#Jex gave me this idea

[absolutebl]

Hello, how are you? First of all, I want to say, thank you so much for this blog of yours, AbsoluteBL....Because of you I know more about BL in general and the history behind it.....Your analysis are amazing and easy to read and to be understood (sorry English is not my native language)....I also love reading your recommendations and discussion.....Before I found this blog, I never watched any Thai drama, but you changed me.... Thanks...

Do you mind if I ask your opinion on something? I noticed that you are a book lover and a fast reader, so what do you think, about western MLM stories? What makes Asian BL better than western MLM stories? I don't mean to talk negatively but i want to read your opinion about it (because I love reading your writings)....

Before I watched Asian BL, I already read books and watch movies or series that contains MLM, but it just hit differently somehow (I don't know how to express what I mean).....

Most of otps that I love from western series or movies are bromance or male best friends that I love the chemistry, and for series that have canon MLM couple, I don't really ship them, not like in Asian BL...(I dont know why, maybe you have an idea ir two, why is that)....

Oh, do you mind if I gave you books recommendations? They are not long at all and a quick reading (especially since you are a fast reader), have you read "All For The Game" trilogy by Nora Sakavic or "Captive Prince" by trilogy by C.S.Pacat (the author said herself, that she was inspired by BL manga when wrote this books, and I think you will love them) ? Those are my top favorite MLM books....

Sorry for this long ask, feel free if you want to ignore it....Thanks again for your hard works in this blog....Hope you have a wonderful day.....

Hi, OMG you are so nice and I am abotu to get so salty! I love you and, I’m sorry? 

MM BOOKS

I would say at a general guess (looking at my old Goodreads account) I've read about 1000 mm romances. (before you get mad I’d say about 300 ff, 400 alt queer of soem kind, and way way way more than that het). And that’s just romance. I used to average between 300-500 books a year. And yes, I’m a speed reader. And yes, I retain very very little of it. 

So yeah.

I don't read them much anymore. Most mm went into KU over the last 4 years and I don't play that game. Plus I'd rather watch and talk about BL these days than read anything I’m not obligated to for work.

Sorry but I loathed Pacat's Captive Prince. Just like Red, White & Royal Blue a few years later it was as if everyone suddenly felt compelled to read and "discover" mm with that series and I DO NOT GET THE APPEAL. I come originally out of SFF and the world building was so poor, the Ds dynamic was unresolved and lacklustre (possibly because it was seme/uke, which now knowing might make it more palatable to me but, shrug, too late), the writing quality was not great, and I disliked most of the characters. Honestly, it reminded me of 1980s Sharon Green or Joanna Lindsey, just profoundly dated in its sensibility and clumsy with its trope execution. Like it was written by someone who had read very little romance or fantasy, but maybe a few 1970s pirate rape books.

And you thought I could only get this mean about Mame!

Just look at me go when books are one the line.

I think Pacat is like KinnPorsche, the people who like it are obsessed and the rest of us are like... but there's so much better stuff out there, why don't you... no? Okay then. Just, please stop talking about it?

As for Sakavic I don't read mafia and I don't read sports so I'm afraid I probably won't bother. Honestly, though, with these two as your top picks have you heard of Jex Lane's Beautiful Monsters? Although I'm not sure they finished writing the series, I gave up waiting.

I suppose I have probably scared you off now?

Look, everyone likes what they like and my reading taste is about as quirky as my drama taste, if not more so.

What do you care what I think?

I'm a grape soda person.

I don't like sourdough bread.

ooo, ooo!

White chocolate is a perfectly serviceable version of chocolate.

We all have our quirks.

#it's not BL so i make no case for it #just reader nonsence #books bah!

[samssims]

The Blood Spots local hangout circe 1957

An immortal (deadly) woman hangout featuring characters from @simblrinterests and @simmancy

#ts4 #sims 4 #sims 4 edits #Sams Edits #simmancy #simblrinterests #Jex gave me this idea #and I had to #More from this shoot later #because *yes* #I worked on this after work instead of anything productive so #here we are this was needed

[bonnaby]

hi welcome to "cant sleep so im going to write because i suddenly have that urge again" maybe i will finish the several wips i have started!

