#tgw: another end
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Tumblr Holy Grail War, Another End: Night 1 (ALL SERVANTS)
Team Foreigner got Van Gogh's composure to 0! Something is happening!
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Laughter.
Echoing laugher. Triumphant laughter. The laughter of a Servant who had lost everything. The laughter of a Servant who had gained everything.
Van Gogh. A patchwork Servant from beyond the void. Laughed.
VAN GOGH: "Ah... my deception ends here. Look upon 'Van Gogh'... the false Servant named Van Gogh... isn't it horrible? Isn't it beautiful? Ahaha... AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
A pulse emanating from the Servant shattered the bounds of the digital landscape that had been called 'reality'. This was the power of the Foreigner-class. The true power of the Foreigner-class, when deprived of the chains of 'logic' that bound it.
Six other Servants were hit by the pulse, the world around them collapsing, throwing them into hell. Havoc overwhelming. Chaos overflowing. A wave of utter madness, grabbing the minds of the enemy Servants and rending them asunder.
First, the Assassin.
Assassin: "...Where the hell am I... what the hell is that?!"
The Assassin drew his sword, uncharacteristic fear filling his mind and body. A shadow formed, vaguely in the shape of a Servant, unsettlingly enough. It lunged forward, as he stepped back, trying to defend himself as more shadows appeared.
Shadows from his peripheral, shadows that he couldn't see but hear, shadows that he couldn't hear but see.
Shadows that weren't real.
Shadows that were far too real.
Then, the Rider.
Rider: "Back off! Get away from me!"
He yelled, trying to add as much authority as he could as the false illusions patched together by real madness inched closer.
Archer: "...You're not real! You're an illusion, like Caster's Noble Phantasm!"
He yelled, as he tried to lie to himself, fingers rending at the stark white of his clothing, causing it to dye red. His own fingertips rent asunder as the skin on them began to wear down and redden as he scratched and screamed at nothing.
Saber: "Come at me! I'll cut you to pieces!"
She yelled, her sword swiping forward. It drew blood, before she screamed, clutching at her own shoulder as it bled profusely as it was struck in an identical spot.
Lancer: "Heh. You think you're cute, huh? We'll see how cute you think you are when this spear goes right through you!"
...An alliance, formerly airtight, splintered in seconds by the maddened wave of the unleashed Foreigner. Their identities began to crumble, as they engaged in bloody warfare.
Only two Servants stood in the wave unaffected. Perhaps both of them had already reached the crux of their madness to begin with, or perhaps they had already witnessed hell, and so this void was nothing but a reprieve.
Tortured Youth: "...So this is what you can do, Foreigner? I hope you're not plannin' on killin' me like the others?"
Patchwork Servant: "Ehehehe! Play with me, Avenger! Spin with me! Dance with me! Sing with me! Paint with me! Create with me! Don't mind the pain! Thrash and scream! Let's kill each other, and use our blood to repaint the world!"
Tortured Youth: "...Thought so. And here I wasted that mana boosting you up. Well, that's just my luck. Whatever, this little game sounds like fun either way. Let's play, Foreigner!"
EVENT: [ VOID SPACE ARMAGEDDON ]
Reality itself began to unravel, already thin threads snapping apart under the pressure of the Foreigner-class Servant!
Team Foreigner got Van Gogh's composure to 0! Team Foreigner used 'Wave of Madness'! With Van Gogh's composure at 0, she temporarily gains access to all of her skills until the battle ends!
Alliances are temporarily severed within Void Space! It's utter chaos! This is a battle for survival!
If Van Gogh wins first place, she'll inflict 2 wounds on every Servant!
If Van Gogh doesn't get first, then any Servant that scores under Van Gogh will sustain 1 wound!
Any non-Foreigner-class Servant that ends up in last place will sustain 3 wounds and be destroyed instantly!
Any non-Foreigner-class Servant that ends up above Van Gogh will be safe!
If Van Gogh gets last place, she'll sustain 3 wounds, but will lash out and inflict 1 wound on every Servant! if she gets anything other than 1st, she'll simply sustain 1 wound!
Skills such as 'Battle Continuation' or 'Independent Action' are nullified! Servants who perish in Void Space are gone!
Van Gogh's 'Wave of Madness' gives every other Servant a -10% demerit! …Angra Mainyu's been spared from the demerit?!
Angra Mainyu gave Van Gogh a +5% boost!
Musashi and Arjuna have been cursed by 'Soul of the Water Channels'! They have a -3% demerit for this round! This will stack with the current application of 'Soul of the Water Channels', meaning Musashi and Arjuna have -6%, and the others have -3%!
Final Score Augmentations:
Van Gogh: +41%
Angra Mainyu: -40%
Miyamoto Musashi: -29%
Mandricardo: -36%
Okada Izou: -36%
Cu Chulainn: -21%
Arjuna: -39%
Active Servant Skills and Current Statuses:
Van Gogh (Foreigner):
Het Gele Huis (A+) - When winning first place in a Free-for-All, inflict 2 wounds on the bottom Servant, rather than just one. If engaged in a one-on-one, inflict 2 wounds instead of one upon victory. Additionally, reduce Servant bonuses by 10%, and if the gap between scores is greater than 35% when winning, recover from a 'wound'.
Soul of the Water Channels (EX) - When fighting in a free-for-all, gain a +10% boost, and inflict a persistent 3% demerit on enemy Servants for this round and the next. When fighting one-on-one, gain a +5% boost, and inflict a -2% demerit to them for this round and the next.
Void Space Fine Arts (B+) - If receiving a demerit from enemies larger than 10%, convert it into a +10% boost. Gain a +5% boost, and add another +3% if going against a Servant who has been cursed by the demerit from 'Soul of the Water Channels'. Gain the ability to sustain one more wound than normal.
Existence Outside the Domain (A) - Gain an immunity from demerits, and also reduce enemy Servant boosts by 5%.
Insanity (C) - Gain a +5% boost.
Item Construction (B-) - Lower the victory gap for the 'recovery effect' of "Het Gule Huis" from 35% to 25%.
Divinity (B+) - Lower enemy boosts by -5%, and increase own buffs by 3%.
Curse of Sunflower (A) - When on her final wound, gain a +7% boost.
Van Gogh has [2/7] wounds!
Angra Mainyu (Avenger)
Zarich: Right Fang Grinder (C) - Reduce enemy Servant boosts by -3%.
Tawrich: Left Fang Grinder (C) - Gain a +3% attack boost.
Annihilation Wish (A) - When fully healed, gain a -20% demerit to his final score. With one wound, the demerit is reduced to -10%. With two wounds, the demerit is changed to a +20% boost.
Grail Curse, All The World's Evils (EX) - When part of a battle that results in a Servant dying, absorb a part of their essence. Take a random one of their combat skills for Avenger's own use and recover one Command Spell. Those are the only effects. ...Probably.
Angra Mainyu is uninjured!
Miyamoto Musashi (Saber)
Heavenly Demonic Thundering Eye (EX) - When fighting in a free-for-all, gain +10% to your final score, and reduce their scores by -5%. If fighting a Servant one-on-one, if the gap between scores is above 20%, inflict 2 wounds.
Battle Continuation (EX) - If she loses a confrontation while on her final wound, if there's only a 10% difference between the scores of her and her opponent (non-allied Servant), she can slip out unscathed.
Musashi is on her last wound! 'Battle Continuation EX' is nullified within Void Space!
Mandricardo (Rider)
Brigliadoro's Neigh (A) - Increases the Rider-class trait to +5% rather than +3% in free-for-all brawls.
Armor of the Nine Worthies (A) - When attacked, reduces the amount of the Servant's final combat poll result by 10%.
Mandricardo has [1/3] wounds!
Okada Izou (Assassin)
Man-Slayer (A) - When fighting a Servant that possesses a wound, gain a +3% boost. When fighting a Servant that possesses 2 wounds, gain +5% instead.
Izou has [1/3] wounds!
Cu Chulainn (Lancer)
Rune Magecraft (B) - When fighting in a free-for-all, gain a +5% to combat score results. Additionally, any skills that reduce scores against Lancer will have their effectiveness reduced by 1%.
Battle Continuation (A) - Is able to take 4 'wounds' instead of the normal 3. On his last ‘wound’, gain a permanent +5% boost to final combat poll results.
Protection from Arrows (B) - When going against an Archer, Caster or Assassin-class Servant, gain a +5% to final combat poll results, and reduce their results by 5% as well.
Cu Chulainn has [2/4] wounds!
Arjuna (Archer)
Hero of the Endowed (A) - If fighting an enemy Servant, and the difference between scores is within 3%, take the win.
