every category for the fanfic ask :)

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for? 

Hmm. Oh dear. That’s quite a list. I’ve actually kept the stuff up that I wrote when I was like...13/14, but without looking: Magnificent Seven, Psych, Doctor Who, Magnum PI (2018), Prodigal Son (un-posted so far), the 100, Lucifer, the Avengers, The Defenders, Arrow, Deception, Agents of SHIELD, Merlin, Common Law, Suits, White Collar, Supernatural and Stargate. By far the most depressing part about that list is that I wound up hating at least half of them before the series was over - AoS, 100, Magnum...is teetering on the edge, it has one more season to fix itself before I wash my hands of it entirely, Arrow, Suits...even Lucifer stumbled in the third season, but it quickly righted itself in season 4. 

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I don’t really like any ship. For the most part, romances in story lines annoy me, and as someone who can probably classify themselves as an ace, it just seems like a waste of time, and it seems to bring out the crazies. Probably the only one that I actually liked that could be obscure (only because I think the movie is) - Francis and Martha from Mr. Right. 

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

Hands down,  Damnatio Memoriae in the Lucifer fandom. I think part of the reason it was so popular was because when I started writing it, there weren’t a lot of fics in the fandom, period, and then it was one of the few that wasn’t a “Chloe and Lucifer have a kid together/domestic bliss”. It a weird way, it’s now become this goliath monster in the closet because I only have the last chapter to write and I’m worried it’s not going to live up to the expectations people have of it, which makes it even harder to work on and I am down to just writing one or two sentences if I’m lucky, re-reading the whole chapter again and deleting at least half of it. 

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Oooh. Hmm. Actually, I think the one I wind up going back to the most frequently is one in the Magnificent 7 fandom -  Bearing the Pain - Angela B. And I don’t want to neg on something that I love, but this is not the best written story, or an epic AU or anything like that, but I found it when I was like...13? 14? M7 was the first fanfiction I came across, when I found out it was a thing, and I don’t know I had even seen the show at this point beyond one or two episodes that I caught on reruns, and I think Big Valley I had seen...oh, when I was like 3 or 4 and my mom would watch them in the afternoons and I was distracted by “PONIES!” on the screen. And it’s one of my favorite tropes - kid who isn’t from the best background (abuse, neglect, etc) winds up falling in with a crowd that is known for being a level of badass, and they wind up adopting said kid against everyone’s best efforts to remain aloof because everyone has been hurt in the past but LO! TO NOBODY’S SURPRISE EXCEPT THE CHARACTERS, THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT.