#the body swap episode is one of the best episodes from s1

[girlsnightgirlsnight]

I DONT CARE IF ITS ALREADY BEEN DONE AND THAT IT DOESNT FIT INTO THE STORY I NEED ANOTHER BODY-SWAP EPISODE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

#the body swap episode is one of the best episodes from s1 #dndads #dungeons and daddies #dndaddies

[nohaijiachi]

I've been seeing just about all moments of GO S2 being put under a microscope and absolutely dissected frame by frame

And still I am yet to see anyone mention a moment that might be small in the grand scheme of things, perhaps not as character defining as many other that have been (rightfully) analyzed a thousand times over, but which was *so* important to me, and every single time I watch it I'm just filled with so many feelings and jhaghagha

(putting this under a read more to not spam y'all with a ginormous post clogging your dashes)

The moment in question is this (my apologies for the pics, I currently don't have a proper way to take screenshots of S2 and had to snap photos of my tv screen lol)

It's such a quick moment, a small blip in the entirety of episode 5, but let me tell you why it absolutely destroys my heart every single time.

First of all let's refresh our memory on Aziraphale's relationship with Heaven and Gabriel specifically, shall we?

The very first time we see Gabriel in S1, he surprises Aziraphale at a sushi restaurant. Aziraphale looks to his left, because that's the side where Crowley usually appears when approaching him, but instead of his boyfriend the familiar Demon, he sees the reflection of Gabriel at his other side, and he turns around with what reads to me as very much an "oh shit" expression.

In episode 2 we see Gabriel again, along with Sandalphon; they are flanking Aziraphale and leaving him no way to escape in what to me seems a blatant intimidation tactic, especially with Gabriel being all "hey you remember Sandalphon, right :)" and Aziraphale being like "Oh yeah, likes smiting and turning people into salt, I sure do! *nervous laugh". There's literally no reason for them to be acting like this if not to (un)subtly remind Aziraphale what his place is, and that he is NOT safe, not even in his bookshop.

Whenever we see Aziraphale in Heaven he is constantly standing ramrod straight, hands kept caged behind him, none of his usual mannerism to be seen. He always smiles like a hare being stared at by a hawk and the cinematography very much underlines that tenseness by both showing the impossible, cold and sterile expanse of Heaven in contrast to the camera being shoved right in the characters' face to make the viewer feel just as uncomfortable as Aziraphale is.

When Gabriel and Aziraphale speak in the park there's this moment after it looks like Gabriel is leaving, but he pops right back up in Aziraphale's space in an instant, causing the reaction we see in these screenshots. Aziraphale is clearly taken aback and tense, eyes widening which is like, fair considering Gabriel pretty much jump scared him, but that's rather the point, isn't it? Gabriel pretty much jump scared him. He didn't just turn around and jog back to Aziraphale to ask him about the sword, he purposefully moved himself up to him without any warning. Like sheesh, talk about terrifying bosses.

No Gabriel here, but just another example of how much Aziraphale does NOT like being in Heaven. When he gets discorporated and finally manages to stand up for himself, saying he refuses to fight a war, he still looks like *this*. Like he's one step away from just discorporating a second time and without an actual body out of sheer anxiety.

When all it's said and done at the Tadfield airbase and the four horsemen are gone, Gabriel and Beelzebub decide to go check what the heck is going on, at which point Aziraphale pretty much seems to be bracing himself, straightening his back, adjusting his clothes nervously and then holding his hand in front of him in a show of dignified quietness I definitely read as him doing his best to hide just how anxious he truly is.

Of course we don't see Aziraphale's reaction at being told to shut his stupid mouth and die already by Gabriel due to the body swap, and at this point is pretty safe to say Crowley has never shared with Aziraphale that little tidbit of information, but even not knowing the extent of the cruelty Gabriel showed toward him at the end, he still knows that Gabriel and, by extension, Heaven was more than willing and ready to murder him.

Even at the start of S2, when an amnesiac Gabriel arrives at the bookshop and then hugs him (awkwaaaard), Aziraphale looks like he's entirely frozen and unable to react to the improbability of what is happening, and when Gabriel asks him if he can go inside the bookshop Aziraphale's immediate reaction is to pretty much recoil with an immediate "No!".

Of course he is then forced to let him in because there's a naked man on his steps while the whole neighborhood is watching, and we get some many more little moments of Aziraphale anxiety emerging through his body language: The pacing, the way he sits ramrod straight in front of Gabriel, and him literally backing away multiple steps when Gabriel asks him "You know how it's like, when you don't know anything at all, and yet you're totally certain that everything will be better if you were just near one particular person?"

(Because of course Aziraphale knows how that feels, and that's exactly the same reason why he's been so scared of Heaven for-fucking-ever!) (Also as an aside let me just bless Michael 'Acting Choices' Sheen for that smile that lasts a shard of a second after Gabriel asks that. You can pretty much see the word "CROWLEY" stamped in big bold letters on his forehead in that moment lmao)

(Also as an aside to the aside. Jon Hamm is just fantastic. Gabriel comes across as such an asshole in S1, but Amnesiac!Gabriel is a fucking cinnamon roll and he pulls it off so well ajahjahja)

Then of course we get the whole exchange about the 'something terrible' that sends Aziraphale into more anxious frenzy until another tiny, kinda overlooked moment hits us in the shins, in which Gabriel says "You're funny. I love you." And like, can't blame anybody for not looking at that moment without much thought, I know that that sentence had me crying laughing multiple times on multiple rewatches, but also... God, you can see the way some of that fear instantly leaves Aziraphale, the way he relaxes ever so slightly and ??? Aziraphale??? Is that all you need to instantly start trusting someone who wanted you dead? Who treated you like shit for who knows how long? (Why am I even asking this, of course that'd be enough, it's Aziraphale we're talking about, here.) Then of course the rest of season 2, he and Crowley having a row about what to do with Gabriel with Aziraphale insisting that he needs them, as his friends, yada yada, we get back to the initial moment that sparked this post.

We get there, Aziraphale's (eldritch) Ball and the romantic moment he's been working himself up for ruined, murderous Demons at his steps putting both he and all the humans inside in peril, and all he would need to do to avoid any harm coming to them is to give Gabriel up, and... "You came to me. I said I would protect you. And I will." Not just the words, but the way Aziraphale says them; voice lowered and serious, that hint of hesitation and fear at the start that melts away into full blown confidence at the 'And I will'.

It isn't just Aziraphale being scared by Gabriel mentioning the 'something terrible' at the beginning, nor the brief moments of cryptic recollection that he witnesses Gabriel going through-- It's that Aziraphale sincerely accepted to protect him, and he wasn't going to give that up. He is a Guardian and a Principality, after all.

And like, I see this and how am I supposed not to get my heart utterly shattered by it? If Aziraphale had rejected Gabriel, or treated him unkindly in any way, I hardly doubt anybody would be hard pressed to say Aziraphale did not have the right to do so, not after the way he's been treated by Gabriel and Heaven his whole life. But he doesn't. He is kind to him, if a tad long-suffering at times. The protection he extended over Gabriel is utterly sincere and unwavering.

And ngggggggh I don't even know where I'm going with this. I just. Love Aziraphale so much. Stupid, clever, anxious, brave man-shaped thing that he is, recklessly throwing himself into the line of fire for somebody that, by any means, did not have any right to ask something of that magnitude from him. He is my scrungly, and by God am I ever so excited to see how everything will play out in season 3. I want him to fully grasp that bravery and raise absolute -metaphorical- hell with it. Shine bright, you crazy bastard.

#good omens #aziraphale #meta #i suppose #idk i just wanted to throw my two cents and talk about this specific moment #cuz it gives me ALL of the feels #my angel blorbo ilu

[genericpuff]

I really enjoyed seeing your last post!!! It reminded me of something else that I noticed when I was younger and not really seeing LO through the eyes I am now- even when I lived LO, I noticed that Minthe’s bust size.. Might’ve changed? (I could be remembering wrong, and I’m sorry if I am!) I didn’t think on it too much back then, but it felt a lot like the “she could never measure up to Persephone”, or the “she’s nothing to worry about when it comes to Persephone”!!

But then, when Minthe was supposed to be more of a “problem,” I noticed she’d get drawn with a larger bust- or at least larger than it had been back in the earliest episodes!

This could all make absolutely no sense, (and I apologize for just rambling in your askbox!), but I watching a character’s “worthiness” be portrayed through something as simple and neutral as their chest size stuck out to me then, and sticks out to me now!! 😓)

Oh don't apologize, you're literally pointing out exactly the things we've even talked about in the ULO community !

Literally here she is in S1:

And we even get a scene of her smooshing her boobs together in Episode 35 in an effort to make them seem bigger because she legit feels like Hades is pursuing the "new hotness" in the office based around their physical appearances:

But then she conveniently goes up like 3 cup sizes when it's time for her to be cemented as the villain and suffer her fate by getting turned into a plant?

I've literally seen fans grasp at straws to explain that maybe she got a boob job but then they don't realize that the story at this point has only been going on for like, 3-4 weeks at most. At best you shouldn't have to make those massive leaps to explain the inconsistent character body types. If Minthe really did get a boob job, don't you think that's something that should have been explained in the comic?

And let's be real, we all know what it's really about because it's just more of Rachel pitting women against women:

What's wild though is that Rachel is vastly misinterpreting a classic image here:

A lot of people look at that image of Jayne Mansfield and Sophia Loren and just immediately assume that Sophia is giving Jayne the stink eye over her outfit. And of course, we see this misinterpretation in Rachel's drawing that swaps Sophia and Jayne with Minthe and Persephone.

When in FACT what was actually going on was that Sophia spotted Jayne getting dangerously close to a wardrobe malfunction / nip slip and the camera just happened to catch her making a face that could be misinterpreted as slut-shaming.

"Yes, Paramount had organized a party for me. All of cinema was there, it was incredible. And then comes in Jayne Mansfield, the last one to come. For me, that was when it got amazing. She came right for my table. She knew everyone was watching. She sat down. And now, she was barely… Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I'm staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I'm so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table."

Ans Sophia has actually stated that she doesn't like those misinterpretations and is trying to actively distance herself from it.

"Actually, many, many times I am given this photo to autograph it. And I never do. I don't want to have anything to do with that. And also out of respect for Jayne Mansfield because she's not with us anymore."

Jayne died in 1967, only living for about 30 years, and Sophia herself is actually still around. I can imagine how disheartening it is to see people still misinterpreting a photo of two friends and colleagues especially when it's through the lens of slut-shaming an accomplished actress who is unfortunately no longer with us.

Sooo yeah all that said, I'm less inclined to believe it was Minthe getting a boob job and more inclined to believe it was more of Rachel's weird internalized misogyny picking and choosing which women are "sluts" and which ones are "victims" for dressing or being built a certain way. It's really gross when you start to notice it.

People have also pointed out how odd it is that every single character who gets into a relationship or is in a relationship by S3 seemingly morphs into copies of Hades and Persephone, which is really just more of a testament to how lazy Rachel is in her character designs. In her head she's just trying Hades and Persephone all the time but different colors, I imagine at this point the H x P relationship is the only thing that she's interested in writing/drawing about (and even that's arguably hanging on by a thread because she couldn't even let their long-awaited wedding scene have real room to breathe) so it's almost like she's defaulting to just zoning out and drawing nothing but H x P and then having her assistants color them differently based on who it's actually supposed to be.

But I digress. The body shaming and slut shaming is definitely hard-baked into LO and how it portrays its characters. Despite Rachel having written an actual comic portraying sexism in the past, she still can't seem to express her ideas around sexism, to the point of, again, saying she "didn't know sexism was that bad" until she worked on LO. Like, girl... you drew a comic about sexism before LO, what are you talking about? Is this more of you not wanting to acknowledge ANY of the work you did prior to LO, or are you telling me you didn't intend for those older works to be interpreted as sexism???

"I feel like female characters in general, people will be a little harsher on them and sometimes way harsher on them, and I used to be like.. before I started writing the story and like making a story I was like yeah, sexism is not that bad, and [now] I was like oh it's bad. It's quite bad [laughs], so like, I don't know, I feel like the female characters in the story don't get so much of a pass. But this isn't consistent across the board, it's not all the time." - Rachel Smythe, Girl Wonder Podcast circa 2022

#WHICH IS IT RACHEL #DO YOU THINK SEXISM WASN'T THAT BAD OR DO YOU BLAME THE PATRIARCHY FOR EVERYTHING #DO YOU THINK PEOPLE ARE TOO HARSH ON YOUR FEMALE CHARACTERS OR DO YOU MEAN JUST PERSEPHONE- #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lo critical #ama #ask me anything #anon ama #anon ask me anything

[noushienoushnoush]

Once again, I sit here in absolute awe of David Tennant and Michael Sheen's acting. (And also the writing for this show.)

Let's talk about S1 E6 of Good Omens, shall we? (spoilers incoming, *in Crowley's mocking tone* obviously.)

Something that absolutely went over my head the first time I watched this episode was how masterfully they fooled us about the body swap. It's a wonderful surprise the first time around, but when you re-watch the episode, certain things makes you question why Crowley acted the way he did at the trial, and same with Azirophale in Heaven. Something seemed off the whole time. And during my first watch, I took it as "oh, they're probably both nervous about what's to come." But noooo, I was dead wrong.

Here's some amazing hints that conveyed, in the most subtle way, that maybe these two supernatural beings were not in their usual bodies.

The Ice Cream Stand

From the moment they go to the ice cream stand, Aziraphale's face looks rather stressed and serious. It's rather out of the ordinary for Aziraphale, there's always a sense of emotional vulnerability in his eyes, but in this scene, there's none of that. He looks around and scans the surrounding, the way Crowley always does. He walks around Crowley, the way Crowley always does around Aziraphale.

In fact, what would be expected of the real Aziraphale would be a stiff stand and some kind of nervous smile, and at least a bit of anticipation for eating ice cream. But who do we smiling instead? "Crowley". (Putting the quotations there because of course they have switched bodies before going to the ice cream stand.) And look at how David smiles here. It's a tight smile after receiving the ice cream cone, the kind that Aziraphale would give in appreciation if he was interacting with the ice cream person (which, he technically is, in Crowley's body.) If David was acting as the real Crowley, we would have had more of grin and maybe a slight tilt of the head even.

It's such a subtle thing but my god does it makes such a big difference and shows how much David and Michael know about each other's characters and I can't even-

Reaction to Gabriel Entering the Scene

Firstly, we have a close up of Aziraphale's hand and Crowley still adjusting to how the angel's body moves and functions (which can be easily taken as adjusting to the tight grip of the rope. Honestly, it's probably a bit of both).

Then Gabriel enters and what we would naturally expect is Aziraphale losing his shit by adjusting in his seat nervously, checking to make sure he looks okay, and loads of anxiety in his voice. But we get none of that. He doesn't even nervously laugh at Gabriel's joke, just gives the slightest little twitch, the kind Crowley would give when he's stressed. There's not a hint of nervousness in his eyes, as if his emotions are tucked away, something Crowley is quite good at.

Holy Water/ Eternal Fire

When Eric shows up from Hell with the eternal fire, the real Aziraphale would've been utterly surprised, but the one sitting down just watches Eric come in as if he was expecting the demon. In fact, if you look closely, everyone reacts to the fire EXCEPT Eric and "Aziraphale".

And when Michael looks at the fire in his subtle (and brilliant) way, the look can be read as both our angel looking reflectively at the very thing that could destroy him AND as our demon in the angel's body holding back the anger that he feels when he sees that this is what they were going to do to his best friend had they not switched bodies.

And can't forget the iconic scene of the roar with the fire spitting out. That is such a Crowley move and so out of character for Aziraphale!!

And we can see the sheer joy as his eyes glow in a shade of yellow awfully similar to Crowley's. I mean that grin is also literally Crowley?!

Lastly, we have the moment where Gabriel says "shut up and die already" and rewatching the show with context of how angry Crowley was at this statement, I can literally feel Crowley's anger in Aziraphale's body here. Michael how do you this? My two brain cells are literally going brrr.