Mana Burst (Flame) (A) - Gain a +8% boost to combat poll results when attacked during 'playing defensively', rather than +3%. When not ‘playing defensively’, gains a 5% boost to final combat poll results instead.
Independent Action (A) - After receiving his third 'wound', he has one more round to attempt to attack before fading away. (Cannot be healed during this period via Command Spell).
Arjuna is on his final wound! Independent Action is nullified by Void Space!
#tgw: another end#team foreigner#team avenger#team saber#team rider#team lancer#team archer#team assassin#thgw story
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oh my god kalinda sharma actually is in love with alicia florrick isn't she
#'alicia. it's about alicia. that's what you care about.'#ahhhhhhhhhhh! reader i gasped.#and all of this right after alicia's (correct) surmising that if they'd known each other in their pasts they would have hated each other#which alicia said specifically bc *alicia* was different#in response to kalinda's wistful 'i wish i'd known you then'#bc of course it's actually about kalinda and kalinda's past#anyway hello i'm on another new-to-me old lawyer show#don't worry i know how this one ends i'm not getting overinvested but i am gonna enjoy the ride while it lasts#i'm already seeing all the ways their reconciliation could have been so narratively good and i'm preemptively *sighs* about it#anyway sorry 2 all of us that apparently archie panjabi and julianna marguiles didn't like each other bc their characters are *fire emoji*#amy watches tgw
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THE GREAT WAR — PART II TEASER
Giyuu’s Flashback • Secret Pregnancy AU
A/N: don’t think I’ve forgotten about these two!
Enjoy a small teaser featuring a key flashback for Giyuu from Part II of TGW. As I said in the notes for Part I, this is a non-linear story, and this flashback in particular is something referenced in Part I, while Reader is patching Giyuu’s wound up (a hint: Giyuu’s particular questioning about Reader’s choice of perfume oils).
Enjoy a little humor and a very, very flustered Water Pillar.
CW: accidental spying while Reader is bathing • Giyuu gets horny but doesn’t realize why • Giyuu is an idiot
READ PART I HERE
The shop vendor continued to gape after the woman long after she disappeared into the bustling crowd. Mildly, Giyuu noted that he’d polished the same dish two times over, unable to break free from his trance.
“Was that not the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?”
“I did not notice.” He replied, chewing thickly on his mouthful of udon. The vendor raised a single, skeptical eyebrow at his dismissiveness but said nothing more, and for that Giyuu was grateful.
He hated small talk, especially when he was trying to enjoy his meal. If anything, it only took away from the experience, ensuring that half his food ended up everywhere — his lap, the counter — but his mouth.
Besides, the Merchant’s attempt to engage him on this particular subject was rather pointless. In truth, Giyuu never really found anyone beautiful — not really. Though, he supposed as he shoved down another mouthful of his soup, perhaps that was because he’d never truly bothered to pay attention to anyone to definitively say one way or another. Paying attention to something as trivial as one’s physical appearance meant he wasn’t focusing on that which truly mattered — like signs of demons, of things going bump in the night.
And Giyuu Tomioka did not tolerate distractions.
With a grimace, he drained the last of the broth from his bowl and tossed a handful of change on the counter for payment. He only nodded curtly at the cook in farewell before he set off, ready to do one final patrol through the forest leading to his home before he would return and await his next orders.
The sleepy forest absorbed the sound of his footsteps as Giyuu made his way through the unmarked path he’d established as the final length of his patrol through the small, mountainous region in which he was assigned. Judging by the faint chirps of the earliest birds beginning to sound from the canopy of trees above, he knew dawn was close, and thus, his vigil was coming to an end.
The night had been relatively quiet, and so Giyuu allowed his thoughts to roam to the Shrine at the other end of the forest. He wondered whether its grounds were already abuzz with trainee priestesses and groundskeepers, as they flurried around to take care of their morning duties before breakfast was served.
Truthfully, his mind was only interested in the activities of one particular trainee, but the Water Pillar had no reason to drop by the once-reverent shrine, and so, he decided to stick to his current route, and then he’d make his way back for a few hours’ rest. If anything were amiss at the shrine, one of the crows he’d stationed there would alert him.
As Giyuu began to make the loop that would lead him back to his barren estate, a shift in the wind brought a change in scent from that of the usual dirt-pine-molded earth odor he’d always associated with the woods, to something softer; sweeter.
The Water Pillar frowned as the early morning breeze wafted more of the peculiar scent towards him. The herbal-floral fragrance was out of place amidst the familiar, damp rot of the forest, and it made him uneasy. Giyuu had long since learned that things that were out place usually spelled trouble, and where there was trouble, there was usually demon activity afoot.
That was all it took for him to change his course of action. With a fluid deftness that came only from years of having to tread lightly to avoid being ripped apart, Giyuu moved through the forest towards the source of the scent, it’s pull growing thicker as he drew nearer.
A cursory glance toward the canopy of the forest above him revealed a lightening sky; the stars had long since winked out, and the Water Pillar knew that the sun was well on its way to breaking over the horizon. But until that time arrived, the threat of demon activity persisted, and this unknown scent was far too close to not investigate.
Besides, if there was a demon in this forest, that meant it could stumble upon the Shrine at any moment, and that was a risk Giyuu would not take.
He took off in a silent run, eyes peeled to track any movement in the dark, his ears pricked for the slightest signal of something misplaced — an odd crack of a branch, or the sudden silence of the rising, tittering birds.
As the trail of strange floral perfume grew stronger, so too, did the distinct aquatic scent of nearby water. His eyes narrowed; only a few feet ahead, the trees thinned into a line before giving way to a large gap.
A clearing. One that housed a sizeable waterfall, judging by the telltale sound of roaring water as it smashed into a cluster of rocks below. He eased into a stealthy prowl toward the opening, his body alert and poised to respond to any threat that awaited him beyond the darker of the forest.
But all was quiet; yet, years spent within the Corps had ingrained within him a deep mistrust of silence. And so, Giyuu lingered in the shadows of the trees surrounding the small waterfall as he watched, waiting.
The raven-haired slayer’s attention snapped to a small disturbance over by the bank of the waterfall. The sky had lightened enough that he could make out a figure, clad in white, knelt down in the shallow of the river basin.
Giyuu’s hand drifted to the hilt of his sword, but as his eyes further adjusted, he felt his mouth go dry.
Silhouetted against the faint glow emitting from the waterfall and the rapidly lightening sky, Y/N sharpened into focus as she waded deeper into the pool, a small bucket cradled in her arms.
She was not dressed in her usual, traditional Miko attire; rather, she was clad only in a thin white kimono that clung wetly to her hips as she moved towards the waterfall. She paused at the base of the gentle flow of river from the cliff above, and she pulled a small vial from her bucket that she uncorked with one hand.
The shrine maiden poured the contents of the glass over her head, the liquid too viscous to be water. Giyuu closed his eyes and sniffed the air, and he noted that the scent of herbs and flowers now hung in the air like a thick perfume.
The Water Pillar’s gaze snapped back down to the vexatious Miko just as she filled her bucket with water from the fall. With a grace that he hadn’t realized the young woman possessed, Y/N lifted the pail over her head and tipped its contents over, allowing the water to pour down her frame, drenching her.
A cleansing ritual, Giyuu realized as he watched her repeat the process once more. And a very old one at that; he wasn’t sure many shrine maidens still partook in the rite.
Though, Giyuu supposed, it would make sense that Y/N would not only know of the outdated ceremony, but that she would practice it, given that she’d been raised by a grandmother who insisted on abiding by tradition at all cost.
He hadn’t realized that the mere observation of a cleansing rite meant that its participant would look the way Y/N did, standing in the cool spring, clad in nothing but a thin white gown that the water had nearly turned transparent. The Water Pillar’s worked to swallow around the lump that had formed in his throat as Y/N’s water-soaked kimono clung to her skin, revealing the soft, rounded curve of her backside and the delicate length of her legs that Giyuu hadn’t realized she possessed under the loose layers of her shrine outfit.
Giyuu shifted his weight in the tree, inexplicably enraptured by the Miko’s morning ritual to realize he’d startled a small bird into flight.
Y/N whipped around at the disturbance and the ravenette shrank further back into the shadows, his cheeks feeling bizarrely warm at the sight of the young woman now facing his direction.
Giyuu chanced a glance back at the Miko just as the sun broke over the horizon, its pale golden light reflecting off the calm surface of the spring, casting Y/N in the hoary glow of the cascading waterfall.
She looked…like she did not belong in this world. Her hair hung around her shoulders and down to her waist, and the spray of the waterfall clung to the strands like thousands of glittering stars. Her eyes were sharp and bright as they scanned the tree line for the source, her soft, reddened lips twisted down into an uncharacteristic frown.