#mr loverman #like that lightbulb one i was writing 4 like 3 days straight bc i was hyperfixating on and it gave me ideas #or maybe ummmmmm the one with rook n queen n my friends oc shoji that i was working on for like a week #and then stopped and then started again and then got distracted making other writing wips #ooorrr maybe ill finish the wip of my own ORIGINAL STORY!! with my own ORIGINAL CHARACTERS and ORIGINAL PLOTS!! #jex nix im sorry i PROMISE u rnt forgotten....... WOW i need 2 get back 2 writing and drawing them #SHIT its been sooo long... i am sorry my gay little animals

[theoceanoasis]

The 501st were stuck on Hoth. It had been two months and they still had another month. Everyone was unhappy and moral was really low.

Ahsoka looked around at all of her men's sad faces before turning to her master and captain.

Both of them were still dancing around there feeling's.

Ahsoka wished there was away to get them together.

That was until an idea came to her. One that would get Rex and Anakin together and boost moral.

Excited by her new plan. Ahsoka quickly made her way to see the boys in Torrent and tell them her plan.

"Everyone stop what your doing."

Fives and Echo quickly put Dogma down while Tup and Kix glared at them and Jessie gave them a thumbs up.

"What's going on here?"

Everyone looked at each other before Fives spoke first.

"Nothing important commander. Now what can we do for you?"

I have a plan to help moral.

Kix perked up at that.

"How are you going to fix moral?"

"I have a plan to get Rex and Anakin together."

Kix wilted at that along with everyone else.

"No offence Commander but that's impossible."

"Not anymore Tho because I have a plan.

"And what plan is that Commander?"

"Thank you for asking Echo?"

"No problem Commander. But what's the plan?

Ahsoka broke out into a huge grin.

"There going to share a tent together."

Jessie looked confused while Echo got excited.

"I don't get it. How would sharing a tent get them together."

Echo quickly cut him off.

"Because Jessie. It's cold."

"So."

"That means there going to have to cuddle for warmth and since the General is from a desert planet and can't handle the cold well. Rex is going to help him.

"Okay but how do we get them to share a tent."

Fives grinned.

"I know how."

Dogma worriedly looked at Fives.

"How?"

"By doing this."

Fives marched over to a bunch of tents and started pulling things out of it.

Kix was the first to shout out what was on everyone's mind.

"FIVES WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?!?!."

"What does it look like?"

After Fives was done he grabbed a large stick and started walking to the fire.

"Dogma was the first to realize what he was doing.

"Stop him."

But it was to late.

Hardcase who had been on guard duty ran over.

"What's going on."

Fives held the flaming stick up.

"I'm getting the General and Captain together."

Then Fives threw the flaming stick at the tents.

Hardcase started to cheer while everyone else stared in shock.

Everyone turned to Fives who was grinning at the flames.

Before anyone could do anything Anakin and Rex rushed over and Rex was the first to speak.

"What happened?"

Everyone quickly stood to attention before Fives spoke first.

"A fire happened sir."

"How did a fire happen Fives."

"I don't know. I think it was the wind."

Hardcase cackled which caused Rex to turn to him.

"Anything you would like to say trooper?"

"No."

"Do you know what happened?"

"The wind."

Rex looked annoyed at that response.

"Echo what happened?"

"The wind sir."

"Commander what happened?"

"Rex it was the wind. We all saw it. Right guys."

Everyone agreed.

"Yep wind."

"Totally the wind."

"That darn wind."

Rex sighed.

"How many tents were burned ."

Dogma was the first to speak.

"Ten sir."

Rex pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alright then."

"Who's tents were burned.