Meanwhile, in Hell, when Archangel Michael enters the scene with the holy water, Crowley looks back and is genuinely surprised, but really it's Azirophale, in Crowley's body, who's like "wait a minute, Michael?!" The real Crowley wouldn't have been surprised even one bit. He'd probably make a snarky remark in fact about something like how Heaven and Hell are not that different after all.

Tone of Voice & Dialogue

It's just all so perfect. I remember reading on Neil's Tumblr that Aziraphale generally speaks with every word in every sentence pronounced perfectly and in an almost bookish way. Crowley, on the other hand, mumbles a lot of his words. They role off the tongue very quickly. There's a peculiar snake-like vibe to the way he speaks.

But during the trial? Crowley doesn't make a single super snarky remark or mumble his words. He stands quite straight (no putting his weight on one knee or slithering around) and the way he speaks is awfully similar to Aziraphale.

"Well, yes, um..." (87.5% of Aziraphale's sentences start like this lol)

"I don't suppose in the nine circles of Hell, there's such a thing as a rubber duck?" (Crowley level snarky yes but Crowley already knows that it doesn't exist, so he would've framed it differently if it was really him speaking. This is very much peak "unexpectedly funny" Aziraphale humor.)

Also, I think the very first hint we have about the body swap, as far as dialogue goes, is when "Crowley" is knocked to the ground and says "It's not a problem. It's a tickety-boo." Just cracks me up cause again, that's something our southern pansy Aziraphale would say.

And then there's the whole scene at the park after the fact, but this post is already long enough as is lol.

I hope I'm not repeating something that another person has already mentioned. I'm just mesmerized by David and Michael's acting and Neil's writing is all. Honestly, there so many other micro moments I didn't cover. And my 2 am brain doesn't have energy for making GIFs, I hope the still images will do. Alt Text will be added soon as well.

#i literally don't know if anyone will read this but i need to vent it out #ineffable husbands #ineffablle plan #good omens #michael sheen #aziracrow #crowley #david tennant #good omens spoilers #acting? chef's kiss #production? chef's kiss #writing? chef's kiss #directing? chef's kiss

[mdhwrites]

Going back through TOH's episodes, it strikes me how boring they are. Part of the problem seems to be how criminally unfunny the show is, generally speaking. I can count how many times I've laughed on one hand. In fact I can list them:

There was the "It's been my dream since I was a boy" guy pushing kids off cliffs (Moving Hassle), Luz's "He'll be fine" after throwing Hunter overboard - and then his subsequent re-entry (Hunting Palismen) - and lastly Luz tumbling offscreen in front of Amity after a spider crawls on her face (Grom). That's 3 scenes, 4 jokes if we're being charitable. And sure, maybe my sense of humour is just incompatible with TOH's and I'm being harsh.

But I can't deny that I just feel like there's no rewatch value in TOH? Like it's just... the jokes are so bad to the point it's not fun, it's not entertaining, it's a slog, I see no value in retreading the same ground. And I am a SERIAL rewatcher! This is coming from someone who spends maybe 85% of their time experiencing the same stories! I love seeing well-done media all over again, because even if I know what's going to happen or what they will say, a well-structured joke or a skillfully delivered line is still gonna engage me.

I can't even recommend the show to anyone because I HAVE in the past... and what ends up happening is they watch the first couple episodes, get bored, go "I recognize that you like this, but it's not my thing" and drop it. And I CAN'T BLAME THAT! Because that's how I reacted too when I got into the show! I only stuck with it because it seemed like it was going really interesting places. And it tried to, I think, and failed.

I'm also a very fandom-heavy person so TOH's boring episodes have made it increasingly harder for me to stay within it. Because I'm not rewatching anything, I can see myself in real time as I forget more and more of the plotlines, and even a lot of the characters. It's just... kind of disappointing. It's like I just had a gradual fizzling out of interest. I don't even hate the show, which might be better in some ways - instead I just can't muster enough shits to feel any type of way towards it.

I rambled a bit but I guess my ultimate ask here was: what are your thoughts on whether or not TOH manages to entertain new/old viewers?

So I like S1. I think the characters are what carry it and that they are at their most interesting, EASILY, in S1.

The vast majority of S1, in terms of concepts and executions for plots, is OKAY AT BEST.

This actually just comes down to a simple tonal decision of TOH and also just the fact that a boring world with boring magic creates little to do with bog standard plots and TOH actually has a LOT of bog standard plotting. It is a pretty classic story structurally and takes genuinely very few risks in the structure... Which is okay in theory.

There is nothing wrong with not reinventing the wheel and TOH talks a big game about subverting tropes but no. As a fantasy fan, I can tell you this is EXCEPTIONALLY normal. Like... Insultingly from how much it talks a big game. Especially because if you're going to do classic, you have three options: Shoot the moon, lean into the unique elements of your concept or do it VERY. VERY. WELL.

And remember: They did a body swap episode and it is one of the most hated episodes of the entire show. That's not a good sign.

But this touches on the second problem I brought up: This is a boring world with boring magic. Because TOH's fantasy world is so basic, has little magic and little flair with its magic, it inherently limits what it can do. Now, it doesn't have to be this way but the show made it this way with how little we see of it, how limited it is (like how plant magic is 99% vines), and how often it just blatantly makes one to one comparisons between it and our world with effectively NOTHING altered like how the covens are just jobs, right down to them being introduced through a job fair and a boring one at that.

So when we look at a classic episode concept like the body swap episode, the three plots are... Easily replicated elsewhere. One person gets in trouble in the swap's job because they don't know what they're doing (with the most unique twist of this actually landing them in prison), a classic animal plot where they're taken in by a place that seems cozy and then isn't with literally no changes, and finally... Teenager pisses off bullies and agrees to jump DEAD MAN'S GORGE! But instead of skateboards and people really building it up, its rat beasts.

None of these plots are actually bad, they're go tos for a reason, but... No one is bringing anything special to this. Luz is entirely ignored so her character may as well not matter, Eda is doing NOTHING to add to her plot and King... King is fun for about two minutes leading the bullies and otherwise is just any other character in this situation. It's not bad, I personally enjoy parts of the episode... But it's nothing special. From the second the thing that X character is going to do is revealed, you can guess every step of the plot and they don't even really throw in good jokes in the process. A couple jokes but nothing memorable because everything is weirdly subdued compared to how other shows would be, even in an episode that is definitely trying to be more over the top.

And this runs into the inherent tonal issue of TOH: It doesn't want to be an adventure comedy. Those are genres that are commonly really over the top. They hear jump the shark and go "How about a shark jumping ten other sharks in order to finish making a can of tuna for their fire giant overlord?" And the face of this fact, in that the genres it pitches itself as for the first two episodes!

TOH flatly refuses to be silly and over the top. It's characters are very... 'realistic'. I don't mean real, just that they're meant to feel more mature by being more in control. They don't let them interrupt each other for a joke, they don't let a character be potentially OOC for a one off gag like Hop Pop screaming "EAT THE RICH!" or Sprig asking "Have you ever killed a a man, Hop Pop," and I can only think of one time Luz got mad for the sake of a joke and honestly, yelling about the Rusty Smidge barely comes across as a joke because of how genuine the anger feels after a point. Otherwise, stuff that would normally get exaggerated frustration or the like to at least let you laugh at the reaction just... doesn't get one, like how Luz yells about Luzura being killed off but then... Just walks off and is passive aggressive mostly instead of even exasperated. For a drama or romance, this is not a bad approach but for even just an adventure kid's show... It's not great to put it mildly because people meet odd situations with weird levels of nonchalance. Not quite irony poisoned levels but getting there.

It's why TOH is mostly remembered for the romance and drama episodes. Not only do they allow some of the romance scenes to actually include melodrama, they also just fit how the characters act better. It's why Amity has some of the biggest emotions of the series and why Lumity have such great lines between each other because they're actually willing to lean into the sort of genre fiction that they're doing. This is also why S2 works better than S1 because a lot of the pretense of being a comedy adventure gets dropped but like... There's still plenty of boring in S2 with stuff like how Elsewhere Elsewhen takes time travel and includes a couple jokes at the beginning and then is just... horribly bland and barely qualifies as an adventure.

This lack of allowing people to be emotional and jokey also leads to the reliance on comic relief characters. People like Gus, King or Hooty, or S2 Lilith, who the characters can mock in someway, including the writers. Characters who can be the punchline even if it means a lot of people come off a lot meaner than they should, i.e. Luz absolutely rejecting Hooty for the vast majority of the series despite supposedly liking the weird and rejected. That also means that most of the time they're not on screen, either the scene starts getting pretty dry or you have a character suddenly warp to be comic relief, like how Eda gets in some S2 episodes like Elsewhere Elsewhen or Eclipse Lake where suddenly she's MUCH more of a joke than she normally is and also REALLY bad at it too and seeming potentially brain dead for it. Thanks to Them even does this to Amity even though she is probably the last person in the cast to make sense as a sudden clutz.

All of this stuff makes it so that if you go in wanting a kid's show, a fantasy show, ANYTHING that is pitched in the first episode... S1 is going to be just okay to you. I enjoyed it... But I also fell off when I first watched it. I thought the characters were good but none of it stuck with me as actually memorable and I watched until I think Adventure in the Elements. I never was never compelled to come back until Lumity animations (literally THE Little Miss Perfect animatic that is nowadays probably hard to find actually) made me go "I remember this show being neat." And Lumity was what kept me, not because I was generally laughing or calling these episodes something special. In fact, that sense of unsatisfaction is probably why I watched through it faster than Amphibia. No one episode of TOH is really great to watch on its own because... It's just kind of boring, or like half of it is boring because the B plots across the board are SO BLAND. S1 or 2 for that matter since Lumity starts getting boring B plots like with the archives or finding out the author of Azura. Both concepts btw that could have been really interesting setups and instead... If you're not into blushing Amity, get FUUUUUCKED.

That's without getting into REPETITION. Repetition kills comedy so King having one joke for S1 and also taking up like half of the B plots for the first ten episodes means you are going to be in agony eventually anytime someone talks to him because you know where it's going and you have DEFINITELY heard this joke before. And you know, he also gets three repetitive B plots which just hurts the joke even more, even as they try to make twists on it, and hurts the feeling that the show is doing... Anything..

It's just not good. Which is probably why once the characters and the 'subversive/unique' elements of the show both weakened, more and more people left because... Why would you keep watching this then? Those elements are what made up for boring plots with boring execution in a world that didn't allow for more interesting storytelling because it had few ideas and expanded on NONE OF THEM. So of course people pitch it using the elements that say "this isn't like other kids shows/fantasy shows" because if you pitch it to people who like those... They'll just be disappointed eventually and bored quickly. Like i think a lot of people did to be quite honest.

And a lack of creativity, and a lack of genre understanding, isn't something time could have ever fixed.

======+++++======

The short version of proving this point btw is going "Compare Bumi's introductory episode, which is a character giving three trials to prove another's worth, versus when the Bat Queen challenges Luz. One is exceptionally funny, interesting and has genuinely interesting twists while the other is... There. So very there. Painfully just... there. Not even bad, just... There.

Also, yes, comedy is extremely subjective which is why I tried to talk more about how a lot of these premises are boring because that can be a bit more objective.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past.

I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead.

If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

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And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #toh #the owl house

[shipaholic]

Episode 5: “The Ball”

Good Omens S2 Ep5. This is a liveblog, so spoilers!

- ‘Autistic Aziraphale’ this, ‘autistic Muriel’ that, we need to talk about autistic Shax.

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- “Are you actually going through with this?” “Indeed I am.” “Can I watch?” OTP dynamic to rule them all.

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- “Are they going to talk about the Christmas lights? Because I have things to say.” “.......Yes.”

- This entire sequence is too delightful to stop and comment on, but I love all of these shopkeepers, all of Aziraphale’s methods of bribery, all his earnest, stilted French, and all of Crowley’s disbelieving poses in the background.

- On the flip side, Shax is babygirl and so is Eric, but sadly only one of them can live.

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- Nina is asking Crowley if Aziraphale is his bit on the side and I am being extremely calm right now.

- The thing is! In S1, most of the comments other characters made about A/C being a couple were only said to Aziraphale. The only time it happened in front of Crowley was Sister Mary interrupting the tender moment that was the wall slam. And there was a lot going on then, so Crowley had the luxury of not reacting to it. This conversation with Nina is the first time he has had to nervously vomit up a denial to someone assuming Aziraphale is his boyfriend. Turns out his best retort is, “He’s just an angel I know”. Whoops.

- The ending to this scene is weird, though! Nina says something about other people’s love lives looking much simpler than our own, and Crowley suddenly looks like he’s been given weeks to live. I’d understand a thunderstruck look, but distraught? Why?

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- oh my god a date, Crowley’s set up a date, there’s wine and everything, the restaurant is French, they could have crepes!!!

- “Smitten, I believe.”

...............

SMITTEN, I BELIEVE

OK JUST SAY THAT LIKE IT’S NO BIGGIE

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- Good, Nina deserved at least one of the “fuck”s this season.

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- Ohhh Crowley’s got drunk and angry to talk to Gabriel. This, uh. This could be a whole thing.

- Aaagh they did a callback to “Let there be light” and made it SAD and kind of threatening

- Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit shit. Crowley’s going to give away that they did the body swap. Gabriel’s going to get his memory back and realise that it wasn’t really Aziraphale he tried to execute and he’ll know they’re not immune to hellfire and holy water. shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

- this scene is amazing and excruciating to watch. Crowley is so drunk and cruel and so recklessly protective. He tries to make Gabriel commit suicide. He’s possibly just endangered himself and Aziraphale both without realising. And then! He orders Gabriel back off the ledge and tries to get real answers, because he knows they’re important!

- David Tennant and Jon Hamm are both being phenomenal rn, and the empty house dialogue is a beautiful piece of writing.

- “Where is your memory then?” “In a matchbox.” AAAAAAAAHHHH.

- NOPE, I need the full dialogue down here:

“In a matchbox. No, I took it out first.”

“You took your memory out of a matchbox?”

“Yes, that’s right. I took it out, and I put it in the box and I brought it here, and it’s...”

“Yes?”

“Everywhere.”

“What else do you remember?”

“If it happens again it will make it seem like it’s an institutional problem.”

- Whaaaaaaaatttt!!! OK, thought: The last line about the institutional problem sounds like a direct quote. Either Gabriel said that, or someone said it to him. It sounds like a Michael line, potentially? And.... it sounds to me like somebody took Gabriel’s memories from him and put them into the matchbox, and then he or someone else stole the memories back from the matchbox and put them in the moving box for him to take to Aziraphale’s. So there might be two people involved here, one trying to harm Gabriel and cover something up, and one trying to help him and protect the lost information. It definitely sounds like he knew something he shouldn’t, and someone wanted him out of the way. The matchbox was found in Heaven, so that suggests an angel is the culprit. I would have pointed the finger at Michael immediately, but I’m possibly more inclined to look at the Metatron instead. I think this goes higher than Michael, somehow? I can see her trying to get Gabriel out of the way so she could be the boss, but it sounds like something bigger than that is going on.

(EDIT: Hang on!!! The whole thing about the matchbox is that it’s a material object! Muriel and Michael were uncomfortable touching it! Gabriel’s memory was taken from him ON EARTH, at the Resurrectionist pub, and whoever was sitting with him is probably the person who did it! But then how did the matchbox get into Heaven?)

And then there’s “everywhere”! Gabriel’s memory is everywhere? Is this because Aziraphale opened the box and let it out?? Also, I’ve been treating the memory Gabriel’s talking about as his entire memory, but maybe it refers to a specific memory? Perhaps the only way to remove the one important memory was to nuke all of Gabriel’s memories at once. I’m just waffling now, I have no clue what Everywhere could mean.

Finally, the line about the institutional problem. “If it happens again.” Could this be Armageddon? Is someone saying, if Armageddon fails for a second time, it will start to seem like an institutional problem? One that could only be dealt with by removing Gabriel?

I got NOTHING, and this is the last episode to figure ANY of this shit out in advance of the finale. My head hurts like Goob. :( I should get a hot chocolate.

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- How about that fly buzzing noise while zooming in the matchbox, huh???