Giyuu kept his assessment of her form, so stripped back and vulnerable, confined strictly to her face. It was bad enough that the sight of Y/N, standing in the luminescent water, had sent his pulse skyrocketing; he did not trust what would happen if he allowed his gaze to drop lower, to where that diaphanous kimono covered her chest.
Perhaps there was a perfectly logical explanation for his strange reaction to the image of Y/N, standing in the pool, that had nothing to do with her at all. He wondered whether some of the herbs she’d used in her cleansing oil could impart a physical effect on those exposed to their concentrated fragrance; Giyuu made a mental note to find a casual way to ask her, the next time he saw her.
Y/N turned away from him once more as she began to wade back over to the bank of the spring. Now that the sun had risen, Giyuu could spy the familiar white and red cloth of her kosode and hakama pants, folded in a neat bundle atop a small boulder.
Before the sun could chase away the shadows of the forest and reveal his presence, Giyuu turned away and retreated, willing himself not to ponder on the fact that she’d changed clothes, in the middle of a dark forest, just prior to his arrival.
Though, his commitment to not thinking about how the shrine maiden may have looked as she discarded her usual attire in favor of the flimsy bathing kimono she’d been wearing meant that Giyuu’s traitorous thoughts wandered instead to the memory of her standing hip-deep in the spring. His mind struggled to categorize the mental image of her — she was the same Y/N he’d come to know, and yet, something about her was different, though he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what it was.
The word he’d been searching for came to him not long after the sun had fully risen in the early summer sky, just as the sloped roof of his manor came into view.
Beautiful, Giyuu decided. Y/N was beautiful.
dividers from @/saradika • reblogs/comments/likes always appreciated!
#demon slayer#kimetsu no yaiba#giyuu tomioka#kny#kny x reader#kny fanfic#kny tomioka#tomioka giyū#kny giyuu#giyuu#kny giyu#kny smut#demon slayer smut#demon slayer fanfic#giyuu x reader#giyuu x y/n#giyuu x you
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I know you like bonenzo, but what are your thoughts on Carenzo?
I loved their banter throughout season 5, and in season 6 I fell in love with them and was really disappointed when they didn’t ever get together. Enzo is actually my favorite Caroline ship, as Matt was just bad for obvious reasons, Klaus hurt her multiple times (you could honestly call it abuse) and she used him all the time, and I just found her and Stefan extremely boring. I actually liked her and Tyler together, but too much damage was done for them to ever end up together imo.
Also do you think you’ll continue with TGW outtakes? If so, would you consider writing some extra scenes with Elijah, Hayley, and Astra while they were in France?
I adore platonic Carenzo.
If the writers hadn't been so determined to sideline Bonnie and prioritize Damon, Steroline and Bonenzo could have been such a fun group. Enzo and Stefan would have annoyed each other but they would have put up for it for Caroline and Bonnie. I wish they would have continued Stefan and Bonnie's friendship from the early seasons rather than giving it to Damon. It always seemed more realistic for me. Also, Enzo's loyalty to Damon and hatred of Stefan never made sense to me. Honestly, Enzo and Stefan could have bonded over being betrayed by Damon. Enzo just decides to forgive Damon for abandoning him and killing his love and blaming Stefan for everything??
I personally never wanted Caroline and Enzo to be romantic. They bonded during a time where Caroline really needed a friend and Enzo stepped up. It is one of the reasons I love Enzo's character. Enzo was the character they wanted Damon to be. He did a lot of bad (even terrible) things but was striving to be a better person and actually made himself a better person. I would have been fine with them writing Damon off and brining in Enzo for better storylines than they gave him. I also just love Michael Malarkey.
I am a huge advocate for platonic relationships. It's fine to ship people, but not everyone who gets along needs to be romantically invovled. Although I do definitely see why people ship them. But I liked that Caroline and Enzo grew to care for each other but never needed to make it romantic. And honestly, Caroline needed just friends. I feel like the writers were matching her up with anyone she came in contact with. Stefan was gone for five seconds and they had Enzo flirting with her. I wanted the show to focus on friendships/family more than the ships at times.
My favorite ships for Caroline are Steroline and then Forwood. I love friends to lovers. Nearly all of my favorite ships are. Both Steroline and Forwood had that great foundation before they started dating. They were each other's best friends. To me Steroline was always endgame. The way they fought for each other and looked out for one another was great. Forwood is a close runner up and would have been endgame had Klaus not gotten in the way for no reason. Tyler didn't deserve anything Klaus put him through. I think they could have found their way back to each other but they had both already moved on by the time the dust settled.
I did actually like Matt and Caroline at times but they were both just in emotionally fragile spots when they dated. But they were a cute high school relationship. I don't consider Klaus and Caroline a relationship -- it was just straight abuse.
I know I went on a lot of side tangents, but thanks for the ask! I don't talk about TVD nearly enough.
I am continuing TGW Outtakes! I'm also already writing scenes of them spending the weekend in Paris. There will be lots of wine, art, and kissing. I am just writing very slowly now that we are near the end of the story. There are so many lose ends to tie up.
#michael malarkey deserved more screen time#enzo was better than damon#argue with a wall#carenzo#caroline forbes#enzo st. john#bonenzo#steroline#forwood#stefan salvatore#tyler lockwood#tvdu#the vampire diaries#tvd#anon ask#fandom asks#tvd anon ask#tvd ask#fandom answers#tvdu metas#metas
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Claire, because you are the rearranging tracklist queen, I have come to you for help.
Since Maisie came out with the deluxe tracks of TGW, I have been STRUGGLING with where to place them on the tracklist. I love the original tracklist of TGW so much but having the deluxe tracks on after the end feels so jarring??? And I really only love The Last One and YOKO but I just can't figure out where to put them.
So I would like to consult you on tracklist wisdom and any advice you have is greatly appreciated. ❤️
i’m OBSESSED with yoko like. me and @loveaffairmaimyou were talking when the tracklist was released about how like, terrified we were that it was going to be bad, because it’s so easy to flatten her and the beatles into like. yoko is either Evil or Girlboss when both of those readings are just. bad. like it would be annoying to hear either of those takes. and then the song is like “sometimes there is no villian, there’s no big easy crisis point, there’s just two people who can’t express how much they care about each other in a way that the other person can hear” WHICH IS WHY THE BEATLES ACTUALLY BROKE UP mostly kinda it’s complicated
ANYWAYS i think yoko pairs really well with two weeks ago (like, i never told you i loved you but you know i did -> i never told you how i felt oh god you don’t know), and two weeks ago makes a perfect track five— absolutely devastating, but still the start of the story. my one hangup is it’s two slow songs right on top of each other, so maybe slide like. bsc in the middle?
my instinct with songs like the last one is like. it either has to be the first song or the last one. and i think the last one has big start of the story energy. like do good witch-> last one -> not another rockstar i think that would go so hard
i don’t know but now i’m hooked on playing around with this so i might come back to this later today
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S2E12. Writing Style (Or, Homer is an FF.net Writer)
Happy Friday! Our new episode is here!
In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) discuss the topic of building a writing style. They explore the question of whether fanfictions writers should strive to imitate established styles - like that of the author of the source work - or embrace their own unique style. They also touch on the relationship between their writing styles and their natural speaking voices, and Jo explains why she personally prefers a casual storytelling approach. They reflect on what they would like to change about their own styles and share their influences, including original fic writers and specific fanfiction authors. They also answer two listener questions: one about creating different styles for individual stories, and another about the balance between appreciating other people’s styles and finding one's own voice.
This week, we mention:
Fandoms: Harry Potter, The Good Wife
Fics: castles by pebblysand, In Search of Mythical Kings by copper_dust, Check the Spindle by copper_dust, Merry Men by copper_dust, The Seam Between by copper_dust, Run by ToujoursPadfoot (the platform this was published on no longer exists, the link is from the wayback machine), ce ne sont que des cailloux by pebblysand, the fault in faulty manufacturing by pebblysand, Minuet by fluorescentgrey
Writers: orbythesea, lowriseflare (see livejournal for TGW fics), dirgewithoutmusic, fluorescentgrey
Books: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, It by Stephen King
Previous episodes: S1E1. What is Fanfiction (Or, Children with Unsupervised Internet Access in the Early 2000s), S2E2. Outgrowing Fandoms (Or, The Harry Episode)
Your recommendations for this week are:
Kimbeen’s Maurice fics
Hated in the Nation (S3E6 of Black Mirror)
You can find us online at:
The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi
Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3
.
As said in the episode, this concludes the first half of our second season. We are now going on a break - but we promise this is a break, not the end - and we will be back in early September. For the summer, I (@pebblysand) will definitely be off but Lani may record a couple of guest episodes if she finds the time.