"Fives, mine, Jessie's, Your's, Matchstick, Copper, Ash, Chatterbox, Jex, Twitch.

"Okay then Fives you are going with Echo. Dogma your going with Tup, Jessie your going with Kix, Matchstick your going with Rio, Copper your going with system. Ash your going with Risk. Chatterbox your going with circuit. Jex your going with Drag and Twitch your going with Slip."

Everyone started moving around and doing things while Rex sighed and Fives walked up to Rex.

"Rex where are you going to sleep."

"I don't know."

Fives shrugged his shoulders trying to seem like he didn't care.

"Why don't you sleep with General Skywalker. Since your both officers."

Rex and Anakin looked at each other and both of them were blushing.

"I don't mind Rex. We can share a tent."

Rex looked at his still smoking tent.

"Okay, sir. I will take you up on your offer.

"Do you need help moving your stuff into my tent."

"It's fine I only have my backpack."

"Okay."

"Um, sir which tent is yours."

"Oh right. I will show you. Come on Rex."

Rex quickly grabbed his bag and followed his General.

"Here it is. You can make yourself comfortable while I go do something really fast."

"Okay, sir."

Anakin ran into the comms tent. His face was bright red but he quickly dialed Padme.

Ani what's wrong?

Anakin was bright red and he bursted out.

Rex'stentwasburneddownsowearesharingatentandIdon'tknowwhattidobecausehe'ssohandsomeandamazingandeverytimeI'mnearhimIfeelcomplete.ButIdon'tthinkhelikesmelikethatandifItellhimhewillprobablyhateme.PadmeIdon'tknowwhattodoooooooo.

"Ani can you please repeat that?"

"Is that Anakin?"

Anakin could hear Padme's wife Sabe in the background before she popped into the screen.

"Hey Anakin, how's it going."

"Not well apparently all though I couldn't understand him because he was talking so fast."

"Oh right, sorry."

"It's fine just repeat what you said."

"Okay, well I said that Rex's tent was burned down so we are sharing a tent."

"That's very nice of you Ani."

"I think the real question is how did the tent burn down."

Padme gave Sabe a disapproving look.

"Sabe."

"What I have questions and I need answers, so how did his tent burn down.

Oh well, Fives and some of the trooper's said it was the wind. They had a campfire going to stay warm and the wind must have blown the fire onto nearby tents.

"Mighty convinent his tent was burned."

"Anakin cocked his head. What do you mean?"

"Oh nothing. Why don't you continue."

Anakin thought back to the rest of what he was saying.

"The rest of that was just me ranting. It's not important."

"If you say so Ani."

Just then Anakin could hear troopers just outside of the tent.

"I have to go know."

"Alright Ani I will talk to you soon."

"Bye."

Anakin hung up.

The trooper's entered and saluted him while Anakin just waved them off and left.

He was going to be sharing a tent with Rex. The man he a huge crush on. He could do this.

Anakin walked to his tent. It was evening and pretty soon everyone would be in bed except for those on shift.

Anakin was about to open the tent but stopped himself.

He breathed in and then out before repeating to himself. That he could do it.

Anakin unzipped the tent and walked in.

The first thing he saw was Rex shirtless and his brain broke down.

Rex was hot and he was screwed.

I can't do this. But it was to late Rex had already seen him.

"Hello General Skywalker."

Anakin was bright red.

"You can call me Anakin. Were off duty right now."

"I will try."

"Thank you."

Anakin was going to put on his pajamas when he stopped and blushed.

His pajamas were a soft sweater dress Padme had gotten him. It was really warm and cozy. When ever he wore it he couldn't help but feel safe. It was the same color as his eyes.

Anakin had never worn it in front of anyone before because he was embarrassed. But that wasn't the only embarrassing part. He also liked to sleep with a collar on. It was a simple black color that had a bell on it. The color fit perfectly on his neck. He was always embarrassed about it and kept it a secret from almost everyone.

"Are you okay Gen-Anakin?"

"Yes Into fine."