- If Beelzebub is the one who took Gabriel’s memories and put them in the matchbox, but then Gabriel took his memories back out and put them in the moving box, then maybe he went to Earth/Aziraphale under his own power and Beelzebub genuinely is trying to track him down?

- .....I’m AN IDIOT who only just realised Gabriel was humming Everyday because it was playing on a loop in the pub, and it’s probably the last thing he heard before he lost his memory. Sorry, everyone else probably got there in Episode 3, I’m slow >_<

- Muriel repeats the obvious lie A/C told her that you have to wait a few days to see if humans are in love because humans are weird and that’s how it works. Michael, without skipping a single beat: “I knew that.” They. They’re just as dumb as Gabriel. Every angel is an absolute girlfailure.

- Muriel: “It’s just Aziraphale -” Uriel: “The traitor.” Michael: *odd little sideways frown at Uriel* What’s with that...? Does Michael just feel Uriel spoke out of turn, or is she a little bothered by calling Aziraphale a traitor? It’s a weird expression on her face, can’t quite read it.

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- The bookshop! Everyone gets a magical transformation! Mrs Sandwich looks fabulous! Aaah

- One concern I had going into S2 is that most of the main characters appeared to be angels/demons, and it seemed as though humanity would be deemphasised, which struck me as out of keeping with the themes of the book. And, to be fair, no humans have got to drive the main plot this time around (so far). But I still love the fleshing out of Wickber Street and all the shopkeepers, and the various interactions our boys have with humans in the minisodes. Maybe humanity isn’t saving the world this time, but we are a vital part of what makes the world important.

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- ...Oh dear. Ms Cheng. Who (or what?) are you...?

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- This is enchanting, everyone looks beautiful <33 Love the magic shop owner and his spouse, those are some amazing tattoos.

- BEHOLD THE MAJESTY OF GOOB

- He is doing so well distinguishing the key differences between selling books and handing round canapes!

- Nina did get to say “fuck” again!

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- PROTECTIVE CROWLEY STRIKES AGAIN and he’s protecting HUMANS, he’s protecting the people Aziraphale cares about 😭😭😭

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- The “seamstress” conversation is delightful. Maybe nothing’s up with Ms Cheng? Don’t know why there was that weird shot of her entering the bookshop, then.

- This is just the Pride & Prejudice dance, isn’t it.

- Aziraphale is the soppiest old romantic, look at his faaace

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- Aw yyyeah, everyone wants to fuck Goob

Goob: *does that thing with his face*

The People no longer want to fuck Goob

- “Tell me while we dance” IT’S HAPPENING

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- Shax still does her funny bobbing little walk in full battle armour. I love her.

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- OK, it’s not that all demons are vampires, it’s that the bookshop has its own  demon-repelling forcefield. After the zombies I was fully prepared to accept anything.

- GOOB IS HEROICALLY SACRIFICING HIMSELF OH NO

- THAT OUTFIT IS MAGNIFICENT ASDKLGASD

- “T - O - S - T - ........... - E! TOAST!”

- This scene is somehow actually threatening, despite the fact that it is just Shax with a woeful army of scrub demons, none of whom can spell, demanding something that she is incapable of seeing even when it literally walks out and hands itself to her on a silver platter. Beelzebub was SO setting her up to fail.

- Crowley/Mrs Sandwich pals 4 life please.

- “You’re a good lad.” “I’m not actually. Either. But thank you!” NB Crowley canon dialogue, I never thought I’d see the day

- Nina: “Why don’t you stand up for yourself? Make your own plans!” Aziraphale: “Oh, I am. But rescuing me makes him so happy.” aaaaaAAAAAaaahhhhhhhhhh

- oh my god it’s the end of the ep, I’m not ready

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- Swing band theme song, you are my only comfort in this stressful time

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #good omens 2 liveblog #good omens s2e5 #The Ball

[niishiki]

Umbrella Academy S02

I binged the show in two days with my family, and here are the problems I have with it:

1: Lila/Diego - That’s a hard NO for me. This relationship is comparable with Leonard/Vanya in S01 because Lila was send to infiltrate the academy, she was send to manipulate Diego because he was ‘the weakest link’. She played with his feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem. He craves companionship and love and she pretended to give him that for her own gain. Then, when her cover was blown, she drugged him, kidnapped him and forced him to join the commission against his will and with no regard for his wishes or his family. She didn’t care about him. If the dynamics were swapped, people would be outraged. She makes fun of Diego and belittles him numerous times. That’s not cute. It’s never cute but we tend to gloss over it when it comes from a woman about a man. She even makes fun of his ‘daddy issues’ which lie in a deep-rooted trauma and is nothing to make fun of. We see Diego devolve into that scared little boy in a matter of seconds when Reginald berates him. Lila is toxic and should’ve written out of the show by the end.

2: Klaus - Where to start? I was hyped when I saw the opening sequence. Then they nerfed the shit out of his powers for absolutely no reason. They gave his power to allow ghosts to possess him to Ben. Klaus is a bumbling fool in Season 02 and had NO impact on the story at all. They downplayed his PTSD and his other issues. They never brought up his fears and that he was never able to control his powers completely ever again. The fact that there is no regard for bodily consent when it comes to Klaus is just awful. It’s played up for laughs. 

3: Klaus & Dave - I am glad they remembered that Dave was a thing. The actor was way too young looking though. It made Klaus appear creepy around him - thus solidifying the gay man being a creep around younger boys stereotype. His looks didn’t help much in that regard either, in my opinion. 

4. Klaus & Diego - One of the best relationships in Season 01 and completely forgotten about in Season 02. Diego just doesn’t care AT ALL about Klaus. He makes fun of him. When Klaus acts up at the dinner table, he is not concerned at all. 

5: Klaus & Ben - Their relationship was just awful this season and there is no proper reasoning for it. Ben has seen Klaus at his lowest, he’s been with him for 13 years at the end of S1. I think he knows Klaus better now and the way he talks to him and treats him is just plain wrong. Not to mention that Ben gives a crap about Klaus’ consent. When Klaus wants him out of his body, he ignores it. He wanted to have sex with a girl while in Klaus’ body. One of the rules Klaus’ set was ‘not to look at his dong’ and that was one of the first things Ben did. I could laugh about that, if it was the only thing that happened that’s just not right. 

6: Luther - He was reduced to big guy with funny facial expressions. Although I see the comedic effect on him eating a lot and looking like a lost puppy. And that’s really a minor nitpick anyway because he had great scenes too.

7: Diego - He was reduced to dumb macho caveman. 

8: Five - He knows his time travel shit. It was beyond stupid to want to meet Reginald. He should have known that. This was the point where the timeline was destroyed and where the Sparrow Academy was born and Five should have known better.

I could go on and on but I guess you get the gist. Overall I really liked the season even though it dragged on for too long in certain aspects. Those are the things I am really upset about. But enough negativity! Here are the things I DID like:  

1: Luther & Diego - I enjoyed them working together and being like ‘fuck numbers we’re Team Zero’

2: Luther & Vanya - He recognized his mistakes of Season 01 and even before that and tried to be understanding, kind, and caring

3: Luther & Klaus - Very minor detail in the last episode but he actually protected Klaus and I like that a lot.

4: Diego & Vanya - Diego is not an asshole to her this season which I like. 

5: Vanya & Allison - Do I really need to say more?

6: Allison & Klaus - Their reunion was perfection. Also I loved how she understands his pain and instead of berating him, she lets him experience that pain in a safe environment WITH her.

7: Allison, Vanya & Klaus - That salon scene - even though it had NO value to the plot, it was a nice thing for the most part

8: Klaus & Vanya - Klaus calling Vanya ‘Vanny’ and kissing her hello. Also Klaus being the first in her car and talking to her.

9: Diego - I loved how soft he was this season. Even though for some reason his softness didn’t extend to Klaus whereas he was the only sibling he showed affection for in Season 01.

10: Diego & Ben - Overall I liked that they got to hug - but I don’t like the comments Diego made about Klaus in that scene

11: Five & Five - That was just a blast

12: Hazel - Though short-lived (no pun intended) Hazel was there to help

13: Herb - No furhter explanatio needed. Viva la Resistance

14: Vanya/Sissy - That was cute. I didn’t care much about that plotline but it was very cute and I liked it for the most part

15: Diego & Klaus - Very minor detail but how Diego touched Klaus’ face when they reunited. I wished they hugged properly, though. Also Klaus saying that Diego looked like Antonio Banderas and Diego thanking him and meaning it. 

#The Umbrella Academy #netflix umbrella academy #Season 02 #Umbrella Academy Season 02 #spoilers #klaus hargreeves #diego hargreeves #number five #luther hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #Allison Hargreeves #ben hargreeves #the handler #hazel #Lila Pitts

[sunriseseance]

If there was an episode in which the siblings exchange bodies, who would you like to play who?

Okay I cannot tell you how much thought I’ve put into this. I have an entire google doc of the reasons each one would be great, but I’m gonna give my favorite answers and then ask YOU (and anyone else??? Oh my God??? What YOU think). Also, in my head, this happened at a fancy lodge in the countryside and they have to try their best to act normal while figuring out why it happened, how to go back, and how to stop whatever they were there to stop in the first place.

Vanya in Luther’s body is just too funny for me to pass up. Luther is a foot and NINE inches taller than Vanya (Thopper wears lifts and is 6’5 at default). Poor Vanya is hitting this body on every single door she comes across. However, she can finally reach the top shelf to get her own mug. She also is used to being diminutive, and she is No Longer That. She absolutely will be ripping the door off of the fridge. And the car. Her having to deal with the physical strength that hurt her in s1 would also be narratively interesting. Tom Hopper playing Vanya also strikes me as DEEPLY funny because he is such a Jock and Vanya so, so is not. 

As much as I don’t want to start a pattern, I think that Luther in Diego’s body would be sort of fun, because I imagine it’s the closest to the body he had Pre-Serum in that it is strong, and tallish, and broad. Diego would also throw a fit about Luther treating it well (I’m picturing a NOT ONE SCRATCH ON IT OR YOU’RE DEAD) moment. Also, Luther throws things a lot in season 1. Imagine him being able to do that with accuracy, but without really REMEMBERING that he can do that. Throwing a rock in frustration and, whoops, it hits whatever body the person frustrating him is in. That’s Not Fair! I also love this because I think so much that David is great at playing a sensitive idiot in the moments where Diego lets his anger fall, and I would love to see that always. Please imagine Diego’s face and voice saying “I’m just going to sit here, drink my beer, and get my buzz on.” Amazing. 

I want Klaus in Allison’s body because I think he deserves a good power, but I also think he is one that would appreciate the nature of the power as a double-edged sword. I think he probably WOULD use the power, but I don’t know that he would use it as frivolously as some might think, and this would be a good time for him to prove himself as, like, competent and thoughtful. ALSO as much as I think the physical substance dependence would get left in his body, he still has an emotional dependence and him having to deal with being in a taken care of body that he loves and wants to keep taken care of? Oof. Also both he and Allison smoke, and it would be hard for him to, like, deal with her body wanting that I think. Emmy playing Klaus would be fun because she has this inherent kindness that I think she just OOZES, and Klaus is mean. She is also a good actress, so that inherent kindness would, I think, make Klaus’s meanness feel even more shocking and interesting. Also I want to see her walk like Klaus. 

I would put Five in Klaus’s body, then, because Five got a REALLY REALLY good power and I think it would be interesting to see him saddled with a bad one. Suddenly, he’s in a body that cannot Just Leave, but it is one that is an adult. He also is used to alcohol dependence, and I think it would be interesting for him to not be able to escape that. Also him seeing ghosts is sort of cool given how many people he’s killed. And also he’s a fuuuuuuuucking terrible communicator so whoever is in Ben’s ghost body is gonna have to go through him. Yikes. I also chose this because I think Sheehan could fucking NAIL playing Five in Klaus’s body. He’s got weird intensity down to a science and he’s good at impersonations. Klaus body grabbing people by their lapels or threatening to stab them is also extremely funny. 

Diego in Five’s body is amazing immediately because Diego would hate being a kid as much as Five does, if not more. He is the only other one, I think, who would lose his cool at being called a teen when he’s actually an adult. He also shares Five’s bizarre sense of paradoxical ego that makes him just like. Threaten to stab people. AND Diego having a really, really cool power would be interesting. Who is he when he can do stuff that isn’t Throw Shit? Also, does he still try to throw shit? Does he accidentally end up on the roof? We’ve seen that Five’s powers basically get turned off by his emotions, and Diego is AN EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL GUY so that would be very interesting to see play out, too. Diego does NOT have a substance dependence, and him having to deal with physical alcoholism would be interesting to me. Would he even know why he felt like shit? Or would Klaus-Allison have to tell him? Aidan could rock a tender bitter jerk, as we know. 

Okay, sorry Allison, but I think putting you as Benthe ghost is the most interesting. Allison is used to being listened to, and looked at, and I think she has a complex relationship with both of these things. She is also used to having an extremely self-useful power that is completely under her control. Her suddenly being largely invisible would give her some peace, but also challenge her because it’s not just that she’s invisible to the camera, she’s invisible to everyone but Five. Fucking oof. And having Ben’s power means having something that isn’t under her complete control on top of having to go through Five. I think, also, that she is a deeply compassionate person and I think that spending time as a ghost would be interesting in that regard. Justin playing a kind character for a change would be funny, and especially one that walks with such grace and confidence. 

Finally, Ben as Vanya. He gets a cool power, and a real human body, and it’s one that the others feel obligated to listen to lest it end the entire world. He can just say what he’s thinking, now, always and whenever. This is probably a mixed blessing when you’ve spent 13 years able to say whatever you’re thinking with little consequence. He also has a power that is All Him, but not all under control. I think that’s interesting for a dude used to gut tentacles. Ellen has proven that she can play snappy and also bookish, and that is Ben to a T. 

These are mine, but I wanna hear yours! Or any funny body-swap scenarios any of you have!! My askbox would love to hear from anyone who wants to talk about this very fun idea??? 

Thank you for asking!!!

#The Umbrella Academy #tua spoilers #Luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #Allison Hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #answered #body swap au #just in case???

[papermoonloveslucy]

BENNETT GREEN

October 13, 1904

Bennett Green was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on October 13, 1904. He is primarily remembered as Desi Arnaz’s camera and lighting stand-in on “I Love Lucy” but also frequently appeared on camera. 

His first screen appearance was uncredited, in the Universal serial Raiders of Ghost City (1944). 

His first appearance on TV was in the “I Love Lucy” episode, “The Audition” (ILL S1;E6), just six weeks after its premiere mid-October 1951.  He went on to appear in at least 22 episodes (probably more), nearly always as a messenger or deliveryman, and most times uncredited. Sometimes he would have a line of dialogue. Here are some notable appearances: 

In “Breaking the Lease” (ILL S1;E18) Green played a scruffy bum at Ricky’s late-night living room concert, while Hazel Pierce (Lucille Ball’s stand-in) looks over his shoulder. 

In “Pregnant Women Are Unpredictable” (ILL S2;E11), Green plays a Deliveryman bringing Lucy a heart-shaped box of chocolates. This time he wears a mustache to look slightly different.  Lucy doesn’t bother to tip!  

Green was the orderly who apprehends a wild native witch doctor (aka Ricky) when “Lucy Goes To The Hospital” (ILL S2;E16).

In order to patch things up between Lucy and Ricky (who he believes are feuding) Fred orders Lucy some flowers from Ricky with the help of Pete the florist played by Bennett Green in “The Black Eye” (ILL S2;E20).  Green is finally given a character name!  

In “Sentimental Anniversary” (ILL S3;E16), Green and Hazel Pierce (Lucy’s stand-in) are first through the door for the surprise party planned by the Mertzes. Little do they know the Ricardos are celebrating in the closet!  

In “The Matchmaker” (ILL S4;E4), Green is a Western Union messenger who delivers a telegram to announce that Dorothy 'Spider’ and Sam 'Fly’ have decided to tie the knot!  

Green and Hazel Pierce (behind Lucy) are dining in the Brown Derby booth next to William Holden in “Hollywood at Last!” (ILL S4;E16). 

During “The Fashion Show” (ILL S4;E20), Green appears in two different places at the same time: he is in front at the right of the stairs where the clothes are modeled, and he is also sitting behind Ethel at the back of the room!  Busy Bennett!