I also wanted to let you know that in order to make this podcast more accessible, I am currently working on writing and uploading transcripts to AO3. I’m not sure when that will happen but we will keep this tumblr updated.
Thank you all so much for all the support, feedback, questions, and downloads throughout this first half of the year. Thank you to all of our wonderful guests (@celestemagnoliathewriter, @rosalui, @btelling, @johaerys-writes, and @word-wytch) for their time. This podcast very much is a passion project, and our small but dedicated following is what keeps us running.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer, and we’ll see you in September.
#fanfiction#fanfic#writing#writing advice#podcast#fic#fanfiction podcast#fiction#creative writing#writer#writing tips#writing resources#how to write#writblr#Spotify
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happy good witch season! seeing as it’s fifteen weeks til the album drops and there’s fifteen songs on the album, i’ve decided to do a tarot card countdown where every week i drop a new card and tell u a little bit about one of the songs, from the very beginning to the very end.
so here we go, the first song, the title track. the good witch. i had this title in my mind (planted by a higher power it feels) but i knew for it to be the title of the album, i wanted it to be the opening track too. call it superstition, but the ysuft opener felt so right for me in that era that i knew her successor needed to create that same magic. i wanted another mission statement, another beginning for us to all center ourselves with, the ginger, the cleanser, the fresh page.
so i wrote tgw on my last day in decoy, a residential studio in suffolk i also visited for ysuft. coincidentally (fatefully), i wrote her on our last day there, as a final hail mary on the piano with joe sat in the other room working on want you back - if u trace back two years, i also wrote ysuft on my last day in decoy that first visit, also with joe sat in the very same chair.
this song has so much of my heart in it - written on that creaky piano, fuelled by romantic vision and rooibus tea, it really is the calm before the storm.
x
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omg u like maisie too how have I not known this...do u have a top 5 from tgw (oh tell me any least favorites too bc I love talking shit even when it's an artist I like plssss), I wanna compare bc I have STRONG opinions about this album!! (this is swiftie anon btw)
Yes yes yes I have very strong opinions abt it too & have been looking for an excuse to ramble on so thank you as always for letting me screech about music 🩵🤍💙 so my top 5 currently is as follows:
1-Watch (we love a devastating banger, I cannot wait to scream that "WHAT THE FUCK!" refrain w/ the crowd when I see her live. it was extremely hard deciding between this and my number 2 choice, like honestly putting anything over the history of man does feel kind of criminal but the chorus of watch has got to be the catchiest part of this entire album to me. also "telling the wide web that this is my era then writing a lot of heartbroken music, nobody actually happy and healthy has ever been so desperate to prove it" love that opening line. And the ENDING...ugh. anyways I give this track a gold star⭐ for free)
2-the history of man/the good witch (I consider these a pair since they're the same melody. phenomenal way to open & close the album and lyrical perfection, the first time I listened to the history of man my jaw was literally on the floor the whole time. quite literally a masterpiece, the lyrics actually kind of remind me of the way Lorde writes which is of course a compliment. like I'm sorry but "he stole our youth and promised heaven, the men start wars but troy hates Helen, women's hearts are lethal weapons, did you hold mine and feel threatened? hear my lyrics, taste my venom, you are still my great obsession" what the ABSOLUTE FUCK Maisie. like actually does she have any idea what that bridge did to me...offensive. appalling. illegal. I am deeply unwell)
3-coming of age (another certified banger. I looove the production on the verses, that bass line is crunchy as fuck. god I am weak for a stripped down bass backing track it always gets me. this song is just simply catchy as all hell.)
4-you lost the breakup (wbk this song rocks & its a great choice for the lead single. love how she changes up the chorus at the end it is everything...I hope she's predicting the future w/this. manifesting it. I'm rooting for her.)
5-BSC (another one I know is gonna be so fucking fun to scream along with at live shows!love it love it love it. screamed out loud at "I am both Kathy Bates and Stephen king, I can write you out the way I wrote you in" bc I love Misery so much...if you have seen it you will know how goddamn good this line is!!)
honorable mentions-want you back (emotionally devastating even though I can't relate at all, and so pretty melodically!) and yjabaiktm (simply a very fun song, a bop for sure)
my most controversial opinion on this album by far is that I do not fuck w/run at all. I just don't like it sonically, to me it sounds like it belongs on the lazy town soundtrack and not even one of the ones people unironically enjoy like we are number one (outsold by far). It's a shame tho bc the lyrics are obviously exactly my vibe & most ppl seem to love it + Maisie is promoting it a lot...wish I liked it but I just. can't.
#the other song I'm not fond of is there you go. once again just not vibing with it sonically#and the rest of the tracks are decent to pretty good but not enough to make me feral like the 7 i mentioned#but thats over half the album that i love which is RARE for me. usually only Taylor and sometimes fob can accomplish this#maisie peters#asks
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LMAO thinking the Great War is a breakup song when it literally ends with ‘I vowed I would always be yours cause we survived the great war’ is the worst analysis possible. And actually your connection makes a lot of sense because peace is what she’ll give her partner and ‘sit with you in the trenches’ shows she’s learned from the past and this time she’ll be the one who’s reaching for their hand cause he was on her side too… but some people are just dumb and mean, how sad for them
yes! like, she knows now that they're on the same side and if there's another war they will sit through it together. 'lyric parallel' maybe wasn't the best way i could have put it - 'the x to y pipeline' or something like that might have worked better. on the other hand, you could reframe tgw as a battle between their future together, and taylor's worst demons and impulses, in which case you could argue that he sat with her 'in the trenches' of the great war and never stopped trying to reach for her and tell her that they were on the same side, even when she didn't want to hear it. so then later on, when she tells him in peace that she'll do the same for him, it has extra significance.
#but that user was adamant (to the point of being incredibly aggressive and vitriolic about it) that she didn't even write tgw about joe#and it's toxic heterosexuality to think that she did mkldmfgkdnjfsnds#so none of this would have washed with them#but also... completely separate from the real-life song inspirations... that would still be a fun connection between the songs#that would be worth pointing out regardless of its direct significance to taylor's own life#anon#ask
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Connecting anon here🙋♀️( if you don't want to discuss it you can tell me btw. I know you might not want to discuss some things due to current situation)
I was thinking about the similar themes in both midnights and folkmore(again ignore the muses) and midnights,to me, is the pop version of folkmore
Ttds//midnight rain//dorothea: about fame vs small town life
Maroon//illicit affairs: remembering something that used to have her on chokehold and how impactful it was
Question//the1 : a relationship that didn't have closure which ended with you dwelling on it, trying to figure out where it went wrong and what you could have done differently.
Paris//the lakes: desire for that escapism with your lover and wanting to leave everything behind
Anti hero//this is me trying: self reflection sprinkled with some self criticism
Tolerate it//bejeweled: feeling unloved
Ivy // high infidelity: feeling dead until someone brings you back
Mastermind is the other piece of invisible string
Mad woman//vigilante shit: self explanatory
I could also talk about the hoax and tgw but I feel like that would be controversial.
the only reason i'm keeping the breakup more off-limits is because i feel heartbroken and protective for the both of them in that situation, and i don't want to invade it or analyze it too much, you know? otherwise, you're totally fine writing to me about anything and i love seeing your connections! totally agree with and hear everything you mentioned here.
i can't remember if i ever addressed this publicly (and my discussions aren't organized/tagged until after midnights' release 😭), but a friend and i definitely talked about how much midnights reflects on folkmore and brings quite a bit of it into focus, and reveals a lot of the truths and emotional experiences she wove into those albums, whether in the "fictional" songs or the diaristic ones. they all still come so much from the core of her. there are so many details and references that knit together, even though the musical styles and lyricism she relied on was different, it's like midnights is a way she found of reclaiming some of that ground. it is far from my favorite album, but i do think it's very intriguing as a reflection on everything that came before, and it serves a the closing of a lot of chapters in her life. it makes me wonder if she'll do another big pivot for TS11.
ps: talking to you inspired me to finally take my albums back out 💖
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I just watched the Lover video again after seeing your reblog. It’s been years since I saw it. The parallels in that gif set are fascinating! But I also now have a better understanding of the video knowing more about Taylor and Joe.
I assume it’s supposed to be different times in their relationship (both the good and bad)? With him jumping into the fishbowl with her, the fight, being there with her at a dinner/her birthday, dancing with her in the living room (that visual 🥺) along with sitting with her while she essentially writes songs (also 🥺). I also take him putting up the picture of Benjamin as they are moving in together and using Benji because that’s essentially their cat. And then at the end with the girl, it’s looking back at the good and bad that led to their family. I’m not sure what the room meant when they are on the ceiling. I missed the discussion years ago on this so I’m sure I didn’t catch other things!