"Are you sure."

Anakin bit his lip.

"If I tell you, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone or that you won't laugh at me."

Rex was confused but agreed.

"I promise."

Anakin looked really nervous.

"Okay but can you turn around."

"Sure."

Rex turned around and Anakin got ready.

He put his soft sweater dress on and instantly started to relax. He kept his leggings on and put on his collar.

Rex was confused when he heard what sounded like a bell.

"Sir?"

"You can turn around now Rex."

Rex turned around slowly and choked in surprise.

#rexani #rexwalker #anirex #anakin skywalker #captain rex #star wars #clone wars #coldbutwarm #arc trooper fives #echo #tup #the clone wars #sw #jessie #ahsoka tano #padme amidala #kix #hardcase #dogma

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 11

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 11 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 11/? SUMMARY: Elise Smith is now a teenaged Timelord. In addition to losing the Ponds, the fields of Trenzalore are calling. But first they have to figure out exactly who Clara Oswald is.

While Isaac, Rory, and the Doctor executed their plan, Elise stayed behind with Amy and Jex.

“When this is all done, do you want us to take you home?” Amy asked him.

“Thank you, but I've already given everything I have to the Kahler. My skills, energy, all that was good in me. Here, I could start afresh. I could remember myself and help people. That's all I ever wanted to do, end suffering.”

Amy picked up Isaac’s coat and put it over Jex’s shoulders. “Here.”

“You're a mother, aren't you?”

“How did you know?”

“There's kindness in your eyes. And sadness, but a ferocity too.”

“Life's not exactly straight forward.”

“It seldom is.”

“And what about you? Are you a father?”

“Yes. In a way, I suppose I am.”

There was suddenly a loud alarm.

Amy, Elise, and Jex stepped outside the Marshal’s Office.

“That's the alarm on my ship,” Jex told them.

“Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again?” Amy asked.

“But that wasn't the plan. He's not following the plan.”

“Welcome to my world.”

Jex went back inside the Marshal’s Office.

Amy turned to Elise. “So…any idea as to what he’s doing?”

Elise shook her head. “Sometimes I wish I knew.”

Amy and Elise went back inside. When they turned around, Jex was pointing a gun at them.

Elise stepped in front of Amy. At least if he shot her, she could regenerate.

“I'm sorry, Amy, Elise. He really should have followed the plan,” he said. He gathered his things from his cell, while keeping the gun trained on the two women. “Isaac says he doesn't care about my past, but things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive, so it's best we beat a hasty retreat.”

“We? We’re coming with you?” Amy asked.

“It's unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I'm with you. As far as I can tell, he's programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary.”

“What if one of us were to fight back?” Elise asked.

“Well you clearly care for one another. You wouldn’t just leave.”

“Oh, well, color us reassured,” Amy quipped.

As Jex backed out of the doorway, a cocked gun met the back of his neck.

“Doc? What are you doing?” Isaac asked.

Jex tried to explain himself. “It was stupid of me, I realize that now. I just thought I'd put you all in enough danger. Perhaps if I left…”

The Doctor stormed in. “He's lying. Every word, everything he says, it's all lies. This man is a murderer.”

“I am a scientist!”

“Sit down.”

Jex hesitated.

“Sit down!” the Doctor yelled.

Elise flinched.

Jex sat down in the chair behind him.

“Tell them what you are.”

“What am I? A war hero.”

“Okay, somebody want to tell me what is going on?” Isaac asked.

“The Gunslinger is a Cyborg,” the Doctor said.

“A what?”

“Half man, half machine. A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd been selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry, and programmed them to kill.”

“Okay. Why? Why would you do that, Doc?”

“We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week,” Jex explained, “Do you want me to repent, to beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?”

“And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage?” the Doctor snapped.

“War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did. To what any of us did.”

The Doctor stalked away from him. Elise wanted to comfort him, but she was afraid of it blowing up in her face.

“What happened then? How come you're here?” Rory asked.