When “Ricky Sells the Car” (ILL S5;E4), Green delivers the train tickets that cause lots of confusion between the Ricardos and Mertzes. 

In “Homecoming” (ILL S5;E6), Green and Hazel Pierce are among the neighbors welcoming the Ricardos and Mertzes home from Hollywood. When their cab pulls up to 623 East 68th Street, Green is wearing one of Ricky’s jackets!  Camera and lighting stand-ins were required to be the same height and body size as the actors, even though they may not resemble them. They were not doubles, but stand-ins. 

In “Lucy Meets Bob Hope” (ILL S6;E1), Lucy must convince the Yankee Stadium hot dog vendor (Green with a mustache) to swap clothes with her, which he does!  

Staying with the series to the very end, Green was in the crowd when “The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue” (ILL S6;E27) at Westport’s Yankee Doodle Dandy Day!

In 1959, when Lucy and Desi (as the Ricardos) turned up on “The Danny Thomas Show”, Bennett Green was in the background!  Needless to say, “Lucy Upsets the Williams Household” and causes chaos at Orbachs!

Having been present in the last scene of the half hour series, Bennett was also in the last scene of the hour-long series, the last time we see the Ricardos and Mertzes in April 1960, “Lucy Meets the Mustache” (LDCH S3;E3) starring Ernie Kovacs. 

In 1961, Green did two episodes of CBS’s “Angel”, a show filmed at Desilu Studios. In one, he acted opposite Doris Singleton (aka Caroline Appleby). The short-lived series was created by Jess Oppenheimer. 

In October 1962, while Lucille Ball was premiering “The Lucy Show”, Green made a single appearance on Desilu’s “Fair Exchange” starring Eddie Foy Jr. and Victor Maddern. The series was best known for the debut of Judy Carne. 

When Lucille Ball finally returned to network television with “The Lucy Show” she employed Green as a background performer in at least ten episodes, probably more.  

When “Lucy Goes To Art Class” (TLS S2;E15), one of her classmates is Bennett Green. The instructor was played by John Carradine.  

During the run of “The Lucy Show” Lucille Ball presented a 1964 special titled “The Lucille Ball Comedy Hour” aka “Mr. and Mrs.” in which Bennett Green played a member of the board of directors of Consolidated Pictures; Lucy is President. 

He was a supermarket checker in “Lucy and Joan” (TLS S4;E4), where the Joan of the title was not Crawford, but Bennett!  

It’s a reunion of sorts when both Green and Hazel Pierce turn up as guests at a dude ranch in “Lucy the Rain Goddess” (TLS S4;E15). 

When “Lucy Bags a Bargain” (TLS S4;E17) Green and Mrs. Carmichael both get to the sales table too late!  Sold out! 

When Lucy gets on the jury of a daytime drama (with Jane Kean) in “Lucy and the Soap Opera” (TLS S4;E19), Bennett Green is the jury foreman!  

When “Lucy Goes To A Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20), Mr. Mooney went as the guest of Mr. Albertini (Bennett Green) a fellow banker.  They are interviewed on the red carpet while Lucy is disguised as an usher! 

Bennett is ‘behind the camera’ when “Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map” (TLS S5;E18). 

When “Lucy Sues Mooney” (TLS S6;E12) Bennett Green appears as the Medical Attendant who wheels Lucy into court. 

Ironically, Green’s final appearance on “The Lucy Show” in “Mooney’s Other Wife” (TLS S6;E18) is as a Western Union telegram messenger, just as he was 15 years earlier on “I Love Lucy.”

After “The Lucy Show” Green retired from show business, never appearing in “Here’s Lucy” or any other show.  He died on September 8, 1982 at age 77.  

#Lucille Ball #Bennett Green #I Love Lucy #Desi Arnaz #Hazel Pierce #The Lucy Show #Gale Gordon #Jane Kean #John Carradine #Fair Exchange #Angel #TV #The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour #The Danny Thomas Show #Ernie Kovacs #William Frawley #Vivian Vance #Raiders of Ghost City

[murfeelee]

Shadowhunters Appreciation Meme

I saw this on my dash, and decided to do it for S01 - S3A, since I’m feeling emotional watching S3B, knowing Shadowhunters is being cancelled for no good reason.

1: Favorite episode: 1x12: “MALEC!”

This episode (the wedding scene in particular) got reblogged so much on my dash, and was referred to in fanfiction and fanart, and I was like WHAT is this.

2: Favorite character: MAGNUS BANE. Come on y’all.

3: Favorite Ship: Climon -- JUST KIDDING~~~! Malec is the only Shadowhunters ship of significance; fight me on this.

4: Favorite scene: The dragon fight with Magnus, Alec, and Izzy in 2x20.

5: Favorite ep from S1: I’ve said from day one that I didn’t like Season 1; most of the characters and plots got on my last nerve. But 1x12: “Malec“ was excellent, and Magnus Bane was frikkin fabulous (as usual).

6: Favorite ep from S2: Season 2 was a marked improvement over S1, but it had WAY too much going on. And they put my poor baby Magnus through the freaking WRINGER. Between the body swap, and the breakup, and all the other drama, S2′s episodes had me in a STATE. Episode 2x08 “Love is a Devil“ was fun, before it got SUPER dark. I enjoyed the party a lot.

7: Favorite ep from S3A: Season 3 is the best. 3a impressed me, and 3b so far is fantastic. 3x8: “A Heart of Darkness” and 3x9 were very emotional. Legit tear-jerkers.

8a: Favorite quote: “You've reached the voicemail of Magnus Bane. Please don't leave a message at the tone. I'm centuries old, and even I think it's outdated.“

8b: Favorite Malec quote: “I’ve always dreamed of meeting someone like you.“ Because YES, Alec. SAME. Me too! *ugly sobbing*

9: Favorite BROTP: Luke Garroway and Simon Lewis

10: Favorite non-canon ship: I was gonna say Maruke (Mayrse Lightwood & Luke Garroway, but according to the S3B promos....! 👀 )

11: Top 3 EPs: The last 3 episodes of S3A, 3x8, 9 and 10.

12: A character you didn’t expect to love as much as you do now: Maryse Lightwood. Mama L. grew on me, cuz in Season 1 I was ready to SHANK that wench.

By late S2 and into S3A she had genuinely started realizing what a bigot she was (I think she was more against Alec choosing a Downworlder, and THE Downworlder, Magnus -- whom she’d had a serious beef with since her Nazi-wannabe days in Valentine’s Circle -- more than the fact that Magnus is a man, though the Clave for sure hates that, too. Suffice to say, she was pissed, all the way around). Maryse made amends with everyone, though, and I was like, “You know what that is? GROWTH.”

13: First actress you fell in love with: Izzy Lightwood. She’s so gorgeous.

14/15: First actor/character you fell in love with: Come on. We’re married.

16/17: When did you start watching the show/joined the fandom: Summer 2017 -- I binged through Season 1 and 2, after being beaten over the head since like 2016 with gifs and fanart, and all kinds of stuff on Tumblr and AO3. I immediately fell in love with Magnus, and watched the show strictly for him, and just enjoyed the Malec and the magic of the show. I enjoy the fanfics and even the books more than the show though.

18: How has the fandom influenced you: Other than the fact that Magnus Bane is officially my husband and taking over all of my blogs?

19: Did you meet people through the show: I’ve connected with dozens of people on Tumblr because of Malec, yes. We just fangirl and spazz out in each other’s IMs and it’s great! ^_^

20: What rep on the show have you identified with? I’m Team Downworlders, if that’s what you mean. Especially Team Warlocks. I actually hate the Shadowhunters. S1 Maryse is NOT a rarity -- for people with the blood of angels, the Clave is bigoted, petty and downright evil sometimes.

21: What character has helped you: Listen. Magnus gives me life, he really does. Iconic.

22: In what way has the show helped you: / 24: What has the show added to your life: It’s been giving me my fanciful fix since Teen Wolf ended. I can’t get into Supernatural (I've tried, but Crowley’s gone, so so am I), and I always need a fantasy show -- Game of Thrones, True Blood, Buffy, Charmed, Vampire Diaries, Sabrina, Penny Dreadful, The Magicians, etc. So I’ve been entertained, and I’m gonna be really bummed once it’s over. I hear Umbrella Academy’s good.

23: What are your hopes for the finale:

Malec Wedding at the Institute, dressed in gold and blue

Malec adopting Max and Rafael Lightwood-Bane

Announcement that there will be a spinoff, preferably for the Dark Artifices or Bane Chronicles.

#nonsims #shadowhunters #pickupshadowhunters #saveshadowhunters #magnus is life goals #questionnaire #non-sims

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S1 Ep 37: Swapping Bodies OMG There’s So Many Bodies

The card hell card games continue, and Yugioh has decided to fall on old habits and hide everything under his RNG hat.

Yep, for the 27th or 58th time people have just completely forgotten what it means for Pegasus to be a psychic. Yugi’s also a psychic so how did...anyways...

Up to now I thought the hats were a random toss of the dice, but it turns out Yugi has to choose which hat and apparently this is information that Pegasus can just reach over and nab and so Pharaoh and Yugi do their favorite thing and just start freakin the heck out.

(read more under the cut)

So, the brain brothers decide to have a time out, which is a thing they can do now, where they hang out in this hallway between a vine covered wall and a Tetris map.

It’s a little unclear if this is all happening in a split second, or if Pegasus and Yugi are just staring at each other this whole time while Joey and Tea twiddle their thumbs. I’d like to think the latter.

I’m glad we finally see the inside of this kid’s head. I’ve actually wondered for kind of a while and I’m happy to see it is sufficiently weird. Too bad we only ever get to see this blue floored room.

To think that Yugi’s super annoying habit to keep a secret and lie to everyone he loves became plot relevant to beating the final boss.

Also it’s kinda weird that we put so much pressure on Yugi and Pharaoh melding brains together like for...so many episodes, for the real answer all along to have been “Just don’t.”

It’s enough to screw over Pegasus.

Joey’s eyes have so many different looks. Like I’d say this is off model Joey but have we ever had an on-model Joey?

Considering that this is alternate history Egypt, I’m guessing that Pharaoh’s inevitable backstory plot will be way weirder than normal Egypt--it’s just that normal Egypt set a pretty high bar.

Side note from the research I did into weird Egyptian folklore, there’s some dispute about whether or not the Pharaoh that drew ho-ho’s and twinkie’s wherever he had a battle was one person or 3 people, which is even more like our Pharaoh.

Also on your own time please look up the story about the Pharaoh and the piss if you do not know it already, it is the precursor to Cinderella in the weirdest way possible.

Overall, he still hasn’t said which Pharaoh he is and hasn’t given himself a name. Yugi just calls him “spirit” which is...weird, honestly. I don’t even know if he knows at this point, he’s been dead a long time and without a body is it even important?

Speaking of people that clearly have no freakin idea what their actual name is or just don’t feel like it’s important, the ghost living in Bakura is having an excellent day.

It’s OK, storyboarder, it happens to the best of us.

None of you took off your jacket while running up this staircase? No wonder it took them like 5 minutes to catch up.

I’m actually genuinely surprised Tristan ever caught on and that his mind hasn’t been wiped yet. Like, this is the longest he’s witnessed dark magic without getting erased. He’s improving.

Anyways, lets get some lazy animation in there, with this slowly moving monster on a shot that slowly pans out. Mm. The good stuff. That’s the good low-budget stuff I’m looking for.

Anyway, Bakura really didn’t need to bother with the Man Eater Bug because he decided to throw a pot at them. Yes, a pot. It wasn’t all that interesting to look at so I didn’t cap it but the pot has been somewhat a recurring card that just kind of always screws up your day.

It’s a pot.

Bro and I did a quick count just to make sure, and not counting people that came back to life, and not counting people who have been dead before episode 1:

the imprisoned card boys trinity + PaniK + Guy who got ritually sacrificed last night + these unfortunate mooks who were just doing their job.

We may have forgotten someone though.

As for Bandit Keith, he died in such a wacky way that he’s probably fine.

Pegasus is so bothered that he can’t read their cards, that they wipe out his little toon town and he gave every hammy villain ever written a run for their money in how poorly you can scream “nooooo” Like I genuinely enjoy Pegasus’s VA but damn that line reading: wow. He destroyed it. Like not in a good way but in a “that was the take you decided to use?” kind of way.

And I went to see if there was a Youtube recording, but typing in “Pegasus nooooo” got me a lot of fan videos instead. So, I thought to myself, you know what? I can record it, it’s like half a second and I have the software, I do art and stuff!

So I go to record it in OBS but the thing about OBS is that the “record” button and the “stream straight to twitch” button are of course right next to each other. Like clockwork, I accidentally clicked “Stream” on OBS and had a legit panic attack that the five people who follow my art-only twitch account would suddenly get an email notification that instead, I’m streaming the worst voice acting in Yugioh. Thankfully, twitch has a safe guard where it won’t stream unless it’s been longer than a few seconds so...phew.

Needless to say it didn’t make it to this review. Maybe later, but I’m terrified of making that mistake again.

After mourning the loss of his weird fanfic cards, he decides “Fine then! I’ll make a freakin shadow duel! Have fun!” and Pharaoh was like “Dammit, again?”

Bakura pulling an Office, looking straight into the camera and just nodding smugly at me that he will never have to explain to me how the hell he broke all the rules so far set up in the past 30-some episodes of Yugioh.

So Ryou (which is Bakura’s first name it turns out--I did a hair of google research but didn’t click on any pages because of spoilers. We’ll talk later about how no one is close enough friends with him to use his first name.) is kind of a weird guy, right? Like he’s got a lot of the Yugi problem where you don’t always know where one ends and the ghost in his brain continues. When they’re compared with each other like this, especially in an episode where Yugi has to be independent, it’s an interesting take on the same problem.

Both Yugi and Ryou rejected their spirits at one point, but the big difference is that Pharaoh is a lot more flexible, and kinda understands that to get the puzzle to work you do actually need two people. This whole duel with Pegasus would have been pretty moot with one person. As for Bakura, he’s decided to try going solo with some desperate conjoined brain-twins surgery, and I guess we’ll find out how well that works out for him.

So Tristan has to do whatever Bakura says for a while out of the fear of getting sacrificed to a pot.

Remember, canonically, no one has checked on Tristan and Bakura in about three episodes because they assume Tristan has extreme constipation.

Anyways, next week on Yugioh:

Will Bakura take over Mokuba’s body and get hair that is like Super Saiyan huge? Will Tristan throw Bakura over his shoulder WWE style like he did to Double Spike Mohawk Mullet Man? Is anyone going to fall to their death down this big tall tower? It’s just this tower seems really underutilized, and I’m not used to seeing a villain on a tower like this in a cartoon without someone getting Disney-deathed.