Yeah the whole thing is essentially a celebration of them moving in together and combining their lives. But it also explores some of the insecurities that we see on the rest of the Lover album. We see her overreacting when he’s talking to another woman (Afterglow/TGW), and then them talking through it and reconciling.
The fishbowl metaphor is so poignant. He chooses to be with her despite the massive pressure and public scrutiny that it entails, and it just gets me every time 🥺
I love that you pointed out that he’s sitting with her when she’s playing the guitar (as if she’s writing), I never really thought of that!
#lilly answers#I’m not sure about the upside down room other than the scrabble which is they love to play together#maybe it’s just to show them having fun?
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First Tumblr Holy Grail War - END
There was nothing left but the two Terminals. Strings of data that had called themselves 'Ruler' and 'Avenger'. Their tether was gone- the Holy Grail shattered in an act of perfect coordination and harmony. As the Grail War came to a close, it was hard to tell which of them seemed happier.
'Avenger': "The simulation is collapsing faster than I thought… I guess we'll need to have a raincheck on that victory party. Shame, I was looking forward to it."
'Ruler': "Yes… another time. Us, and all of your Servants. It'll be wonderful."
'Avenger': "So that, and a billion more promises we can't keep. The data from this war is beyond salvageable. Once we're gone, that's it- at least, that's what we would be saying, if you all didn't navigate destroying the Grail so perfectly. Our data isn't corrupted at all!"
The Avenger snickered as the Ruler sighed, nodding in pensive affirmation.
'Ruler': "And here I was expecting a dramatic goodbye..."
'Avenger': "Nah. This is still goodbye. But our memories will still be here, and maybe... maybe we'll see each other again one day."
'Ruler': "Miracles can happen. Just remember to keep fighting, even after you leave this Grail War. Time goes on, data gets lost, but I think we made some memories here. Not as good as a wish… but I still think it's nice."
'Avenger': "…How about one more poll for the road?"
'Ruler': "Making them choose, even now? You really are evil."
'Avenger': "Not exactly. I think you'll like this one."
'Ruler': "…What a... creative choice, 'Avenger'. You're really something else, aren't you? Hehehe... goodbye, Masters. I'll miss you. Take care of yourselves."
'Avenger': "Safe travels, Masters. Don't forget about us, okay?"
...As they also disappeared with smiles on their faces.
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Séverin, drunk: I love Laila so much
Séverin: she's so good in every aspect you know, like the best part of someone's imagination
Laila:...
Séverin: don't tell her ohkay
Laila: ohk séverin, I won't tell him
#when is my obsession with tgw ending i do have work you kno#my dumbass will acquire another obsession in no time tho#so true#the gilded wolves#laila#laila tgw#séverin montagnet alarie#lairin#is the ship name#its final#at this point séverin can die#laial should see that im most def available#she can dance and ill collect the money#and we can burn patriarchy together#bonus points if we get to burn her father too#arson besties headcanon#ahahahahahah
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Oh Peach!
I promised I wasn’t going to fill your inbox with my TGW ramblings but oh my god 😭
The last few wee teasers and the cut smut scene I am dying over here, I love how you write Giyuu so so much 💙🌊
I hope both sides of your pillow are cool tonight
-🫧🫧
(PS that Netherwood snippet saying Shinobu’s SPARE bed 👀)
BOMBARD ME AS MUCH AS YOU WANT, SEEING YOU GUYS HYPED FOR TGW MOTIVATES ME TO KEEP WORKING ON PART I!!
Oh bestie if THAT has you hot and bothered, wait till you see the full scene of Giyuu putting his lessons from Tengen to use. Giyuu is addicted to Reader.
And, in fairness, while she doesn’t necessarily ✨finish✨ the first two times they fuck (pre-Tengen’s wisdom), she still has a good time. And they’re very tender scenes.
As for the “Shinobu’s spare bed” reference in the Netherwood snippet — have no fear!! It’s actually not what you think. At the end of Part III, you see Sanemi and Genya rushing Reader back to Shinobu for help, and so, she’s at Shinobu’s for the duration of the period in which she’s unconscious. When she finally does awaken, she stays there another few days purely so Shinobu can monitor her/her injuries. So this convo takes place not long after she regains full consciousness.
She stays only until she’s strong enough for Sanemi to take her home — and that’s where the real tension/angst sets it. 😈
Thank you my beloved Bublé!! I hope you are something yummy today!
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TGF Thoughts: 5x08-- And the détente had an end...
I did not like this episode! I had many problems with it! More under the cut...
A purple line is painted on a curb and then we’re watching footage of Wackner’s show. Question: do they only wear the costumes when it’s a low profile case? It was very noticeable they didn’t have them on in the cancel culture episode, and they don’t have them on in the Julius scenes in this episode...
Also, can I pretend that the horse and cat wearing tiara are meant to be BoJack and Princess Carolyn?
Del is remote-watching a focus group about Wackner’s show when Liz walks in. He refers to Wackner as “your guy” and Liz replies, “Must not be going well if you’re calling him my guy.” Sounds like “why is she my stripper when she does something bad?”
The focus group is in Vegas “where the real Americans live.” The clips from Wackner’s show being tested seem to be only the most ridiculous ones. Unsurprisingly, the focus group hates the show.
And here is my first question: Why are they testing a version of Wackner’s show that seems to be exclusively silliness? I know, you know, the writers know, and Del knows that that’s not funny.
Wackner Rules is not a good title.
I love Liz being amused by the focus group going poorly.
Why don’t people like Wackner Rules? Well, the cases are stupid—fights over barking dogs, shoes that don’t fit. They’d rather see burglary or robbery. This is silly, because while I’m sure most of Wackner’s cases are silly, we've seen a fair number of cases with a little more substance (or at least zaniness that makes them less mundane), including the one with the high profile comedian that was filmed explicitly to be part of this reality show. So is Wackner Rules, despite its cases financed by David Cord, just the most boring shit possible? And if so, why? Again, everyone involved here knows better than that.
Also is this just Del’s pet project? Is that why he is producing it, testing it, and approving it?
Liz rolls her eyes at the “wisdom of the crowd” on display. Then she shuts the laptop without realizing what she’s doing and jokes around about it.
If I were Del and my partner had just disparaged my work and then shut down my laptop while I was working, I would be furious. However, this is a bad episode of a television show and I love Liz so I am amused.
Del goes to fill Wackner in on how the focus group went. Wackner does not care about the opinions of twelve people. (This is funny, given that he has decided he is the most important person when it comes to making decisions and also that juries have twelve people too.)
No, dear god, no, please do not make me sit through tiny office jokes again. Have we transported back in time to season seven of TGW? I hated the door slamming against Eli’s desk then and I hate the sudden addition of this “joke” to Wackner’s chambers now.
The calendar says February 2021. Is it supposed to be February?
Apparently, the focus group likes the court, the costumes, and, mostly, Marissa. Just not the cases.
Marissa’s all, “well what do they want, a murder case?” and Del gives her a look like, “Can you???”
Again, the cases weren’t so silly they were boring in any other episodes and we know that Del/Wackner/Cord were meeting to discuss the best test cases for TV. So, like, how did people waste their time and energy making this obviously awful episode of TV for the focus group? No one involved is that clueless and it makes me dislike this plot.
AND RIGHT AFTER LAST EPISODE WHERE THE CASE ESCALATED TO THE POINT OF PRISON? I think that’s maybe my biggest complaint about this plot, and this episode as a whole. The last episode gave the this season a lot of momentum. Prison! Stakes are raised! Will Marissa say anything!? How much power is too much power for Wackner?! And then we get this episode, and it’s like, jk, forget about all that, now Wackner’s cases are drying up and everyone involved has zero critical thinking skills and we’re going to forget the prison thing ever happened!
“His court needs this show. Look at Trump. He wasn’t shit until The Apprentice,” Del tells Marissa after Wackner exits. Marissa does not react to the Trump reference, which may be the low point of this episode. Does Marissa Gold want to build the next Trump!? Is Marissa Gold not concerned that someone has just suggested that the goal of her show is to make someone in to Trump!? Hello?! This is not a reference you drop casually! I would be concerned about partnering with Del if I heard this! Marissa would be too! So why isn’t she?!
Also, this line + the “real Americans” as the target audience for Wackner’s show + the USA! Chanting at the end make me think the point here is somehow supposed to be about Trump and, like, cults of personality? I don’t really see it but I’ll reserve judgement until I see where Wackner’s arc ends up.
Julius heads to Wackner’s court to meet with Cord. He pitches them on his new firm. How is Julius going to start a new firm already? Wasn’t RL the only place that would take him? And pitching Cord on a firm with the 20% of staff that was laid off is a stupid idea, too. As Cord says, hiring the people laid off means hiring the “B-Team.” I dunno if that is actually true, but I know that Cord and anyone else who knows those were the people who were laid off will see it that way. Why is this in Julius’s business pitch? Like, is Cord wondering where Julius would get employees from? Is that a question?