“When the war ended we had the Cyborgs decommissioned, but one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it until just two of us were left. We fled, and our ships crashed here.”

Rory turned to Amy, Elise, and Isaac. The Doctor was staring off into space near the cells.

“So, what do we do with Jex?” Rory asked.

“What do we do with him?” Isaac repeated.

“Yeah. I mean, he's a war criminal.”

If they were going off that logic, the Doctor was one too.

“No, he's the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light.”

“Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kind of creepy…” Amy said.

“And still in the room,” Jex added.

“…But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution.”

“Another solution? It's him or us,” Rory told her.

“When did we start letting people get executed? Did I miss a memo?” Amy turned to the Doctor. “Doctor, tell him.”

“Hmm? Yes. I don't know. Whatever Amy said.”

“Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror, almost. There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the gods my people weren't relying on you to save them,” Jex taunted.

The Doctor finally snapped like Elise was afraid of. The Doctor grabbed Jex and hauled him out of his chair. “No. No! But these people are. Out! Out! Out!” Elise ran out the door after the two men.

The Doctor dragged Jex through town and shoved him over the line. “Get over, and don't come back.” The Doctor grabbed another man’s gun and pointed it at Jex.

It was like Elise was back in Naismith Mansion with the sad Doctor as he flipped between the Master and Rassilon.

“You wouldn't,” Jex said.

The Doctor cocked the gun. “I genuinely don't know.”

“Doctor? Doctor?” Isaac said, trying to diffuse the situation.

Elise grabbed another gun and fired it in the air.

The Doctor spun around. Elise was holding a gun and it was pointed at him. His mind briefly flashed to a time, hundreds of years ago on an alien planet, where their positions had been switched. “Elise, what are you doing?” he asked her. He took a step towards her and she cocked the gun.

“Let him come back over the line. Now!”

“Elise, just put the gun down.”

“Let him come back over the line and I will.”

“You wouldn’t shoot me.”

She fired a shot an inch from his foot and cocked the gun again. Her hand was steady and not shaking. Although he often teased her about it, Elise truly was River’s daughter. “Try me,” she said.

“Elise…”

“Let him come back over the line!”

“Elise, put the gun down.”

“Let. Him. Go.”

“Elise, there’s a better way to do this,” Rory told her. “No! If he’s gonna behave like this, why can’t I? I’m not a child anymore! And I am through with not being taken seriously!”

The Doctor recognized the dark look in her eyes. It was one his enemies had seen countless times in his own. In addition to being his daughter, she’d become a tiny Oncoming Storm.

Had he done this to her? Had his darkness seeped into her pure soul? He’d seen it once before. Was this when it had started?

“Jex has to answer for his crimes,” he told her.

“You’re no better than him! You killed our people!”

“It’ll never end. Don’t you see that? Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today. No. Today, I honor the victims first. His, the Master's, the Dalek's, all the people who died because of my mercy!”

“And what about me!? Do you know what you’ve done to me!? I spent all those years thinking I could go back. That I could see my friends again. My home. And you destroyed that.” Elise looked at the gun. She repositioned it so the barrel was resting on her temple. “If he dies, I die. Can you live with that?”

The Doctor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Elise was threatening to take her own life. He couldn’t let that happen.

His eyes met Amy’s and she subtly nodded. She rushed forward and grabbed Elise’s hand, aiming the gun at the sky as another shot was fired.

“Get off me!” Elise yelled.

The Doctor touched her temple and Elise went limp in the redhead’s arms.

Amy passed her off to Rory, who scooped the brunette up in his arms.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was nighttime when Elise woke up. She was wrapped tightly in a blanket.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Amy said softly. Amy came and untucked her from the blanket. “Sorry about that. It’s supposed to calm babies. You kept moving and twitching in your sleep.”

Elise’s hand came up to rub her forehead. “My head is killing me. What happened?”

“You…you don’t remember?”