#yugioh #yugioh recap #photo recap #humor #s1 ep37 #so many people died in this episode #bakura #ryou bakura #tristan taylor #yugi muto #maxamillian pegasus #joey wheeler #tea was there I guess

[storyteller-ish]

just wanna get my thoughts down on the 2022 lineup, don't mind me lol.

to summarize, the dramas i look forward to from this lineup:

p.s. i hate you

home school

midnight series (dirty laundry, midnight motel, moonlight chicken in that order)

honorable mention: vice versa

the lineup didn't really do it for me this year, let's just say that.

three gentle bros: gmmtv giving their series weird names part 1. I dont mind the idea of this one, but nothing really stood out to me. I think it's in part how blandly the trailer was shot, but it can't be helped, it was probably done last minute.

u.m.g: interesting cast, cool concept, but I dont think they'll do anything with it to interest me. It would be interesting if she is just an alien doppelganger trying to impede on the girl's life for this or that purpose and the actual girl escapes later on. tho i get the feeling that i want a horror/thriller from this and gmmtv wants a romance, their own my love from the star junior.

star and the sky: literally why was this 8 minutes long lol? it doesn't seem like a complicated drama, they could've done the job in 3 minutes.

home school: one of the dramas i actually look forward to. like yeah it's another younger sibling of the gifted, it has the same vibes (and the cast overlap alone raises an eyebrow), but there's nothing wrong with that since there's a lot that can be done with this set up. if it's even half as good as the gifted (s1) it will be worth the watch.

cupid's last wish: I only really like body swap dramas if they're comedies with no romance. It can work with romance, like in your name, but generally I'm not a fan. Especially not ones where person A goes I to person B's body and falls in love with person B's s/o, pass.

oops! mr. super star hit on me: I like jane, and that's really all I liked about this drama, next.

my dear donovan: I like namtan but this really has no appeal to me. The trailer felt like they're still deciding on what they want this drama to be and how they should combine certain elements they want in it.

warp effect: people were talking about a crack drama with fah in it and i knew immediately this was the one they were talking about lol. chaotic dramas can be fun but idk about this one. i had subs on and i still didn't really know what was going on

the eclipse: the trailer for this one was super messy, i can only grasp that there's a school setting with supernatural elements, not to keen on this one.

good old days: i think this one would work best as an anthology series rooted in the antique shop and a romance between the owner and the woman who comes in that develops over the course of the series. I get the feeling they'll go for something like that (one off stories each ep) or it may get too messy with all the different plot threads. It would be interesting if either the woman or the shop owner had psychometry and through that is how we see the stories of the objects, but I doubt it

never let me go: reminds me of what wyel might've been with more episodes and a budget big enough to have high stakes. it probably has one of the better trailers, but currently I don't think it's for me though it does have some promise.

10 years ticket: you can tell every one is gonna be acting their hearts out in this one. I'm usually not one for super intense dramas with no levity or comedy so I might skip this one, but it looks like a promising melodrama with talent behind it.

you fight, and i love: i knew joss was the lead before they even showed him, it's super predictable that if gmm is doing a boxing drama, he would be the lead. tho the moment it clicked with me that they paired love with their tallest actor sbndjs. the height difference is terrifying ngl lol. the actual plot and romance seem pretty bland where joss' character is gonna act super possessive and jealous for no reason. it is 2021, we have moved past the need for these types of bland plots

midnight series: interesting, i do wonder what the connective tissue is for these being a series since the tone varies between them. maybr the neon lighting? lol

midnight motel: I'm interested in this one, it seems like it'll be balancing between comedy and and a darker tone. I may just play it by ear with this one since it does look interesting, but I can think of a million ways they could fuck this one up.

moonlight chicken: gmmtv giving their series weird names part 2. This one appeals to me the least of the three, but I havent written it off completely. tbh i was quite interested in it initially with the restaurant plot, but then the cheating plot kicked in. I'll keep an eye out for it, but I'll once again be playing it by ear.

dirty laundry: is it weird that I look forward to this one the most out of the three? lol. I think it's because the premise is rather non-threatening. It's a more out there, chaotic plot that seems to have comedy as it's central focus, so it's less likely to disappoint than the other two (unless it's just not funny in any way I guess). so i'll probably watch it once it airs.

vice versa: another body swap drama. tho the strength of this plot is that they are two unrelated people swapping bodies with a different set of people they've never met and they have a romance with each other knowing the other isn't in their actual body. a bit convoluted, but oddly that set up doesn't bother me so i might check it out, and though they didn’t really get into it, I find the whole “I literally can’t go back unless you also go back” plot interesting. go back where? and why are they thethered to each other? it has potential for interesting world building, i may check it out to see what they do. also jimmy seems like a promising actor in bad buddy so I'm curious to see how he does in a lead role. also hilarious how nanon and ohm are paired in another bl together, but also: no they're not LOL.

p.s. i hate you: I am here for this drama, I will definately be watching once it airs. I love the cast and the plot. I'll try to go in with low expectations as usual, but someone I follow mentioned it could have pretty little liars vibes and I'd honestly love that. obviously it's different from pll but the whole "group of 5 girls tangled in a web of their own lies and they can't trust anyone not even each other" love that.

my school president: i'm so sorry, this one was so milk toast basic that i zoned out less than 30 seconds in, next.

devil sister: a noona romance i think? it seems like a very basic m/f romance with nothing special going on. The chemistry between the leads wasn't enough to sell me even though that's all the trailer had to go on. other than win being a popular actor. no shade but I do wonder if they're gonna make him cry in every drama he's in since he's pretty good at it lol. anyway, next.

you are my favorite: this was my first time seeing mike without the beard and mustache and so I was thrown off for the entire trailer, doubting my own senses the entire time lol. I found the concept interesting, but it's disappointing that he's trying to completely alter reality JUST in the pursuit of romancing someone lol. wouldn't it be funny if whatever deity gave him that snowglobe was just messing with him and he could only reset time but not actually change anything? lol. anyway, intereting concept, don't know that I'll end up watching it though.

astrophile: woow a girl who thinks she's nothing special but somehow ends up in a love triangle with two handsome men? never seen one of those before. let it be known that if I watch this, it is for toptap and kapook only. lord give me the strength i need not to watch a questionable drama just for toptap and kapook, not again. how is this the only drama either of them have next year for gmmtv, help

my precious: I knew this already but this trailer made my reflect on how much gmmtv loves to put nanon, ohm, chimon, and drake (and frank) in the same dramas lol. it's like they write a youth drama and then spin the wheel that they keep in the gmm writers' room with all their names on it and do casting based off that. I mean there was nothing else to think about while watching this trailer. It's another coming of age first love drama with nothing that makes it especially stick out. I like what I've seen of film's character, but other than that, meh.

Meh lineup in general, sometimes the final trailer looks better than the announcement trailer so who knows. I hope they get it together in pre production bc a lot of the trailers felt like they were still in early pre production, still trying to figure out a tone for the story when they were told to film a trailer. It really felt like they were spreading themselves thinner than usual with filming all of these trailers, so I feel like the final trailers will be more dissonant from the announcement trailers than usual.

Bonus thoughts:

it's been said by everyone but again. another year, another gmmtv line up with no gl in sight. do i even trust them to make a good one at this point? hm. I'm getting close to taking anything at this point /sigh

I know it's expected that gmmtv dramas have a lot of overlap with their actors, but I felt like i saw jan, aye, and fah a lot more than the other actors? could just be me, but either way, yes ladies get your coin. and nanon is in like...5 dramas lol? i don't even wanna know what his schedule looks like in 2022 if all these dramas actually air in the same year. I'm happy some if the actors get a lot of work and get their coin, but on the flip side it's unfortunate other actors barely get to be in any dramas.

#just my thoughts #generally i'm not super excited and it's a ''we'll see as we go'' situation for me #since most of the trailers didn't do much for me #or for one reason or another i just Do Not Trust them with certain plots that did interest me #but. we'll see as we go #gmmtv 2022 #gmmtv

[halloweentv]

Netflix and chills!

v.2017

Celebrate Halloween on Netflix! Below is a list of Halloween themed shows and movies available on Netflix streaming that you can play for Halloween! Enjoy!

Stranger Things

S1 After a game of D and D with his friends Will disappears. His friends try to find him but instead find a mysterious girl

S2

Takes place during Halloween and the boys dress as the ghostbusters. 

Supernatural S4 It’s the Great Pumpkin Sam Winchester” Investigating two mysterious deaths in a small town, Sam and Dean discover a witch is sacrificing people to summon a dangerous demon. 

Friends

S8 “The One with the Halloween Party” At Monica’s Halloween party, Phoebe becomes attracted to her two sister’s fiancé.

Frasier

S5 “Halloween”&#157; Niles hosts a Halloween party for the Library Association where the guests dress as literary characters.

S9 “Room full of heroes”&#157; Frasier has a Halloween party and asks his guests to dress as their heroes. 

American Horror Story

S1 “Halloween Part 1 & 2″ the ghosts can leave the house on halloween night. Tate runs into some ghosts from his past. S3 “Fearful Pranks Ensue”&#157; the witches raise the dead on Halloween S4 “Edward Mordrake Part 1 & 2″ the freaks don’t want to perform on halloween in fear of a ghost coming to visit.

Freaks and Geeks “Tricks and Treats” - Lindsay spends Halloween making mischief with her new friends while Sam goes trick or treating even though he’s in High School now.

Parenthood S2 “Orange Alert” The Bravermen’s gear up to celebrate their favorite holiday, Halloween! Max wants to go trick or treating for the first time, so his parents do their best to prepare him for the night, since he is on the spectrum.

Parks and Recreation S2 “Greg Pikitis” Leslie enlists the help of Dave and Andy in order to catch a local teen vandal. Meanwhile, Ann struggles to make her Halloween party fun and gets help from an unlikely source. S4 “Meet n Greet” Ben is mad when Andy and April decide to throw a Halloween party at their house without asking him. Tom emcees an event for Leslie’s campaign but manages to also promote his company. Meanwhile, Ron and Ann give Andy and April an unusual wedding present.

13 Reasons Why

“Tape 2 Side B” Its Halloween in the present and Clay strikes back at someone who wronged Hannah. In the past Hannah thinks someone is stalking her. 

Jem

S2 “Trick or Techrat” Jem and friends encounter spooky mishaps while preparing an old opera house for a Halloween concert

Fuller House

S2 “Curse of Tanner Manor” DJ attempts to throw the scariest Halloween party for Max. Stephanie works as a zombie at a haunted house.

Star Trek TOS

S2 “Catspaw” Kirk and the crew land on a planet with a spooky castle and witches.

Pac’s Scary Halloween

Sinister Dr. Pacenstein schemes to swap bodies with Pac during a Halloween party.

Pac Man and the Ghostly Adventures

S1 “A Berry Scary Night”  Count Pacula attempts to drain the last yellow orb in Pac World on Halloween night. 

S2 “The Shadow of the were-pac” Pac and his friends are confronted by spooky space ghost pirates. 

The Real Ghostbusters

S1 “When Halloween was forever” An ancient spirit shows up in New York to make Halloween last forever. And Frankenstein is groovin!

S2 “Halloween II ½” While everyone is trick or treating on Halloween Sam Hain escapes.

S4 “The Halloween Door” Crowley wants to end Halloween once and for all and does so even without the help of the ghost busters. 

Cult of Chucky

Chucky has some scores to settle with some old enemies.

Young Frankenstein

In this pitch perfect parody, the grandson of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein follows in his footsteps and creates a monster and puts on the ritz!

Tales of Halloween

Anthology series of shorts set on Halloween. Including trick or treating aliens and kidnappers in way over their heads.

Mr. Young

S3 “Mr. Candy” The gang are hungover from too much candy the previous night and struggle to put together the events from Halloween.

Cheers

S3 “Fairy tales can come true” Cliff meets the woman of his dreams at the bar on Halloween night but is afraid of meeting her when he’s not in costume. 

S10 “Bar Wars V: The Final Judgement” Sam’s latest trick may have killed Gary, but is it really Gary who is playing the trick on Sam?

Charmed S3 “All Halliwell’s Eve” The sister’s go to the 1600’s to save a witch and her baby

Family Guy S9 “Halloween on Spooner Street” Stewie’s candy is stolen by bullies

F is for Family

S1 F is for Halloween” Frank secretly torpedoes Sue’s shot at a real job and a bully leaves Bill afraid to don his costume.

How I met Your Mother S1 “Slutty Pumpkin” Ted holds out hope of seeing the Slutty Pumpkin, a girl he met at a Halloween before. S7 “The Slutty Pumpkin Returns” Ted finally meets the slutty pumpkin again.

Girl Meets World

S1 “Girl Meets World of Terror″ Augie hosts scary Halloween tales and meets a monster under his bed.

S2 “Girls Meets World of Terror 2″ Riley and Maya discover the ghost a flapper living in the bay window. 

S3 “Girl Meets World of Terror 3″ Augie does a scary time theater and shows what the world would be like if Riley and Maya never became friends. 

Power Rangers S1 “Trick or Treat” Kimberly goes on a Halloween game show…cuz those exist. S1 “Life’s a Masquerade” Isn’t set on Halloween but has a cool Frankenstein monster in it. and costumes. S2 “Zedd’s Monster Mash” Tommy faces some real Halloween monsters after he’s kidnapped by Goldar. 

Power Rangers Samurai “Party Monsters” and “Trickster Treat”

Power Rangers Megaforce “Raising Spirits” 

Power Rangers Dino Charge “The Ghostest with the Mostest” and in Dino Super Charge “Trick or Trial”

Dreamworks Spooky Stories “Scared Skrekless” Shrek and Co tell scary stories “Monsters vs Aliens Mutant pumpkins” Ginormica and co battle mutant pumpkins! Dreamworks Spooky Stories Vol. 2 “Monsters Vs Aliens: night of the Living Carrots” Picks up right after the previous special Also included another MVA short, Megamind, and Shrek.

From R.L. Stine: Monsterville A group of kids find out a haunted maze at the carnival is more realistic than they thought.

Mostly Ghostly 3

As Max tries to help his ghost pals Nicky and Tara find their parents, he stumbles on an enchanted crystal–and an evil new plot by Phears. 

Goosebumps

Good show for the season but the Halloween episodes in particular are S5 “The Haunted Mask” Carly Beth’s scary mask begins to change her. S5 “The Haunted Mask 2” A boy’s creepy Halloween mask won’t come off and begins to harm him. S2 “Attack of the Jack O'Lanterns” Jack O‘Lantern aliens terrorize some trick or treaters. 

Goosebumps Movie

A teen moves to a new town and falls for the girl next door but soon finds out her dad is R.L. Stine and his book characters become all too real. 

The Haunting Hour series

Another good show for the season. The halloween episode is S2 “Pumpkinhead” - a group of siblings fear the legend of a farmer who takes kids heads and turns them into pumpkins.

————- Glee S2 the class attempts to out on a performance of Rocky Horror for Halloween. 

New Girl S2 “Halloween” Jess gets hired as a zombie at a haunted house. S3 “Keaton” Jess hosts a Halloween party and a Michael Keaton batman costume helps cheer up Schmidt. Spooky Buddies The buddies encounter the Halloween Hound and evade an evil sorceror on Halloween night. . Louie S3 “Halloween/Ellie” Louie takes his daughters trick or treating and encounter some punks.

Malcolm in the Middle S2 “Halloween Approximately” -Malcolm and his brothers build the ultimate stealth weapon. S7 “Halloween” - Reese and Dewey evade an old man they egged while Loos tries to get out of work so she can trick or treat. 

My Babysitter’s a Vampire S2  "Halloweird" In a total “not rip off” of Buffy, a mask makes people turn into real-life versions of their costumes.

The Vampire Diaries S1 “Haunted” Matt takes Vicky to a haunted hous ebut the night takes a terrifying turn

That 70’s Show S2 “Halloween” The gang visit their old burnt down school while Kitty remincies about their first Halloween in the house. S3 “Too Old to Trick or Treat, Too young to Die” A Halloween episode filled with parodies of Alfred Hitchcock movies: “Rear Window”, “Vertigo”, “The Birds”, “North By Northwest” and “Psycho”.

CSI Miami “By the Book” A body is found that appears to have had the blood drained by a Vampire

Bones “Mummy in the Maze” A mummy found in a Halloween maze leads to an investigation. Bones has a Wonder-ful costume!

The Office S2 Halloween Downsizing leads corporate headquarters to order Michael to fire somebody by the end of October. Michael procrastinates until Halloween, when he still has not decided whom to fire. When he decides to fire Creed, Creed manages to convince Michael to fire Devon. S6 Koi Pond While on the way to a business meeting, Michael falls into a koi pond. The staff tease him so he holds an anti-bullying seminar. Pam and Andy go cold-calling to stir up some new business; they reluctantly use clients’ mistaking them as a couple to their advantage. S7 Costume Contest Michael freaks out when Darryl goes over his head by taking an idea to corporate. The employees partake in a Halloween costume contest in the office. Meanwhile, Pam tries to get the truth from Danny about their dating history. S8 Spooked Erin works to make a spooky, non-childish Halloween party, with help from Gabe. Dwight becomes friends with Robert’s son, and Pam and Jim debate the existence of ghosts. Meanwhile, Robert tries to figure out everyone’s deepest fears in order to culminate a ghost story.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia S6 “Who got Dee Pregnant” The gang think back to their Halloween party to figure out who got Dee pregnant.