Reddick & Lockhart, Julius says, is no longer eligible for no-bid government contracts. I want to know why: is this because RL is actually STR Laurie, or is this because Diane is white? If the latter, then you’d think we’d hear a little more about it...
Why is Cord calling the Copy Coop somewhere near the courthouse in a business district in Chicago “the middle of nowhere”?
Anyway, Cord passes on the new firm because it is not innovative and it does not disrupt anything.
Then Julius pitches the firm but with known-innovator Diane Lockhart and her client list. Cord is kind of interested. Cord cares that much about Diane? Alright.
Julius, after involving Diane, calls her to tell her what he’s done. When he gets back to his car, he is being given a ticket for parking in a purple zone. A purple zone is, apparently, court staff parking for Wackner’s court.
Julius rips up the ticket, then gets another ticket for destroying the ticket, and another ticket for destroying that ticket.
Wackner asks Marissa to find out how he can get out of the reality show. Marissa refuses and says she’s going to find out how they’re portraying Wackner, since the show benefits him. This is because he has “fewer cases this week than the week before, and fewer than the week before that. This court goes away unless more people know you’re here.” What? Where did that come from? I’m so confused. Last week Wackner had infinite money and a prison and was dealing with cases with settlements in the millions and famous comedians. Now his audience is dwindling and I’m supposed to care about this plotline? Thanks, but I cared about the plot you already sold me on, writers!
Hey, wasn’t there a thread at some point in this season about David Lee bugging Liz’s office? Odds we ever hear about that again?
Diane does not like Julius’s new firm idea. “David Lee is insisting that I stay,” Diane says, as though David Lee actually has that kind of power over her.
Julius points out that all the other partners are threatening to resign unless Diane is replaced, and “at a certain point, it won’t matter what David Lee says.” Diane says she’ll think about it.
Julius tries to talk to Cord again and finds that his car has been towed. This scene is too long, and watching Julius get confused by shifting, fake rules feels a little too much like the first Memo 618 episode. This episode only has a 40-minute run-time and we spend a lot of it on building up this plot. I don't really get why. Sure, it’s fun to watch people act incredulous, but we already know Wackner’s court is trying to put some muscle behind its authority (violence to encourage compliance, literal prison) so I don’t know why we need to spend so much time on what feels like a lower key bizarro version of a theme we are already aware of.
Just, like, do a boring ass case of the week episode if you don’t have ideas. Don’t regress the plotting and kill the momentum.
SPEAKING of killing momentum, remember how Carmen got a stellar introduction, a few episodes of development, and then pretty much disappeared for several consecutive episodes?
Then there’s another one of these scenes where Julius tries to get his car and more and more people enforce Wackner’s fake ticket.
I do not like “Wackner’s City of Chicago” being on the seal. I think he'd have something more clever than that on the seal.
David Lee calls Cord in to pitch him on bringing over all of his business. This scene confuses me, because you’d think Cord would be a big get for giant corporation STR Laurie. But no, David Lee wants Cord to bring his West Coast, East Coast, and Europe business to boutique firm Reddick Lockhart. Or, at least, that’s what Cord’s hesitance suggests to me.
Cord tells David Lee that Diane is leaving and that he won’t go to a firm that is breaking apart. David Lee denies it.
THIS sounds like the Hitting the Fan score.
David Lee insists that Liz and Diane drop what they’re doing and come up to his office. They do.
David asks Diane if she’s leaving. She says she was asked to join another firm, and that she was told that the equity partners are planning to resign unless she resigns, so she’s considering it.
“No one is threatening to resign without my permission,” David responds. Those must be some contracts if he is this powerful...
David warns Diane about poaching clients and she’s all, they’re free to leave if they want (ah, so they’re free to leave when you’re leaving but they’re your clients and can be stolen when YOU’RE losing them, I see). Liz is irritated by all of this and pre-accuses Diane of stealing clients after what she’s already done to keep her position. Fair.
David asks Diane what her issues are. “I’m a name partner being squeezed out of the decision making process,” she says. “And why is that, Diane?” Liz asks. “Because of my race!” Diane insists. “Because no one respects your decision to stay in your position. It is not yours by right,” Liz says.
“I’ve fought as hard as anyone here to keep this firm solvent. And I didn’t inherit this firm. I was invited in, and I earned...” OOOH FINALLY WE ARE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT LIZ HAD NO EXPERIENCE RUNNING A FIRM BEFORE THIS ONE FELL INTO HER LAP. Shame it’s a throwaway line.
STRL’s presence both adds and removes tension here. I wish they pushed this a little further. Sometimes David Lee seems to be functioning as an outside mediator; sometimes he has more power. What’s the point of all of these dilemmas and battles if at the end of the day, STRL owns and controls everything? How much can RL really mean to them? There’s even an RL in their name that doesn't stand for Reddick/Lockhart. I just don’t understand what it means to be a name partner in a black firm when that firm is actually controlled by some giant company. The way I see it, Diane should want out of RL because she’s past retirement age and being controlled by David Lee and that can’t be fun, and Madeline et al should want out because the mandate to focus on profit over social justice is not mostly coming from Diane or even Adrian’s legacy... it’s coming from the giant power and profit hungry corporation that owns you!
David has Diane and Liz stand on opposite sides of his desk. “Are you gonna spank us?” Liz says. I love funny Liz. Funny Liz is my favorite. But you know what I wish we also got more of? Liz’s thought process in general.
David’s point with this is that David is going to “come live and work with” Diane and Liz if they don’t figure it out themselves. I know they can’t easily get out from under STRL but Adrian did it so there’s surely a way to resign... this feels so demoralizing... I can’t believe Diane just takes this.
As they walk downstairs, Liz says, “If you’re going to leave, there’s nothing to talk about. “Liz, I don’t want to leave this firm. And you don’t want me to leave. So why don’t we hire a partner to replace Boseman?”
(1) I like that they’re acknowledging that Liz and Diane clearly want to work together and like working together and are having this fight mostly because they have to have this fight, not because they actually want to. Pretty much nothing Liz has done suggests she actually wants Diane to step down and pretty much nothing Diane has done suggests she actually wants to switch firms. So good, that’s text instead of subtext now.
(2) Weren’t they going to hire a partner to replace Boseman in the first place? Why didn’t that just... happen then and avoid all this?
Liz says she’ll think about it, but we all know that this is what she and Diane both want. This is where they should’ve been weeks ago.
OMG okay I knew they had talked about it before! In 5x02 Diane suggests this strategy from the start! Why does it go away!? It’s clearly the right strategy and doing it that early could’ve prevented a lot of conflict and tension. At this point, it feels almost too little, too late. What’s it going to do other than smooth things over with Diane and Liz?
They really are keeping the cameras rolling for Julius’s dumb parking ticket thing? Guarantee this does not make Wackner look good. As trivial as parking spaces seem, this feels like the sort of issue that would really piss off a lot of people. Maybe that would make good TV, but you want people to like and trust Wackner to keep people coming back to a reality show...
Julius, being Julius, refuses to apologize to Wackner and make the whole issue go away. I think why this rubs me—and so many others; I have seen nothing but negativity about this episode among friends and on the internet—the wrong way is that this feels like power for the sake of power. It is trivial, self-important (“Wackner’s City of Chicago”), disconnected from anything resembling reality. That’s not to say anything else about Wackner has been realistic, but the writers have been walking a very fine line between surreal, allegorical storytelling and straining credulity. This feels so mundane and unneeded that I actually have an easier time accepting that Wackner has created his own prison system than I do accepting that he’s tried to reserve parking spaces for his staff. At least with a prison, I see the larger-than-life point the writers are trying to make.
The parking attendant tells Wackner she wants to add more reserved spaces up the street and Wackner is like, oh, good! I don’t understand! Who is this lady that just wants to enforce Wackner’s rules? Does she want more spaces because it’s kind of a powertrip to give people tickets? Why do they need more reserved staff parking when cases are dwindling? Who is Wackner’s staff? Why do they need more parking?
And like, it’s one thing when Wackner’s antics affect people who are part of his little bubble, since they all have agreed to be there. How can he just reserve street parking? Wouldn’t this get shut down in a day? Julius would NOT be the only one furious.
Then Julius decides to steal Wackner’s book of seals so he can make it look like his ticket is paid.
So if they have footage from the cancel culture episode of Wackner Rules, why wouldn’t they have used it? We see it here, in the editing room, so why are the cases so boring again? (I’m sorry, I know I've said this like 1000 times, but it’s bothering me so much that this episode isn’t even internally consistent.)