Elise sat up and shook her head. “No. Why?”

“Well you kind of snapped and pulled a gun on your father.”

“What? Oh my god. I didn’t hurt anyone did I?”

Amy shook her head. “No. I think you just startled them is all.”

The Doctor walked over to them. “Oh, good. You’re awake. How’s your head?” He gently touched her face.

“Twinges.”

The Doctor flinched. “Sorry. It took a lot to knock you out.”

“I’m sorry about what I did. I didn’t mean it.”

The Doctor stroked her hair. “I know you didn’t.” He kissed her forehead and said, “Get some more rest.”

Elise put her head in Amy’s lap and fell asleep to the redhead playing with her hair.

“Is Elise okay?” Amy asked the Doctor, “She said she doesn’t remember threatening you.”

“Yes, she’ll be okay.”

The two fell into silence for a few moments before the Doctor broke it. “She was right, you know? About what I did.”

“You did what any parent would do. You kept the truth from her for as long as you could, because you knew it would change her life forever.”

That didn’t change the fact that the Doctor wished he could take it back.

#eleventh doctor #eleventh doctor fanfiction #eleventh doctor imagine #amy pond #amy pond imagine #Rory Williams #rory williams imagine #the littlest timelord #the littlest timelord: the fall of the eleventh #a town called mercy

[multifandomwierdo17-blog]

Tortured Stiles solo #1

Everything was black. Or maybe it wasn’t. Where was he? Why is it so cold? Wait. Why can’t he see anything? Oh, there’s something covering his eyes, he should remove that...he can’t move his hands...why can’t he move his hands?!

“Hey, Jex, He’s up.”

Who was that? What was going on?! He was confused as to what was happening. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his bed, A small voice in the back of his head told him that he could be dreaming, and that could very well be the case but he couldn’t be for sure yet.

“Who-” he was cut off when something blunt slammed into his stomach and he let out a pained grunt as the air was forced from his chest. “Don’t talk...noted.” He gasped as he grit his teeth, before he could recover, he felt hands sliding up is shoulders and it was then he realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt. That also explained the coldness he felt when he had first woken up.

“Speak when you’re spoken too, mutt.” a second voice spoke up. This one souned female, but he couldn’t tell, he still couldn’t see.

‘“Does that count?” He pushed earning another blunt force attack to his stomach, he concluded it was probably someone’s fist. He groaned again and bit his lip.

“Sarcasm isn’t exactly going to help you here.” That one was a guys voice, so far, he could hear three people but there were shuffling sounds in the background which hinted at the possibility of there being more than the three who were outwardly speaking to him. He felt two sets of hands grabbing him and pulling against the back of the chair and holding him there. That made five people so far, he may have had a chance against three humans, but not five, he was fucked.

He could feel the heat of the person to his right’s breath against the back of his ear “So, what’s the plan? Can I get to play with him first?” The voice was harsh and grated and it sounded like he gargled glass shards and nails for breakfast so it was either a guy or a chick who was really into chain smoking and it creeped him out. Despite common sense telling him what he was about to do was a bad idea, he threw his head to the side as sharply as he could, effectively bashing his head against the person to his sides’ mouth. The cry of pain and surprise was worth the punch to the face he got afterwards.

He felt someone fist his hair and pull him forwards “Another stunt like that, and I’ll hang you by your neck with your shoelaces!” The man who he’d hit just seconds earlier hissed spraying either spit or blood all over his face. His hair was released and he fell back against the back of the chair once again.

“List- Don’t hit me again! Just, I have to warn you, my friends aren’t the safest people to piss off, just let me go before you get hurt.” He surprisingly didn’t get punched as he gave his half-assed last attempt at a plea for freedom, although the only thing his plea got him was yet another punch to his already bruised stomach and taunting laughter.

“Oh we aren’t worried about your friends, once we’re done with you, they won’t even be able to recognize you, that is if we even let them see your body.”