Pretty Little Liars S2 “The First Secret” in a flashback some backstory to the mystery of A is revelaed. S3 “This is a Dark Ride” The girls get aboard the Rosewood ghost train S4 “Grave New World” A clue suggests that Ali may still be alive so they crash a cemetery party to find her.

#netflix #Halloween tv #Halloween episode #Halloween special #Halloween movies #stranger things #supernatural #streaming

[miss-m-calling]

Het Swap 2019 letter

Requests:

American Gods (TV) – Laura Moon/Mad Sweeney

Black Sails -- Miranda Barlow/John Silver

Good Girls -- Beth Boland/Rio

Firefly -- Jayne Cobb/Saffron, Jayne Cobb/River Tam

Dear writer,

Hello and thank you for writing for me. I’m very excited to read whatever you come up with.

Requests:

American Gods (TV)

Laura Moon/Mad Sweeney

I ship it. Yes I do. They had me at “gimme-my-coin-dead-wife”-flicks-him-into-wall. The snarky road trip was the best thing I never knew I wanted until it happened, and I adored every second of it, not to mention the upped shippiness in S2. They’re both such assholes and so fascinating, even if they start to mellow toward each other a bit, and all the gods/magic/resurrection stuff swirling around them begs to be explored further. Also I love love love how their dynamic is about equal parts spikiness, pathos, and humor (they’re funny! and the canon doesn’t shy away from putting them in ludicrous situations), and it weaves seamlessly between those three. Plus she’s half his size yet can and does beat him up with literally one finger, and then there’s the angst of he having killed her, feeling really guilty about it, and then bringing her back. And the way that their New Orleans adventure makes clear they have feelings for each other (S1 was more one-sided SweeneyàLaura) but neither wants to admit it. And and and… yeah, I just love them.

My prompts are a combo of prompts I had after I binged S1 and others I added throughout S2. Even if some of this is addressed or hinted at in canon, feel free to diverge – canon divergences and canon-adjacent stories are my jam!

Please give me either missing scenes from the road trip (if you can work in a divergence, that’s great - for example, I like Salim, but if you want to have him boot Sweeney and Laura to the curb and go off on his own, or Sweeney to boost his taxi before Salim catches them, or whatever else to have those two alone, go for it!), or a divergence from either season (instead of going to Ostara, they go where? to see whom? about getting Laura resurrected. Or things go down differently in New Orleans, or Cairo, or anywhere else) or something about these two post-canon.

-Laura discovers (how? you decide!) that Sweeney gave her back the coin after their accident – whatever happens next, some punching may be involved. (If nothing else, Mama-Ji mentions that the coin is now in Laura’s heart, and we saw Sweeney place it on her ribcage after the accident, whereas it was originally in her gut like she’d swallowed it. Laura might ask herself how the hell it moved.)

-Wednesday’s big war finally comes, and “don’t you dare die on me [again], you asshole” is a line either Sweeney or Laura (or both) might say to each other.

-Laura asked “What does Wednesday have to lose?” and the answer is…? (Yes, give me that sweet poetic justice. One possibility, though not remotely the only one, but as of S2E3 Laura is technically a god-killer...) Or later when she straight-up says she’s going to kill Wednesday, but is warned to bring power with her when she does, how does that work? How else might she damage Wednesday or ruin his plans, just in case she can’t actually kill him?

-At the end of S2, Laura hoists Sweeney’s dead body over her shoulders and strides off, seemingly leaving Cairo, Shadow, and all of it behind. Tell me what happens then – does she use Baron Samedi’s potion to bring him back, and whose is the blood filled with love she uses (does she still bleed? You could get creative here, worldbuilding is also my jam)? Does her/his coin play a part – and how come the coin still “powers” Laura despite Sweeney’s death? Does she bring him back another way, maybe figuring out how to keep herself around and be able to give Sweeney back his coin? Does he come back like she did, more undead than alive, or does his godhead, however depleted, help with that? That still leaves Laura to be fully resurrected too… Or does something completely out of left field happen – surprise me!

-Possible divergences from “Treasure of the Sun”: Sweeney manages to kill Wednesday, and then Laura rolls up, and then…? Or Laura rolls up and makes like Mama-Ji told her – destroys some motherfuckers? Or Sweeney gets killed temporarily but Laura brings him back, or brings herself back, or does something else with the Baron’s potion, and is Sweeney’s blood the one filled with love, or can we interpret voodoo spells in a non-literal way? Or what happens with Gungnir hidden in Sweeney’s hoard? And definitely how do they deal with each other once they meet up in Cairo, given how they parted in New Orleans (I don’t know what hurt more to watch: Laura deflecting at the diner, or Sweeney rambling drunkenly about her when Shadow finds him, or later on telling Shadow with such desperate sincerity to keep her away from Wednesday)?

-Or how about a wild divergence from the last several episodes? Sweeney and Laura manage to settle their differences (ahem, more fucking, on this plane of reality, might help) and don’t part ways before leaving NOLA. Or they roll up in Cairo separately but at the same time, and confront Wednesday together, and neither of them die (or die more, in her case). Or they’re there together when the police nearly raid the house. Or they have Wednesday (the ultimate cause of Laura’s death) and Ibis (a death deity) and Bilquis (a love/death/life deity) on hand, surely they can concoct some kind of resurrection thingamajig for Laura, and if they have to twist some divine arms then so be it. Or or or…?

-Wednesday told that luckless cop that Sweeney had been against the big gods’ war from the start, and while Wednesday lies, what if Sweeney decided much sooner to say to hell with Grimnir and his war and his having Sweeney kill random people? I’m guessing Sweeney too drank three glasses of mead so he can’t back out without dire consequence – but he does have a fierce, dead woman in his corner.

-They go to some as-yet-unnamed old god (feel free to bring in whatever mythology you want) in order to bring Laura back to life. Between Sweeney’s mouth and temper, and Laura’s mouth and temper, it doesn’t go well. Now one or both of them are in big magical trouble with a pissed-off deity and have to get themselves/each other out of it.

-Speaking of other deities, I really enjoyed their brief canon interactions with the likes of Ostara, Anansi, and Mama-Ji, and I’d like to see more of that, especially Ostara’s polite yet over-it attitude, Anansi very obvious over-it attitude and his dramatic flair, or Mama-Ji being one of the few capable of giving Laura pause.

-All the petty, ridiculous ways in which Sweeney’s bad luck manifests itself make me laugh (can’t help it, won’t even try), and I’m down for more variations on that theme.

-Sweeney and Laura fighting together, like they did on Mr. Town’s train of torture. Whether it’s a bar fight of their own making, or the big gods’ war they find themselves embroiled in, or something else entirely.

-Things happen and Laura finds herself in the position to throw Sweeney under the bus but also help/save him, and while he knows it’s only karma (he did kill her way back when), he can still be pissed off about it – how do they navigate this?

-Related to that, the Baron said: “In death is her true love, but she betrays him also.” If that meant Sweeney, or can mean Sweeney in the future (I don’t like destiny-wills-it stories, and they’re definitely not there yet, but they could maybe get there at some future point, and even then It Would Be Complicated), was the betrayal Laura rejecting him after the loa ‘fuck them,’ or is it something that hasn’t happened yet, and if so, what?

-Laura gets fully alive again, but traces of her (un)dead state remain – what are they, how does she cope, what price did she/he/they have to pay for her resurrection, and how does their relationship change? I’d especially be curious how it would work if they’re already a sorta-maybe-item and then she’s alive again and it’s weird in a new way.

-For reasons I’ll leave up to you, Sweeney and Laura have to stay put in a single place for a while and end up essentially cohabiting, regardless of what their relationship is at that point. Take “cohabiting” as literally or as creatively as you want – in any case, I’m sure it will be marvelously disastrous and amazing. If the place they have to stay happens to be NOLA, all the better, I find everything about that city fascinating.

-Slight or major AU from the opening of “The Ways of the Dead”: Laura has hitchhiked with Sweeney instead of going off in a huff with Wednesday, or she otherwise gets to New Orleans sooner, and she and Sweeney tear up the town together. Gimme bar fights, carnival shenanigans, all the food and drink porn, backstage craziness with the Christian rock band (Sweeney seems to have a backstage pass on a lanyard around his neck when Laura finds him)… Maybe they even cross the paths of some loa and it doesn’t get all angsty (for what it’s worth, I think the reason the sex magic didn’t bring Laura back to life was because she couldn’t accept the truth(s) revealed during the astral-plane sex and just ask Sweeney to prick his finger for the potion – instead she defaults straight to “this is all Wednesday’s evil plan” the morning after – not because the loa fucked them over). They were actually getting along nicely in those first couple of scenes in NOLA, only ribbing each other a little while still being their grouchy selves, before they got to Le Coq Noir. I wouldn’t have minded seeing some more of that.

-AU from the end of “The Ways of the Dead”: they still have their big fight (which was amazing as well as painful) or some variation thereof, but they don’t split up. (Maybe the reason is as mundane as Sweeney refusing to get left behind or they have a shared ride out of town, or maybe the more time passes the less Sweeney can afford to be far from his coin – or maybe the coin needs him close by to work at full capacity.) And then what?

-All the old gods hide their true appearance to an extent. A situation arises in which Laura sees Sweeney’s true, or at least old, self (I’m thinking of his surprise!poignant monologue about when he used to be a king, and him in full Celtic warrior mode in the S2 flashbacks). Or Wednesday’s war ends in victory, meaning the old gods again get belief, worship, and sacrifices. How does Laura, the ultimate skeptic even when she’s on the other side of the mirror, react? How does this new knowledge and new reality change her opinion of/attitude to Sweeney? Or to flip that around, if Sweeney were again relevant and believed-in, would that actually change his bad attitude and fix his issues (my guess is it would be complicated)? On that note, Sweeney’s decline from Lugh to king to leprechaun was more sketched in than really explored in canon, ditto I didn’t really get why he couldn’t seem to remember his own history except in snatches (the curse that made him a bird/madman of the woods?) – I’d love to see more about it and his (not) dealing with it, or with a reversal of that decline. Eorann told him long ago to adapt and change with the times – but what does that mean after humpteen centuries in a rut and becoming used to always feeling angry and unappreciated?

-The power of names, since they never use each other’s in canon: for all his “dead wifeing,” there comes a time when Sweeney (has to) call her by her actual name, and that’s a tricky moment for them to navigate. Or, Mad Sweeney is not his actual name, and true names have great magical power and so must be kept secret; Laura discovers or learns his name, from someone else or from himself; what does she do with that knowledge? Or, Sweeney gets to say “cunt” in a situation (sexual or otherwise) where, not only does Laura not peel his lips from his gums, but she finds that she can’t object, even though she knows that he knows that he’s getting away with it.

-So far in canon, it’s pretty clear that Sweeney has a lot of complicated but sincere feelings for Laura. Laura is still pretty focused on Shadow (or rather her idealized vision of Shadow and what their relationship might yet be), whom she seems to equate with her own lost-maybe-to-be-regained life, although that’s starting to change at the end of S2. For one thing, she’s starting to soften toward Sweeney as she realizes he’s doing things for her that are not all about getting his coin back (and her sparring match with Wednesday in “Muninn” as well as Shadow refusing to be called puppy anymore in “Moon Shadow” may finally force her to accept that her relationship with Shadow died alongside her and Robbie on that road in Indiana). Not to mention the shared truth revealed in “The Ways of the Dead” (bullshit was that just Laura’s truth!) and how Laura flips out rather than deal with it and Sweeney can’t spit out that it mattered to him either, or how obviously cut up she is about Sweeney’s death despite refusing to admit it. Tell me the story of how Laura stumbles her way to feeling – and acknowledging that she feels – more complex, maybe kinder or softer, really annoying for her blunt-force-trauma-personality things about Sweeney and about the notion that her dynamic with him is different from the way she tended to use men for her convenience without really letting them in in the past. Also I’m pretty sure that even if they can admit they feel the same – or sorta in the same ballpark – about each other, their relationship would still run on a lot of conflict, and I would so be here for it.

-On that note: in “Munnin” it also becomes clear that Laura has, without realizing it herself, started to rely on Sweeney. The “I trusted you” line made me think, whoa she’s too furious to catch herself doing it but this is huge for Laura, and the fact that she goes off with Wednesday (!) basically because she’s mad at Sweeney because she thinks he’s prioritizing his debt to Wednesday over her… Yeah, I would like to see that explored some more and/or to see Laura and Sweeney get to a point where they trust each other and rely on each other, and know it and accept it, however difficult the getting there and being there may be for them.

-Sweeney has this intense need to see himself as a brave person and someone worthy of the world’s respect – but his past and his long experience as just a leprechaun have chipped away at that. Add the guilt of having been the instrument of Laura’s death and then all the pesky feelings he develops for her, and it’s a lot. Obviously his final actions in S2 are his trying to reclaim that courage and nobility of old (also to spite Wednesday, who’s messed both him and Laura up), but I would love to read about his character development under different circumstances, where Laura is there all the way, as opposed to them parting ways and meeting up again multiple times like in canon.

-And since I’m on the subject of Laura, you know how she’s not actually an abrasive bitch all the time to everyone? And when she is, the people on the receiving end of it sometimes richly deserve it, or very occasionally they push back (ILU, Mama-Ji!), and anyway it’s refreshing to see a female character who defaults to confrontational and doesn’t bother flirting and accommodating others for the sake of social harmony? As much as I enjoy watching her rip into people (ahem, Sweeney), I also love it when she acts differently, like her genuine interest in getting to know Salim and her joy in seeing him again in S2, or her running passive-aggressive battle of wills with Wednesday. Her beginning to feel sympathy for Sweeney and her anger and disappointment when she feels let down by him are a part of that, and I’d love to see all that explored more. Nuance! Give me all the nuance and seeming contradictions in both Laura and Sweeney’s characters!

-Sweeney and Laura get drunk and wake up married. Or some sex and/or blood resurrection spell also results in basically an unbreakable marriage bond, whether it also secures resurrection or not. Or marrying the dead keeps them (sorta) alive. Or being married makes it possible for them to share magical/supernatural abilities. They’re both pissed about it, but secretly having to make it work may not be the worst thing that’s ever happened...

-My perfect AG spinoff would basically be Sweeney and Laura tooling around America, looking to get her resurrected (whether they succeed or not is up to you), stealing ever more ridiculous vehicles, arguing/fighting and having those pesky moments where vulnerability and genuineness creep in – and fucking. So yessiree I’d be down for porn, including “it’s technically necrophilia/zombiesex” porn, including a canon-divergent first time, or a second/later time after they had their first time in NOLA in canon.

-If you wanted to throw in some worldbuilding, maybe something exploring living death. Magical bargains. What kind of favor did Sweeney do for Ostara that would be worth her bringing someone back to life as repayment? What other powers might Sweeney have – or have left from when he was Lugh? How long can a dead wife keep going before she’s “soup”? What other superhuman abilities might dead!Laura have? Can the dead do magic? What even are the rules governing and the limits of different beings’ magical abilities? For example, why can’t Sweeney just take his coin back, or why does Laura gain super-strength as part of her undead package deal? Is the hoard in the same space as the behind-the-scenes accessed through the merry-go-round, or it’s a different place? Why does the coin seem to start to “run down” the longer Laura has it? Why did Wednesday need Laura to kill Argus when he killed Vulcan himself just fine? What happens with Gungnir now it’s in the hoard – can only Sweeney get to it, has it been transformed somehow (it’s now the treasure of the sun), etc.?

If it helps your inspiration, you can find some of my meta and lots of tag-burbling about these two here. I have read the book though I remember it only in bits and pieces, and while I prefer the show characters and the fact that they get thrown together, you can use or riff on book material if you want, though I’d prefer a story that isn’t just a retread of the book. With reference to one of my DNWs, for this canon, describing Laura’s physical decay is totally fine. Also, Shadow/Laura don’t interest me except as a part of Laura’s backstory (so if your story wants to include Laura figuring out or having already figured out that pinning all her hopes on Shadow to make everything right is unrealistic, unfair, and not how it works – by all means, go for it!), and Shadow/Sweeney interest me not at all.