(This whole plot is a time-filling detour tbh. I have no problem believing Wackner Rules could be an interesting TV show seeing as how I am watching it as part of an interesting TV show, so I don’t get why we need to spend all this time on how this obviously bad first draft of the show is bad and that it can be improved by fixing a non-existent problem? Also, there are zero stakes because Del owns the show and is also the one deciding whether or not to air the show.)
(Like, there could be a version of this where the focus group really helps us get into where Wackner’s stuff does and doesn’t translate and the changes he’s asked to make and how the fact it’s television changes the court, blah blah blah. Instead, the premise seems to be that the show is capturing what Wackner’s court was like in the days before Marissa or Cord or Del became involved, which makes no sense and is also boring!)
They’re mentioning Marissa being in the IDF again. This comes up because the re-edit of Wackner Rules is all about Marissa. This is kind of fun and meta! Marissa would definitely be a favorite on a reality show!
It turns out this re-edit is mostly about how the editor has a huge crush on Marissa.
I know that these tv writers know the process for tv writing and production better than I possibly could. I still do not believe that this reality show has one producer (Del) and an editor who is making executive decisions about the content of the show, and that this is for some reason happening in a mobile trailer parked outside of the court. Surely there would be meetings about what direction to take, not just a vague instruction to “make it better”?
In case I needed more evidence that the writers did not bring their A-game for this episode, we get Diane talking to RBG, again, because apparently now there are no other ways to clue us in on what Diane’s thinking. This is just lazy.
The RBG thing worked for me in 5x06 because it felt like a novel way for Diane to get to talk out loud, and that episode that wouldn’t have worked if we didn’t have a way to see what Diane was thinking. Here, it feels like the writers are doing it because they did it before and it worked and it’s thematically connected and it’s easy.
Doesn’t this entire scene just radiate laziness????
I know not every episode can be great but just don’t try to do something interesting and innovative if you’re going to half ass it.
I’m not even bothered by the thought that Diane daydreams about conversations with RBG. I buy that. I just don’t need this conversation (which feels way too much like it’s supposed to be an actual conversation for my taste).
OMG please stop talking about how RBG and Scalia were friends, I beg you, if you’re going to do this device again can you at least have a different conversation.
So much exposition. Diane knows someone named Allegra through EMILY’s List and thinks she’ll be a perfect choice for the third partner. Diane did hear she had a meltdown, though.
Julius gets arrested for stealing Wackner’s sticker book. When he starts shouting about how it’s a fake court, the officer is like, “As real as Officer McFinely’s death?” calling back to the last episode. I do find it interesting the police would be willing to overlook Wackner’s complete disregard for the law because of a grudge involving the law firm, and I like that choice.
Allegra is basically a slightly more toned-down version of Elsbeth. She has a messy, rented office, and trails off mid-thought. Since she’s kind of a familiar character type, I’m not overly impressed by her, but she’ll be fine to add some little bits of humor to the office drama, I think. My hope is that they use her in small doses, because I have a low tolerance for quirk.
Allegra’s office has tons of books. I can’t see what most of them are, but she has a copy of The Nix, and I liked that book! It’s the only fiction title I can spot; the rest seems like political commentary or pop sociology/business stuff.
Diane mentioning her RBG hallucinations to Allegra is probably a very smart way to win over Allegra.
Marissa encourages the editor, whose crush is so obvious it’s uncomfortable, to put Wackner’s outburst in the show. The one about how Del is using the show to rehabilitate the comedian!? Why would Del air that?! How does this help anything?! If the goal is to get Wackner’s court more cases, why would this make anyone choose to take their case there?
The police bring Julius to Wackner’s court, which I have a slight bit of trouble believing (not that any of this is believable, but you know what I mean—I don’t feel like it’s logical given everything else I know about this premise) but I'll roll with.
Now there’s some ridiculous, awful fake lawyer who was “devil’s advocate” with devil horns in the last episode and David Cord is prosecuting Julius and... what the actual fuck is going on in this scene? This Devil’s Advocate man would not have lasted a second in what we’ve seen of Wackner’s court before this point—he is an obvious liar and showman who Wackner would have no patience for. And if Cord has a bone to pick with Julius, this is an odd way of showing it, because it feels like Cord is there as a familiar face and not for a story reason.
Like, does Cord actively HATE Julius? Is... that supposed to be the point of this?
Seriously though, Devil’s Advocate would get like two sentences into his story about how Julius grew up poor before Wackner would make him stop, and if he got farther than that, Julius interrupting to ask “What are you talking about?” would’ve prompted Wackner to hold up that “cut the shit” card.
This humor is so fucking lazy. In the worst moments of this show, they take gags that have previously been successful and run with them until you can’t believe you ever found them endearing. That’s this scene.
Also it just occurred to me when I referenced the “Cut the Shit” card that we’ve seen Wackner be able to get audience responses to his cases. Seems to me like you pretty much already have your focus group results, no? You do more of the things that make the live audience excited and fewer of the things that make them get up and leave. The things that the live audience plays along with and reacts to are the catch phrases you’re going to put on merchandise. I’m not a TV producer and this is very obvious to me.
Instead of telling this lying lawyer to stop, Wackner instead asks the court musician to play “This is Us like music.” Make it stop. I don’t know who finds this funny but it’s not me!
Can you IMAGINE the fake reality show airing any of this? I dislike it and I know all of the players and context.
There is a shot of Del looking excited to see what’s going to happen. I’m sorry, but if Del’s instincts are this bad I just do not believe he runs a streaming service. Maybe his main role is to do the business stuff, not the content stuff? (But if so, why’s he always hanging around Wackner’s court?)
This episode is full of extremely essential scenes, like Marissa and the editor having sex as they watch footage of Marissa. Good for Marissa, I guess? This could’ve really easily just been implied. And if you really want to give Marissa more material, give her an arc, not a hookup where the focus of the sex scene is the editor dude. Or, like, just let her react to the whole prison revelation from the last episode. WHY ARE WE NOT TALKING ABOUT HOW WACKNER IS SENDING PEOPLE TO PRISON?
Liz and Allegra meet. Allegra makes it sound like it is about her book but then she’s extremely (and intentionally, I think) obvious that she’s there to be the third partner and that Diane scouted her.
What is the point of Allegra asking if Liz has a view of Willis Tower and misidentifying the building? Presumably Allegra lives in Chicago, so you’d think she’d know its most recognizable building by sight (and would probably also call it the Sears Tower).
Liz likes Allegra.
Now there are a ton of cops in court and Del is loving the drama. Sure, it’s dramatic, but is this really want you want to air? Some convoluted thing where a bunch of police officers intimidate a lawyer who works at a firm that was unfairly linked to a cop killing because that lawyer refused to pay a parking ticket issued by a fake court? Who... who is this for?! What’s the angle? Who is amused by this?
Marissa sees Julius is the defendant and jumps into action. She asks Wackner why he’s prosecuting Julius and he says it’s his job. She argues that Julius is from their firm and this is bullshit. Wackner still won’t let him go.
If Julius is from the firm and Wackner employs the firm, is Julius NOT covered under the court employee banner? Why do I even care.
Wackner acts like he’s just not bending the rules, just like Marissa wanted. I’m not interested in this enough to decide whether I agree that this is consistent or think this is actually a different scenario. I just want to be done with this episode so I can forget about it.
I imagine—maybe hope is a better word—that this episode is bad because it’s hard to write five great episodes in a row without kind of phoning one in. I wish this episode didn’t kill the momentum coming out of 5x07 but I’m hoping that it is an isolated issue and not a drop in quality that will also spoil 5x09 and 5x10.
Wackner closes the door on Marissa, which I think is supposed to be meaningful, and Marissa calls Diane down to Wackner’s court to help Julius.
Diane and Liz both go to court. “I’m about to be sent to prison for parking in a purple zone,” Julius explains. “What does that mean?” Diane asks. “If I explained it to you, it wouldn’t make any more sense,” Julius says.
Oh so now we remember that Wackner’s prison exists. When I said I wanted more about it, I didn’t mean that I wanted it looming as a threat... I meant I wanted to explore what it meant that Wackner was promoting prisons...
Diane asks if they should call the police, “the real ones.” I like that it takes her a second longer than Liz and Julius to understand the cops are real. Liz also notes that the SA’s office won’t help either because they might be happy with anything that fucks with RL. This scene is decent. Some of the themes in here are decent. It just feels poorly timed and with the emphasis in the wrong place. I imagine the goal here is to show that Wackner is now more concerned with enforcement than with the process for trials, and that enforcement brings with it a lot of uncomfortable questions. I wish that we’d spend less time on the incredulous reactions and silliness and more time reckoning with those questions.