After that last sentence was spoken, he felt more hands grab him, hooking him under the arms and pulling him upwards and dragging him across the floor. It wasn’t until he was dropped that he felt bolts of electricity shoot through his body. He couldn’t hold back a scream as pain rippled through his body.

Who were these people? What did they want with him? Were they after his friends? Or his dad? He didn't know. All he knew was that he needed to get away or pray that he lasts long enough for his friends to rescue him.

[the-desolated-quill]

A Town Called Mercy - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Toby Whithouse writing a Western episode? Now this should be exciting!

...

Pity it isn’t.

Okay, that’s not entirely fair. It’s not a bad premise and the first half of A Town Called Mercy is actually pretty good for the most part. A cyborg gunslinger is threatening the nearby town of Mercy, refusing to let anyone out unless they hand over an alien doctor called Kahler-Jex. It’s a great setup and there’s a lot to love. Mercy itself looks incredible. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Westerns, and this captures the best of the genre. The mysterious stranger that walks into town, the dark antihero out for revenge, but has a kind heart underneath, the morbid undertaker, the noble sheriff trying to keep the peace, it’s all there. Not even Matt Smith’s childish goofiness could ruin it for me. I also love the Gunslinger. He’s a sympathetic character and the makeup design is brilliant. One of the best ‘monster’ designs I’ve ever seen in this show. Ben Browder was good as the sheriff Isaac and I did initially like the character of Jex, played by Adrian Scarborough (Look @furrychimp, it’s Mr. Jolly from Psychoville! XD).

Then comes the moral dilemma, which starts off so promisingly. Turns out Jex, the nice, cuddly alien doctor who gave Mercy electricity and heating and a cure for cholera, is actually a war criminal. The man responsible for performing brutal experiments on his own people in order to win a war, and the Gunslinger is in fact one of his victims out for revenge. Awkward.

There’s a lot of potential there, isn’t there? Much more interesting and complex than the Daleks wanting to take over the Earth for the ten billionth time. Unfortunately this is all undermined by Whithouse apparently not trusting the audience to understand this dilemma for themselves. A lot of this episode seems to consist of Jex blatantly spelling out for us in black and white either things we already know or things we could have worked out for ourselves.

“It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn't it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who's dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I'm both bewilders you."

Yeah. Thanks for that. Perhaps you should go on Mastermind. Name: Kahler-Jex. Specialist Subject: The Fucking Obvious.

Sitting the audience down like we’re fucking idiots and explaining all the moral quandaries to us just lessens the impact of it. It’s annoying. For instance, it’s possible to draw comparisons between Jex’s actions and the Doctor’s in the Time War. It’s a nice subtle thing that makes the Doctor’s behaviour that much more impactful and the conflict much more interesting. Or at least it could have been if Jex didn’t draw attention to it with his clunky and cliched ‘looking at you is like looking into a mirror’ line. How about crediting the audience with some intelligence?

So the Doctor gets pissed off and chucks Jex over the line before pointing a gun at him. And like with Solomon’s death in Dinosaurs On A Spaceship, people for some reason have a problem with this. Okay, time out for a minute. Have any of you lot ever actually watched Doctor Who before? I don’t know where you’ve got this idea that the Doctor is a gun fearing pacifist from, but it’s grade A bollocks. The Doctor has done violent things before. The Doctor has even used a gun before. Okay, he only resorts to those actions if there’s no other choice and will always try to find a peaceful solution if he can, but he’s never been above getting his hands dirty. For some strange reason, over time people have taken this from a man who only resorts to violence when he has no other choice to a man who NEVER resorts to violence EVER.