My two canon-specific, really strong DNWs for this pairing are this: Sweeney doesn’t die (at least not permanently), and I’m not into Laura being Essie’s reincarnation/descendant or – as fanon suggests and canon sorta maybe hints she may be – some sort of reincarnation of Sweeney’s wife from back when he was a king in old Ireland. Reincarnation/“new love looks like old love”/“lost love found again” plots bore me, and I don’t enjoy ships that hinge on characters being somehow destined to be together. Characters having agency is also my jam. Anyway I’m certain that Laura would have neither time nor patience for the notion that Destiny Fate and All That Jazz threw her together with ginger minge, and even if it were technically true, she’d still want this relationship to work on her terms – and Sweeney obviously has a problem with Laura’s cheating, her relationship with Shadow, her personality (though he also recognizes they’re alike in many ways), and all that maps onto his anger and sadness over becoming irrelevant over time, so it’s not just about Laura. So yeah, let them be their own (grumpy, spiky, dysfunctional) people, and let Laura’s dynamic with Sweeney not be shaped solely by his past and his issues.

 Black Sails

Miranda Barlow/John Silver

I fell into this canon head-first and found myself with a special fondness for this ship, although they never really interact in canon at all. I definitely see it as an early seasons ship, not just because Miranda was, you know, alive, but because the early Silver was the ever-scheming trickster with a smile and a smart-allecky comment always up his sleeve, ever ready to lie, cheat, steal, and murder to his best advantage, yet already with glimpses of a capacity to care about people other than himself. What I’m saying is, he was fun to have around in a way the later Silver somewhat lost as the price of his character development.

We know Miranda has an eye for a handsome man. I suspect S1-2 Silver totally would bed the captain’s woman if he thought he could get away with it or it could be a way to manipulate Flint, only Miranda is smart and pragmatic, has a core of pure steel, and can see right through Silver, which I’m convinced she would. Unlike Flint, Miranda has done her grieving and she’s so ready to move on and feel alive again. Not saying that Silver would become another great love of hers, but they could have fun. He’d make her laugh. After years of Flint’s moods, Silver would be so easy to get along with. The sex could be great and not angsty or merely dutiful. He’d inevitably find an angle to play, but then Miranda’s no stranger to maneuvering around and with people, so maybe she’d find that his manipulative ways are half the fun. They might even fall in love for real, though that’s not a requirement, and I definitely don’t think love would be the same as absolute trust in this case. (Also I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make the relationship revolve around their shared fixation on Flint, or focus on Miranda’s angst about Thomas or the legacy of Thomas/Flint. These can be mentioned, but I’d prefer that doesn’t hijack the story.)

Prompts:

-Flint sends Silver to Miranda with a message or on an errand, and thinks nothing more of it (or possibly he wants Miranda’s assessment of how much he can trust the “new cook”). But then Silver and Miranda are intrigued by each other and start finding excuses to see each other again. Bonus points if they orchestrate encounters in a way which allows them both to pretend they don’t actually want to see each other again, it just happened, sometimes things just happen but now that they’re both here they might as well take advantage of this opportunity, etc.

-S2 divergence: James dies at Charles Town, and Miranda lives. Silver may or may not lose a leg. Silver and Miranda have to assume at least temporary leadership of the crew in order to get everyone safely back to Nassau. Do they become pirate co-captains or lady captain and her quartermaster? Do they dissolve the crew and try for a different life? Do they make a play for the Urca gold, after Silver confesses his double-dealing to an angry, grieving Miranda (Jack maybe doesn’t capture the gold, it’s still up for grabs, or if Jack does how does that play out)? I mention lower down I’d prefer no angsty sex for these two, but in this scenario I could see any sex that may happen being, at least at first, angry and angsty, but also conducive to emotional healing.

-Actual witch!Miranda. I mean storybook witch, with a cauldron in which she brews that invulnerability potion for Flint and possibly some broom-flying, rather than a Wiccan or another kind of real witch. Maybe she needs a human participant or human-sourced ingredients for some of her most powerful spells, and since Flint isn’t really comfortable with magic Miranda decides that the new ship’s cook will do, only magic has a way of binding people together more closely than they intended. Or maybe she attempts to bind a familiar, hoping for a cat or a bird, and the magic picks Silver, much to her (and his) initial consternation? Maybe Miranda doesn’t really know what she’s doing, she used to dabble in London but hasn’t tried making a spell in years and has none of her books of magic with her, or she’s heard the crew’s rumors about her and decided to give this whole magic thing a go, and oops it actually works! Either way, there would definitely be snark and “if I give you X for a spell, what’s in it for me?”

-Flint respected and cared about Miranda, but also kept her waiting on the sidelines while he did stuff. Gimme Miranda and Silver at a point where they trust each other, maybe not completely, but enough that they can scheme together, where she is impressed by his quick wits but she’ll also tell him when one of his plans is likely to go wrong in XYZ different ways. Then, obviously, they execute a plan/heist by drawing on their combined skill sets.

-Fucking someone is easy. Sleeping the night through next to that person is hard.

-Speaking of which: sex. With or without plot. In the bed, in the kitchen, in Nassau, on The Walrus when the rest of the crew is on shore-leave, or a stolen moment during the journey to Charles Town. First times, later times. Any position is good, I’ll just mention a couple possibilities: Cunnilingus with a side of mind games. Pegging. Fingering (of either by either). Intense (emotionally and physically) PIV. I could see them both initiating sex and wanting to “direct traffic” at one time or another, both wanting to keep up a front but then being ambushed by actual emotion and vulnerability. Let it be happy and giggly, or passionate, or playful, or unexpectedly tender, or seemingly casual and then very emotional and heartfelt – just please don’t let it be angsty.

-Miranda discovers she likes to get her fingers in Silver’s hair during sex, both gently and not. He likes it too, which is not to say he’ll necessarily admit he likes it.

-Sexual role-play: the demure lady abducted by a wicked pirate, only it turns out the lady’s resistance is symbolic at best. Who gets to play the lady and who the pirate is entirely open. If Miranda’s the lady, I suspect early seasons!Silver’s attempts at being menacing and dominating may make her break character for a giggle – and if Miranda’s the pirate menacing the demure and naïve, er, young gentleman, I’ll just say that I think she should wear Silver’s clothes (after washing them or making him bring a spare set).

Two canon-specific DNWs: whatever you end up writing, please don’t kill off Miranda or imply she dies “off-screen.” Let her live to fuck Silver another day. Also, I love Flint/Miranda in all their angsty glory, and I love all the intense, complicated emotion of Flint & Silver and the potential of Flint/Silver. I know I said not to make the fic revolve around Flint’s influence on their lives, but I’m fine with Flint in a walk-on role, if you want to write that. I don’t see him making too big a fuss, Miranda definitely treats her brief affair with the pastor as her business and her business alone – I can see Flint being exasperated that Silver hanging around Miranda is now a thing, or suspicious of Silver’s intentions but also trusting Miranda to handle it.

Good Girls (TV)

Beth Boland/Rio

How do I ship them, let me count the ways! I sat down to watch a fun, silly, caper show and ended up with all these feelings. I also can never resist an older woman/younger man, opposites-attract pairing, especially if it turns out that the opposites which are attracting also have way more in common than seemed apparent at first, while still remaining fundamentally different people with possibly-incompatible lifestyles. I love that while Beth can’t keep her crush hidden at all, Rio’s a very cool customer but at the same time has zero chill when it comes to her. I love how their comfort level with each other grows throughout the first two seasons, but they also both suck at communication and tend to just do their own thing or take what the other one will do for granted, and there are moments or periods of real ugliness punctuating their dynamic (like when Beth sets Rio up and he shoots Dean, or how she handles their “breakup” and he retaliates with the dead body and messing with Beth’s head, and then of course the S2 ending). There are definitely feelings on both side, they’re just really inconvenient feelings, given who she is and who he is, and they’re mixed with the lust and the illicit thrill of danger. For one thing, Beth has had a pretty obvious crush on Rio since the start, and he has pretty obviously found her intriguing at least from when she talked him out of killing the three women. For another thing, when she got out of the biz, Beth acted like she couldn't imagine how he’d cope without her to launder his money, so there’s a weird kind of misplaced protectiveness. It’s not Twue Wuv, but it’s not just sex either, as she told Dean in order to hurt Dean and because she knew he would understand that as her motivation. He wouldn’t be able to understand that she feels alive in Rio’s world. And it's not Twue Wuv for Rio either (he also doesn’t seem like the monogamous kind), but it’s not just the thrill of sex with someone so different from his usual pick of women. She takes him more than a little for granted, he has tended more often than not to underestimate her. It's capital-C Complicated. Plus every single episode makes me laugh, makes me gasp or scream, deadly-serious situations veer into humor and back again, and I also enjoy that the UST wasn’t flogged past its sell-by date, but also sex didn’t magically smooth out all of the very real complications between them (and I refuse the showrunner’s suggestion that “King” was the end of the ship – contentiousness and chemistry will keep me fed for a long time).

I love Beth for basically the same reasons why she drives me up the wall: her boldness and recklessness, her giddy joy in being baaaaaaad, her compartmentalization fu, how easily she switches from devoted mom to smooth criminal and liar, how the boundaries of her two lives are starting to blur yet she still seems to fundamentally believe in her own invulnerability. Some consequence of her extracurricular activities or other is going to bite Beth hard one day, and I’m here for it, just as much as I am here for Beth to continue to over-rely on her privilege and just sweetly bulldoze her way through any and all problems. I cheered when she finally admitted that she finds the thrill and the stress of the criminal life fun – it’s not an addiction, it’s a choice willingly made, she’s had control over many of her interactions with Rio. She’s not a victim in this, and Rio’s not her personal villain. Beth wants power and control, but the dirty work still gives her pause – she needs to own all that. Plus I keep thinking of Rio’s line about how nobody’s going to shoot up Beaver Cleaver’s house – Beth’s bubble is going to have to burst somehow, and not in a way she can handwave as no big deal, as she’s done till now, even after shooting Rio! Also, her tackling crime like it’s just any other household chore, keeping funny money in a storage box under her bed and whatnot, delights me.

And I kind of love the way Rio starts out, for both Beth and the audience, as this irresistible-because-dangerous, snarky, dark object of desire (and affection), and then we gradually learn more about him, but there’s still so much to learn. He obviously loves pushing Beth’s buttons, still plays his cards very close, and seems to be working out why the hell he let this suburban lady get under his skin so much. He didn’t need all these complications in his life! He was doing fine before Beth (and Annie and Ruby), and now he runs around Detroit playing mind games and stealing back baby blankies from crack houses! There’s a lot going on with him, and one thing Rio is, he’s the guy who owns his choices in a way Beth still refuses to own hers. My only certainty from the S2 ending is that Rio will mess with Beth in every way he can, in retaliation, whether he’s in jail or not, as well he should. (On that note, let me also mention that I, like Beth, love the edge Rio has, the constant undercurrent or potential for violence – the soft!Rio fanon bores me, unless his soft moments come with the snarky and the sexy and the dangerous and the manipulative because he is so fucking manipulative and I love it, and the putting his own interests first even while wanting Beth around, and the he-has-people-of-his-own-to-look-after, and the not-here-for-your-convenience-alone-Elizabeth, etc.) So yeah, I know that these two may never fully make it work, and it’s highly unlikely they’ll get anything remotely like an HEA, but I’m here for the wild ride and all the ways they can be both great and terrible together.

I wrote most of these prompts before the S2 finale aired, so please feel free to do missing scenes, or divergences, or write a fictional S3, mix and match – whatever works for you, grit and angst and contention or giggles and capers and some contention anyway because come on it’s them! Oh, and about Annie and Ruby: I like them both (Annie especially is a riot even if she’s even more reckless than Beth) and I love the three gals’ banter, so if you want to include them in the story that’s cool, whether as participants in Beth’s schemes or as people pushing against her overconfident recklessness, just please don’t have them only talk about Beth/Rio. As for Dean, the writers go way out of their way to make him sympathetic in late S2, but he’s a weakling and a liar, and while they need to co-parent, he needs to not be married to Beth anymore. Oh, and about Beth and Rio’s respective kids – if you want to include them in whatever you write, that’s fine, but please don’t make the kids a huge or central part of the fic.

Prompts:

-Canon divergence from the S1 cliffhanger: Beth shoots Rio (non-fatally), or Beth shoots Dean to get him to shut up and because she just found out he faked having cancer (he may or may not die), or even Rio takes the gun off Beth and shoots her (flesh wound only), and then what happens? Or how about a divergence from S1E9, where Beth doesn’t interpret “Go home, Elizabeth” as a threat, though her feelings may get hurt by the rejection?

-When the title of the last S2 episode was first announced, I imagined that “King” might mean Rio goes to prison, briefly or not, and then Beth either has to step in and prevent his entire organization from falling apart (and maybe Rio’s lady lawyer helps her out but some of Rio’s other associates and his guys don’t take kindly to her stepping in), or some new big bad moves into Rio’s territory and Beth has to confront them, but they have no desire to indulge her like Rio does or to be her friendly neighborhood gangbanger. Obviously that’s now totally a divergence, but I still want it!

-Speaking of the S2 ending, you can totally do a wild divergence! I’ve read some interesting theories about how that scene wasn’t all it appeared to be (Rio and Beth were in cahoots and he’d taught her how to shoot him non-fatally, Rio wanted to have a video of Beth shooting Turner so he could hold it over her but he can totally work with how it worked out too -- although honestly I’m not even sure S2 ended in Rio’s loft with the cameras! -- etc. etc.), so if you want to play with that or do something entirely different so they never wind up with Turner and a gun at (presumably) Rio’s loft, go right ahead. But at the same time…

-I’m actually OK with the S2 ending, provided of course that Rio lives and, um, eats her heart in vengeance while she realizes she still has a lot to learn, because them crashing into each other is where it’s at. The part that jarred me wasn’t Rio trying to force Beth’s hand in order to reassert dominance and show her she can’t ever get out clean, nor Beth shooting Rio in a moment of rage, but rather her still claiming he’s solely responsible for everything that happened and him calling her a bitch again. So if you want to write me S3, I’m here for it with bells on! Beth as king but uneasy lies the head etc. (not to mention she thinks she’s all badass because she shot Rio but the truth is she still underestimates the reality of the world she’s stepped into)! Beth acting like it’s all good but actually being guilt-ridden about shooting Rio! Her reaction to realizing he’s alive and likely coming after her! Beth’s finally his equal in crime and he’ll have to grudgingly respect that! Hate sex and rival ship-piness! Rebuilding trust – or can they! Beth visiting him in prison and stuff getting complicated! Rio coming after her, whether at Turner’s behest or for himself, and stuff gets even more complicated! Their figuring out they have to work together, for both business reasons and because it seems Turner is still all about getting Beth at any cost and is prioritizing that over getting Rio himself! Gimme all of it! Or you could have Beth shoot Turner, or Rio shoot Turner, or hell Rio shoot her non-fatally then kill Turner… I’m here for it all.

-“Just like we practiced,” he says like it ain’t no thing, but I need to know everything about it! I was starting to wonder whether he’d ever teach her like he said he would… One possible suggestion: that time Dean let those idiots steal Beth’s money, and she’s hanging with Rio in her backyard arguing about the proper word for underpants, they just got back from early morning target practice. Or how about a 5+1 story, with the +1 possibly being the S2 ending?

-Or, have Beth do one of her “I did something”s to Rio as the starting point of an adventure.

-When they’re talking outside of Jane’s dance recital, it becomes pretty clear that Rio and Beth have used absolutely all of her kids’ activities and appointments as a cover for “business meetings,” or at least he’s had to figure out her schedule pretty well in order to find her. What would their burner-phone calls or text exchanges look like when they need to arrange a meetup, with Beth needing to reschedule or running late, and Rio having limited reserves of time and patience, despite indulging her on the whole? And what if the tables turned sometime, because it’s not like his kid doesn’t have dentist’s appointments and playdates and whatnot? Plus wouldn’t Rio hanging around the dentist’s and princess birthday parties and suchlike attract at least some attention?