The next focus group likes the Wackner anger outburst, because, in Del’s mind, they want to see Wackner care about something. Does Del have the worst judgment ever? Wackner looks invested in every single thing he does—how could anyone accuse him of not seeming like he cares? His whole thing, the whole thing that got Del’s attention, is that he pays each case the kind of individualized attention it deserves. Now he only looks like he cares if he blows up? Even if the thing he’s caring about in the explosion in question is his own reputation? Is Del trying to make Wackner into a mid-2010s anti-hero? And if so... why?
Wackner’s outburst that accuses Del of corruption is apparently so good it got an unprecedented “95%” from the focus group. Sure. Why not.
Then Del tells him to keep doing cases “just like this” and they’ll keep the court going. Does that mean just like the ALREADY HIGH PROFILE AND ALREADY HAND PICKED FOR TELEVISION cancel culture case, or cases like the Julius case? If the first, well, duh, that’s why they picked that case in the first place. If the second, again, why?
“You and your colleagues think you get to decide when and how justice is determined. You think it is your right to make and break the rules as you see fit,” Wackner says to Julius. UM, WACKNER, THAT IS LITERALLY YOUR ENTIRE DEAL???????????????????????????
That’s the point, right????? Please tell me the point of this is that Wackner is supposed to look totally hypocritical and like an egomaniac who thinks his own judgment should not be questioned but everyone else’s should be????????????????????????? If this line isn’t meant to be supremely ironic I... I wouldn’t even know where to start.
“The law belongs to the people,” Wackner says, and the cops start chanting, “USA!”. What?!
And then we cut away from this and suddenly we’re welcoming Allegra to the firm and... did I miss an entire episode or something? What happened with Julius? Why are Liz and Diane smiling? How did Diane and Liz’s conversation about Allegra go? Did the other partners agree to this? Did David Lee? This is a very big development! I need more!
Madeline seems welcoming towards Allegra. She and another partner are still suspicious of Diane because they have seen right through this strategy. So... I guess we aren’t done with this arc yet.
Aw, Liz has a picture of herself with her son when he was a baby on her desk.
Diane and Liz drop Wackner as a client. It takes longer than it should for Marissa’s name to come up in this conversation.
If you were wondering about the Julius case we spent most of the episode building up, it’s resolved off screen by Wackner releasing Julius with time served. Why? Don’t know. Did it seem like it was headed that way during anything we previously saw? Nope.
Wackner won’t let Diane and Liz back out, saying he gets to choose his representation (does it REALLY work this way?) and also, probably more importantly, that they won’t be able to get all of Cord’s business if they piss him off by dropping Wackner.
Wackner also notes that they picked up his pilot. I’m sorry, what? Del didn’t just decide that the series he created for his streaming platform would be straight to series? That whole little “Wackner doesn’t test well” plot was resolved by showing an episode with the COTW they obviously should’ve shown from the start and then Wackner made a total of zero changes to his behavior or attitude and now the show is a huge success? What was the POINT? Why did I just watch that?!
“Fuck,” Liz says as the episode ends.
I’ve kinda always thought this, but it’s worth saying again: Madeline and company should resign from the firm. BOTH RL and STRL care more about profit than anything else. Liz and Diane want to work together. Liz and Diane both take the threat of losing Cord’s business seriously. If Madeline wants a firm that’s focused on social justice, it doesn’t matter if Diane is name partner or not. Liz is probably even faster than Diane to decide things based on money, and even if she weren’t, STRL owns them! Plus, I have a feeling that Diane, her clients, Liz, and Cord are probably individually worth more to STRL than Madeline and the other partners combined. If Allegra is down to pursue profit and deal with corporate overlords too, then Madeline and the others matter even less to STRL. Just cut your losses and start the firm you want to start. At this point it won’t even compete with RL.
Don’t get me started on this absolutely idiotic title sequence for Wackner Rules. I’m sure this is someone’s idea of a joke. If I take it seriously, then I have to write about how it is even worse than all of the things I just complained about for the entirety of this recap, and honestly, I’m exhausted.
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20 Questions: Writer's Edition!
I haven't been tagged in this but I saw it on @femellerklem's blog and as I'm on holidays with nothing to do, here it is for everyone's enjoyment, haha.
How many works do you have on AO3?
19
What’s your total AO3 word count?
302,756 words. As I was telling @whizzfizz the other day, I need to get a life.
How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
The Good Wife, HP, Spooks, Silk, House M.D., Peaky Blinders and Without a Trace. So, seven. Like Horcruxes, lol.
What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
That's an interesting question, let me check.
one: castles (hp) ; two: the wolf's just a puppy (and the door's double locked) (hp) ; three: truth (peaky blinders) ; four: slipped (and sad something sort of like your name) (hp) ; five: the things that will likes (the good wife)
I can't say I'm shocked that the Potter stuff is so high up, it's the most popular fandom I've ever written for so it makes sense, just in terms of a larger readership pool. I'm always however pleasantly surprised that Truth is up there. It's the only PB fic I've ever written (although I have plans for another one) and not a particularly popular ship, so it's always nice to get recognition for it. IIRC, it wasn't a hit when I put it out but it's been growing steadily ever since! It was also the first fic I wrote after a three-year writing slump, which makes me oddly proud of it. It's not perfect by any means and has obviously been contradicted by canon since then, but I like it.
Please, however, stop dropping kudos on the things that will likes. It's really not great. I do hope my writing has gotten better since 2012 and don't understand why people like this. I've considered deleting it so many times but it's got so many kudos, it make me feel bad for the people who do enjoy it.
Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
Always on AO3, never on ff.net. I just find the PM-ing system clunky on ff. I'm not always as prompt answering as I'd like to be anymore, but I do make a commitment to always answer eventually. It's just that, if you've ever looked at it, you'll know that my comment section is something to behold. I tend to get a lot of "long" comments on my stuff, so I also leave very long responses in return, which take a while to get to/write. This being said, I love debating/chatting/commiserating with my readers and have made some fantastic friends through my AO3 comment section. I basically live for people's long comments lol. I just wish I had more time to get to them quicker haha.
What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
I don't know, maybe my most recent one, I suppose? Or horses made of sticks? I tend to get very dark and angsty throughout my works, but always end on a brighter note. Those two are about death/loss though and there's a permanency to it that you can't really avoid.
What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
I mean, that fic's a 143-thousand-words journey but probably children. I like where it ends. It's a good place.
Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?
Never have. I might one day but it just sounds like a lot of effort.
Have you ever received hate on a fic?
Everyone has I think. The best one though was someone on castles who wrote "first learn when spring season starts and ends before writing a story about it. what a joke." I'm still baffled by it cause, like, May's in spring, isn't it?
Do you write smut? If so what kind?
Yes and no. I have written sex, yes, aspects of it at least. There are two sort-of explicit sex scenes in children, and one very explicit one. This being said, I mostly concentrate on one specific detail while writing sex, and blur out the rest. A bit like the scene in which Harry pulls off the condom after having sex with Mia in castles. The latest chapter of castles is also obviously very explicit, but it's not really writing "sex" as such. I write smut when it shows something, when it has a point. I don't write smut for the sake of smut but if explicit sex has a place/point in a story then I do write it.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know of. Not that I have ever checked either though, lol.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Nope. I'd love to though!
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
No. I've beta-ed but not co-written.
What’s your all time favorite ship?
It's funny cause I definitely write romance, but I don't consider myself a "shippy" person. I fluctuate, I'm mostly interested in storylines/characters, rather than ships themselves. A bit like sex, I think romance is an element of life. But, if I had to choose one and because I've written 143k words about them, I think I'll say Martha/Clive on silk.
What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
The TGW Will-lives AU. There's 20k words of it somewhere on my hard drive but honestly, doubt I'll ever write it.
What are your writing strengths?
I've been told I'm very character-based, whatever that means. I've been told I'm good with dialogue. Very "vivid". I honestly don't know but if there's something you really like about my style, by all means, tell me haha.
What are your writing weaknesses?
I could edit myself into the ground. I have to limit the number of editing runs I do on things or else after a while I start obsessing over each and every word and the quality actually goes down. I've been known to delete a lot of things and regret it afterwards. I think if I ever wrote a book you'd find me in bookshops picking it up and correcting the copies after it's been published haha.
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
Very tricky. I did it a bit in ce ne sont que des cailloux but only in a language I actually speak.
What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Without a Trace. A 2000s procedural lol.
What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
My fave is always my latest one so far lol. Which is a good thing I suppose 'cause it means I'm enjoying what I'm writing and getting better? So, right this minute, it's listening for that angel choir, but it'll be something else soon haha.
Tagging @copper-dust and @whizzfizz if you haven't done this yet - not sure!
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