The thing is it’s one thing for the fans to hold this blatantly incorrect opinion that the Doctor is a pacifist, but it’s another thing entirely when the writers start buying into that bullshit too. First there’s Amy who asks “since when did killing someone become an option?”, which is just a profoundly odd thing to ask. What, did the millions of Cybermen that the Doctor killed in A Good Man Goes To War in order to find her not count? What about all the Silence who died in Day Of The Moon? What about Solomon in the previous episode? That’s quite a selective memory you’ve got there Amy. And then later on during the mandatory lynch mob scene, we get the Doctor dropping the clunker that ‘violence doesn’t end violence’, which is just beyond moronic. Look, no sane minded person wants to resort to violence. Nobody wants to go to war or fight people deep down. Of course we should always try to find a peaceful solution and diplomacy is great when it works, but sometimes that’s just not an option. We sometimes have to resort to violence in order to defend ourselves or for the greater good. It’s not ideal, but that’s the reality of life. I’m not saying the Doctor needs to be a violent antihero or anything. What I am saying is that both the writers and the fans need to stop over simplifying the Doctor’s character and the conflicts he encounters to such an idiotic degree.

So back to what I was saying, the Doctor points a gun at Jex, which I have no problem with by the way and neither should you (besides the Doctor reels it back in when he says he genuinely doesn’t know if he could pull the trigger, so it’s still very much in character thank you very much), and Amy starts to scold him for his behaviour. On the surface this seems to be a powerful character moment for Amy, but if you look closely it actually doesn’t work at all. See the Doctor raises a very good point, saying he wants to honour the victims first and that he agonises over the people who have died because of his mercy. This is something the show rarely touches on. The Doctor often moralises over whether it’s right to kill villains like the Daleks or the Master and usually shows mercy, which is all very well, but he never takes into account the number of people who die as a result of his merciful actions. I think this is the first time in the show’s history that the Doctor has ever acknowledged this. That his mercy toward enemies like the Daleks have led to some truly horrific consequences. At a glance it looks like Amy’s talk about how they need to be better than Jex addresses this, but it actually doesn’t because that’s not an answer to the point the Doctor has raised. She basically just reiterates the Doctor’s usual position. That doing good now lets you off of any negative consequences later on. This isn’t an answer to the dilemma, but the problem is the Doctor treats it as though it is. What’s the point of raising big questions if you’re just going to gloss over them?

It’s at this point the entire episode starts to fall apart. The minute Jex is revealed to be a war criminal, he suddenly morphs into this pantomime villain constantly trying to goad the Doctor only to then revert back to his nice, cuddly self at the end when it’s time for him to make his honourable sacrifice. This isn’t a morally grey character. This is more like dissociative identity disorder. Even the Gunslinger’s character starts to become a shambles. The rules surrounding his morality don’t make the slightest bit of sense. He creates a line around the town and orders them to hand Jex over to him so no innocent lives will be lost, but there’s a moment where Jex is is standing right in front of the Gunslinger inside the line. Why doesn’t the Gunslinger just shoot him? The only thing stopping him is a line of his own making. Then later he makes a mockery of the whole ‘no innocent lives’ rule by marching right into town and threatening to kill everyone unless they hand Jex over, which begs the question why he didn’t just do that in the first place.

And what’s the Doctor’s plan? Get everyone to put on face paint and run around to distract the Gunslinger while Jex escapes. Fuck me, it’s just as well the Gunslinger did show mercy in the end with the townsfolk, otherwise the Doctor would have been responsible for more deaths thanks to his own mercy (oh the irony). Also, face paint? I thought the Gunslinger was tracking Jex via his clothes. Now it’s facial markings? In fact, doesn’t the Gunslinger already know what Jex looks like? Why not just search for him specifically? He had no problem picking the Doctor out using his advanced targeting, facial recognition software thing. Why not do the same with Jex? It’s all just daft.

I’m really annoyed by this. Everything started off so well. All the ingredients were there for an intelligent, morally complex episode as well as a great tribute to the Western genre, but it’s all ultimately ruined by some truly sloppy writing on Whithouse’s part. Damn it!

#a town called mercy #toby whithouse #doctor who #eleventh doctor #matt smith #amy pond #karen gillan #rory williams #arthur darvill #steven moffat #bbc #review #spoilers