-Rio’s still angry and distrustful of Beth after S2E9 – both for trying to bail from the business and for using him as she did for sex and solace – but something or other happens and Beth’s the only person he can go to when his operation gets blown or raided by the Feds, or someone nearly kills him, or some other shit goes down. Now they’re basically on the lam together, and there are thrills, chases, building back trust, snark, sex… Plus it would be nice if he actually took the time to teach her, like he said he would back in S2E2, instead of blowing her off or just assuming she’ll have the common sense not to, say, walk into crack dens unarmed.

-Or flip that around: Beth handles a ‘book club’ situation her way (think Boomer in the treehouse, funny money under the bed, Googling how to kill someone or how to remove blood stains from carpet, burying a dead body in the backyard) and Rio needs to roll with it. The humor potential is really high here. Also I don’t think Rio’s ever witnessed Beth’s knack for lying and spinning some story on the spot, and he should, his reaction would be interesting to witness.

-Or how about if Beth had actually told Rio about the Dean situation in S2E9, and they could still get laid (oh please!) but they could also figure out a way to handle Dean and Turner and everything together. You know, actually communicate and be awesome rather than terrible together?

-Capers! The plotting, stealing stuff, and chases kind, not the kind you eat. I love this show’s silly, this-shouldn’t-work-and-they-make-beginner-mistakes capers, like the two grocery store stickups or the payday loan robbery/kidnapping. I’d be down for Annie and Ruby to play a big part, and if Rio were involved in the planning and execution, things probably wouldn’t go too pear-shaped, but you never know – the gals’ tendency to improvise is a wild card. Or they plan and execute a caper of their own, something goes sideways, and they need Rio to help them, which he doesn’t do for free or without some serious snark and psychological payback (remember when they discussed why Rio’s having them kill Boomer, and Beth automatically said “to torture me”? Yeah.)

-Moments when shit isn’t actively hitting the fan and they can just relax at the bar or the backyard picnic table, have a drink and shoot the breeze, flirt and snark – and maybe even slow dance one time. (This might work especially well as a 5+1 story, if you’re that way inclined.)

-Rio has a job for Beth, and for once she doesn’t go off script – but something goes wrong anyway. A double cross, or a shootout, or a police ambush, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. When she can’t rely on her charm and knack for lying to get her out of a jam, but has to follow Rio’s lead and/or play by the rules of his world whether she likes it or not, how does Beth handle the situation, not by simply bending everything to her will so she can keep everything nice and neat and just the right amount of dangerous to thrill but not inconvenience her? Basically, what would have to happen for Beth to finally stop calling it ‘book club’ and accept what Rio told her ages ago: she’s a criminal who also happens to be a mom, and she needs to act like it?

-On that note, I kind of want Beth to have to kill someone (for real, because she so did not kill Rio gimme a break). Not someone like Annie, or Ruby, or Stan. A business rival of her and Rio’s, or a cop/Fed that’s on their tail, or Mary Pat, or a key witness against Rio, or hell even Dean (oh the angst! The guilt Beth would feel!), so long as it wasn’t under duress like the S1 cliffhanger or spur of the moment like when Mary Pat killed Boomer. Beth was ready to blow away Boomer back of the Fine ‘n’ Frugal that one time. I want her to have to finally cross boundaries she’s been able to dodge or have someone else cross for her till now, and really get her hands dirty, and deal with all the moral iffiness of it but also the full implications of what being a boss bitch requires, and what it means to be squarely on Rio’s side of the fence.

-These two navigate some pretty deep waters without ever spelling out what this thing between them is, but it is very clearly A Thing. Gestures can speak louder than words, like when Rio got Jane’s dubby back and sent it to Beth so she’d know it’s from him, but he could also deny it if he wanted to. What kind of gesture could Beth make to make clear that she’s in, in every sense of the word, even if naming what all she’s in would be too complicated, scary and/or dangerous?

-The game of twenty questions in Rio’s loft turns out porny when she refuses to leave when told, and none of their issues get resolved thereby, but still. Things turn porny, and probably emotional because these two have always sucked about separating business from everything else that’s between them, ‘nuff said.

-Tell me exactly what all they did (and thought and felt) in Beth’s bedroom between that swoony kiss and Beth’s post-coital kiss-off. Exactly.

-Beth and Dean’s divorce is finalized and/or Beth decides to grant Dean primary custody (because Dean is a weakling and a douche, but he was right about Beth’s other life endangering the family), and then she calls Rio looking for a distraction or to convince herself she’s totally fine about such a massive and irrevocable change in her life. Last time she pulled a stunt like that, they wound up in her bedroom, and everything was vulnerable and intense, and then feelings got hurt, and trust isn’t easy to rebuild. What happens this time?

-We’ve seen Rio’s life through Beth’s eyes – how does her life, including her ‘book club’ shenanigans look like from Rio’s world? Extra double-dipped brownie points if Beth gets to see how her life looks from the other side.

-One contrast between them I enjoy especially is the differences in how they speak, and I would love to see that played up in fic, which is all about words. Or, for an actual prompt: a situation arises in which Beth has to (maybe badly, maybe not) imitate Rio’s way of speaking, or vice versa.

-As amusing as I find the idea of his actual name being something as preppy as Christopher, let’s say that’s not Rio’s real name either. What is it, and under what circumstances might Beth learn it? And under what circumstances might she call him it, given that she’s never yet even called him Rio to his face, and he of course always uses her full name as both a goad and a verbal caress?

-Beth’s fantasy about Rio smashing up her bedroom is my favorite scene of the entire show so far (followed closely by their confrontation in Rio’s loft, the resolution of the S1 cliffhanger, and the zinger-filled food-court scene with the three gals pitching their big-box-store money-laundering idea to Rio). Beth’s fantasy is both funny and sexy, says tons about what she finds attractive about him, and even taps into the inherent ridiculousness of sexual fantasies without parodying it. What other fantasies does she have about him? What fantasies does he have about her? I’d be all for a (parallel) masturbation fic too!

-“Damn, mami, you’re good at this.” Please work that line into a fic and have it refer to a porny or non-porny situation (or both!).

-Enforced road trip! Crime stuff happens, neither Rio nor Beth are too keen on the idea except they’re both intrigued by the possibilities, they have to get in a car together and go chasing a pill shipment or money gone astray or whathaveyou, and there’s playing the silent game as well as deep conversations, roadside diners and motels, gas stations and shootouts, actual communication (or not – they can keep avoiding important conversations, that works too) and orgasms. Gimme!

-Rio leaves the country to escape the long arm of the law, and Beth goes after him even though she’s safe, and he’s not necessarily thrilled to see her at first. Exotic travel, probably-criminal shenanigans, and all kinds of sexiness ensue. (Look, when she got out of the business in S2, she acted like she couldn’t imagine how Rio would cope without having her around to launder his money and mess his shit up. If she thought she might never see him again, she’d panic, make her kids lunches and leave Dean an activities calendar for the foreseeable, throw some stuff in a wheelie bag, and take off at a moment’s notice.)

-While I’ll happily read whatever porn you might decide to write for them, I have a bit of a craving for one scenario: within an established relationship (whether they call it that, or more likely continue to not define it but they both accept that sex is something that’s going to happen regularly between them going forward, or even them being enemies/business rivals after S2 but still fucking occasionally), first-time anal sex. I can’t imagine it’s something Beth has done much, or ever, but she has a bold streak a mile wide, does our Beth, and I also can’t imagine it could be anything less than very emotional as well as scorching hot with these two involved.

-An exception to my blanket DNW about unrelated AUs: Beth and Rio in a time loop/Russian Doll-type scenario (so many possibilities to fuck up – or just fuck – but also to gradually (re)build trust) or Beth and Rio in a zombie apocalypse. For the latter, let’s assume everyone’s kids are safe, don’t let Annie, Ruby, or Stan die, Dean can die or not. I just really want Rio and Beth to have to rely on each other when it’s life and death and probable end of the world, despite all their issues and differences.

Firefly (TV)

Jayne Cobb/River Tam

Jayne Cobb/Saffron

Opposites attracting - or should I say colliding (and being really annoyed about it), but also more-similar-than-they-seem-at-first colliding! Capers! Either of the women out-deviousing Jayne, whether he realizes it or not, even as he’s trying to out-devious them. The humor and/or crack potential is especially high here.

For Jayne/River, I can see a lot of potential in accidental/fake marriage, woke up married, and marriage of convenience tropes. Pair that big, not-always-lovable lug Jayne with Ultimate Cloudcuckoolander with a dark and troubled past River, and sparks are bound to fly. If you can find a way to mix in some sort of a caper – either involving the Firefly crew’s ongoing criminal shenanigans or the Tams’ flight from the Alliance – that would be especially sweet. They’re doing it in order to be able to claim an inheritance, or to pull off a job, or even to protect River (and Jayne says he just wants a payday).

For Jayne/Saffron, I’m thinking of something post-canon when they meet again, and we get to see even more of Saffron’s mad skills and maybe learn a bit more about her, and Jayne is in waaaaay over his head - but he kinda likes it. At least Saffron is a handful *waggles eyebrows* in a different way from Mal and Zoe’s constant slight distrust of Jayne.

Jayne flirting with betraying his new mate has potential, and the woman getting the upper hand seems a given in that dynamic (poor Jayne will live in a constant state of not knowing what hit him).

Likes:

I love pre-canon, canon, post-canon, canon-divergent, and missing-scene stories. I love character-driven and plot-driven stories equally, and I love fics which mix humor and angst/serious business when appropriate for the canon.

I love stories about characters at work and play, group dynamics, family dynamics (including constructed families), professional partnerships, friendships, alliances, rivalries, intimate couples (new lovers/first times as well as long-term/established couples), UST-ridden couples who are not just UST-ridden but connected in other ways too, etc.

I love irony, snark, humor as well as angst arising from the characters rather than the plot crowbaring it in, linear, non-linear, and 5+1 stories, hopeful endings, happy endings, bittersweet endings, worldbuilding, spiky characters who keep their jagged edges and spikiness in adversity as well as when their lives are going well, square-peg-in-round-hole characters, characters who are their own worst enemies as well as those who can get over themselves when the occasion calls for it, characters with conflicting values which may or may not be reconciled/resolved, characters who treat each other with respect and as equals even if they hate/annoy/can’t stand/love to dislike each other.

I especially love workplace stories (this can mean anything from an actual workplace/casefic/procedural setting to anything that revolves around the canon world in which the characters live) in which the characters are competent and dedicated to the job, and while they may not be exactly friends and they may well irritate one another, they still manage to rub along to get the job done and maybe even grow to care about one another (much to their surprise and sometimes reluctance/discomfort). Or, if they can’t get along, show me why not and what’s preventing them from finding common ground.

In terms of ship dynamics, I love (where it fits the characters) banter, competitiveness or antagonism shading into attraction (this tension need not be resolved), oh-god-why-did-it-have-to-be-you-what-did-I-do-to-deserve-this, bickering yet loving couples, characters who are serious about their romantic interests, characters who think they are much better at flirtation than they actually are, characters forced to work together only to prove much more compatible than they initially assumed, fics which mix an exploration of characters’ professional and everyday lives with shipping. A dynamic I cannot resist is shipping a couple who are incompatible in some important way (they are ideological enemies, cop and criminal, spies from opposite sides, one betrayed the other or they betrayed each other), and while they love and want each other they’re also not willing to change sides or surrender/compromise their identity for the other’s benefit, and how they might (or not) make their relationship work anyway.

I don’t have any very specific likes for smut, other than smut fitting the characters – show me how their canon dynamics spill over into the bedroom (or other place of congress). I also like sexual scenarios that subvert expectations a little and surprise the characters themselves (e.g., the person who’s usually quiet or more passive taking charge, the more aggressive person goes with it possibly snarking or commenting on it as long as they can). And I like sexual scenarios that contain an element of competition, antagonism, oh-god-this-is-a-bad-idea-but-we’re-going-for-it-hammer-and-tongs, not wanting to admit feelings or show vulnerability except oops it happens anyway, whether the characters acknowledge it or not, or just people getting way more into it or being more affected by it than they thought they would. When it fits the characters and their canon dynamic, you also can’t go wrong with we-both-wanted-this-for-forever-and-now-we-both-know-it-so-here-we-go-diving-in-headfirst. For het and/or slash, oral, vaginal, anal incl. pegging, manual (ifyouknowwhatImean) – it’s all good. You can go as veiled or as explicit as you like, but please avoid excessive medical jargon – I don’t find a lot of mention of “penis” or “clit” sexy.

 DNWs:

MPREG, A/B/O, knotting, D/s, kinks, incest, underage, genderswap/genderbent characters, xeno, non-/dub-con, torture and abuse (this and non-/dub-con can be mentioned if the story needs it, but please don’t dwell on it in loving detail or subject any of my requested characters to it), dwelling on bodily fluids (mentions of gore/blood and come are fine), toilet humor, character bashing, issuefic, gender/sexuality/race/ethnicity/religion/ability/identity headcanons, unrequested ships, soulmates and soul marks, major character death (the exception is Laura Moon in American Gods dying so she can become undead), serious illness or injury, pregnancy and children, holiday or wedding setting/theme, secondary characters shipping the main pair like it’s their job, reference to RL current events, 1st/2nd person POV, unrequested crossovers or fusions, AUs which have nothing to do with canon

#dear author letter #het swap 2019

[womanaction]

12, 28, 32, 37

12. Have you ever been disappointed when your ship finally got together?

Yep! Multiple times, mainly when it’s obvious that (at least some of) the writers weren’t really behind it. Best example is probably Spike/Buffy…from the end of “Intervention” through “All The Way” their relationship is remarkably healthy and seems like it’s headed toward a real romance…and then after one angry song and two desperate kisses they’re suddenly punching each other through walls and insulting each other. “Smashed” was awesome, but the way that the relationship is never given the weight of a “real” relationship and the back-and-forth from the writers is exhausting and not ideal. They should have committed to one concept; as it is, we get like five version of the ship in just that season. It probably makes it one of the more compelling relationships but also disappointing for fans. Other examples: Carly/Freddie in iSaved Your Life (I was big into the iCarly fandom ok), when they hooked up Rachel and Joey for like four episodes after seasons of buildup on Friends, setting up Tom/Ann like a real ship on Parks and Rec then immediately treating it as a joke…

28. Does shipping come easily to you?

Ohhh yeah. I tend to find ships pretty easily - as long as I’m emotionally attached to multiple characters, soon ships will generally follow (unless they’re all related/disparate in age/incompatible sexual orientations, etc.). Not shipping would be really hard.

32. Share five must-read fics.

I won’t list any Spuffy ones because I’ve rec’d those all over, constantly, eternally because there’s so much quality Spuffy fic out there. So here are five fics for five ships that are in my computer bookmarks (aka my fics to be added to delicious….sometime….)

Annie/Abed - Navigation of Roommate Reunions by greendale_student, post-series, multi-chapter, PG-13. Also ensemble, Britta/Jeff. The group gets together to welcome Troy back.

Anakin/Padmé - Anabasis (also related collection, Katabasis) by Fialleril, AU, multi-chapter, PG-13, abandoned. Anakin starts out as Sith and ends up…?

Dan/Blair - tell me something true by margottenenbaum, S1 Drive Me Crazy AU, two-shot, PG-13?. Blair makes over Dan…kinda.

Nick/Jess - What To Expect Before You’re Expecting by annakovsky, pregnancy fic, oneshot, PG-13. Jess wants to have a baby; Nick helps.

Faith/Buffy - For One Night Only by brutti_ma_buoni, bodyswap, post-series/comics, oneshot, NC-17. Faith and Buffy swap bodies…again.

37. Do you have a favorite trope and/or AU for your OTP?

I’m always a sucker for any sort of fake dating/married thing, but overall, particularly for Spuffy, I love any sort of long-form adventure-y fic. “Two characters must travel to X to retrieve Y/save person Z/discover whatever and meanwhile realize their attraction and love for each other” is an essentially perfect story structure and you can’t convince me otherwise. There are so many quality Spuffy road trip fics in this vein (hahaha vein…vampires….I’ll show myself out).

Thank you!!

#otp: mortal enemies #otp: the chosen two #otp: third favorite show #otp: i just want you to be happy #anidala #nick x jess #creddie #haverkins #etc #palizinhas #conversations with living people #otp: i thought we had decided not to fall in love