#apologies for any super obvious typos but i need to go to bed before work tomorrow. sigh.

[i-am-become-a-name]

Re prompts! I’m pretty sure Nyssa is to me what Tegan is to you- ie favourite companion, beloved character, light of my life etc. Any moment with Nyssa in the aftermath of Logopolis- her entire world taken away from her- would be greatly loved by me <3

I shan't lie, I struggle to ever remember having thought of Nyssa as a lone character, outside of the units she's part of. So this was a bit tricky (and required much reference to her wiki page, a bit of fudging, and looping of the song Good King Wenceslas.) I hope it doesn't do her, or you, a disservice.

December 2nd - Nyssa.

She couldn’t sleep, the tranquillity she had come to expect of a Traken night interrupted by the breathing of the new traveller they had picked up, almost as strident in sleep as she had been awake, and that slight presence at the back of her mind - the TARDIS itself, she thought - happy and sad and a rainbow of emotions that she couldn’t find the names for but that came into being like small bubbles of feeling that tickled and burst in the back of her mind as the TARDIS reacted to whatever was being related to it, perhaps by the Doctor, perhaps by the outside world. Whichever it was, it was not Traken. Could never be Traken again.

 She drew her borrowed nightgown around herself and padded to the door. If she couldn’t escape the noise in her own mind, she could at least leave behind the sighing and grumblings of a sleep she could not achieve mocking her. The corridors were cool and bright, clean lines that both reassured and made her ache for home. Castrovalva had had some of the same lines, perfection through cold mathematics, before it had begun to fall apart. Logopolis too, had shared that order before the Time Lords had intervened. Before this- before the Doctor had stolen a new face for himself. And she had watched, watched with the fascination of a scientist introduced to new data in a once predictable experiment, and knew it was not by the same method the Master had… chosen his new face, but she was wary of him in the same manner. There was nothing in these new eyes that echoed anyone she had known, but she had been frightened for a moment at the bottom of that tower that in those oversized clothing it would be her father again, her father with his same kind voice, saying such unkind and dreadful things. 

Her feet had carried her past the living areas, past the door Adric had disappeared through self-importantly, past the kitchen they had all felt too awkward to take advantage of, as though the domestic necessity of making a meal was to diminish the catastrophic events of the day, to forget about the worlds that would never make their meals again. She, selfishly, she now admonished herself, had not been capable of assuaging their guilt in the matter, had been numb to the social conventions that had been instilled in her as the daughter of a consul. 

She missed her teddy bears suddenly. Grief for the whole of Traken was too overwhelming to consider, the incomprehensible state of no longer being a daughter of her father, of no longer have a place to call her home were all too large to be thought of logically yet, needed more space, more peace than she was capable of gaining here to think about. But her teddy bears, tucked tidily away on her bed when she had completed her ablutions- yesterday morning? A lifetime ago? were no longer there. How could she sleep if she no longer had Big Bear to guard her safety? It had been silly, a child’s superstition she had been too old for already but had continued as tradition, but it was suddenly the most important thing that there should be something of her home to guard her. But all she had carried with her was her clothing, a comb and a bag. 

A small bubble of grief rose in the back of her mind, and she didn’t know if it was herself or the TARDIS she was feeling. Or even perhaps, in a flight of unreality, the TARDIS was grieving for her, with her. Such a trivial thing, she knew, but still she mourned such childish superstitions she could never truly feel again, for all that the teddy bears had guarded was now lost, herself most of all. Another twinge redirected her feet, and now she knowingly allowed the TARDIS this, too tired, too numb of all but trivial sorrows to resist or fear the push of a stronger mind on her own. Doors blurred together in the corners of her eyes, and she failed to muster an interest in what could do that, whether speed had possessed her, whether the TARDIS was doing it. Or whether it was simply the tears she could not seem to let fall. But one door stopped, and her in front of it, the pressure on her mind now gone. Her hand, weighing as much as each planet that had been destroyed, lay on the handle, pushed it down of its own accord. 

In neat rows upon a table lay beakers, neatly coiled tubing, stacks of bound books that she knew suddenly would open to crisp new pages. A laboratory, as tidy as if it had never before been touched. Equipment lay in the shadows beyond the pool of light from the open door, both that which she recognised from her studies, and ones she would have to learn the purposes of. A mix of things from home, and the future she had yet to learn of. She had brought more than her clothing and a comb to this new world, and while it would take time for the numbness to truly lift, her mind with all its carefully taught lessons, from dancing to politics to science would wake again. She did not know if dancing or politics would feature in this future she was tentatively beginning to believe in, but science would always have its place. Entropy may be a certainty of the universe, but so was progression, and Nyssa knew which she would prefer to aid. 

But tonight was not the night, nor a nightgown safe clothing for a laboratory. She retreated, closed the door momentarily on the offering, and allowed her feet to carry her back to bed. The TARDIS would guard her till morning, she hoped, and then, perhaps, the future could begin. 

[inverrerdise]

“Get Away” MV Breakdown and Theories

Before I break down the patterns and themes in the MV, I first want to give a brief overview of what seems to be going on. This is, of course, my interpretation of the MV--if you have a different take on what happened please share with me!! I love discussing theories in MVs :D

Additional Note: I’ll do my best to summarize any information I think is important to the theory, but in some cases I’ve already discussed the topics in more detail in previous posts. So, you can feel free to check those out if you’re looking for more detail. For Thunder + Connect DIY Theory post click here and for the G.B.T.B. post click here.I apologize for typos or any other mistakes made.

The MV Overview:

Verivery has always played around with the ideas of clones/other versions of yourself in their other works, but this is the first time we see it so explicitly used. Get Away has a very clear good and evil dichotomy of Verivery and VRVR.

VRVR seem to be luring Verivery into their trap, inviting them to a nice dinner of celebration, tempting them with food and drinks that eventually turns Verivery gluttonous and eventually subdues them. VRVR seems to have the goal to be only version. 

The letter:

Here is the transcription of the letter for anyone interested:

My dear friends,

We are confident that you will remember us, for we have always been with you and each moment spent was full of delight and wonder. This letter is to express our joy and thanks to you. Thus, we would like to present you a small gift. We believe this will be a meeting with a quaint yet delectable meal shared by wonderful people, such as you. However, it’s your job to find the key to this party. Let me be so kind to offer you a hint: Each possess a small point. 7 will make a large Point will open. Only this way will you be able to enter this festival that we have so elegantly prepared. Merely imagining the glorious spectacle makes our blood tingle with excitement. We will be waiting for you.

Yours truly,

VRVR

The part of the letter of most interest is this: “Let me be so kind to offer you a hint: Each possess a small point. 7 will make a large Point will open. Only this way will you be able to enter this festival that we have so elegantly prepared.”

Notably, the instructions to Verivery indicate that 7 people are needed to get into the party. Only the 6 of them are seen forming the circle that allows them into the party, but after Verivery have been transported to VRVR’s layer a mysterious figure appears in the forest. I will address this figure more later in the discussion on some of the possibilities on who, exactly, this is.

The masked man:

At the very beginning of the MV, a figure is seen running through the forest, running from the floating orb that we see later in the MV. He appears to be dressed in a black suit. Eventually he gets caught, and a mask is thrown over his head.

During this scene, a compass is shown on the man’s wrist. The compass’s appearance makes me feel that this figure is connected to Minchan in some way, as he is the member most commonly associated with compasses in their MVs.

Minchan used the compass in Thunder to search for Kangmin and used it in G.B.T.B. to search for Gyehyeon (you can find more on this in my previous theories if you are interested.)

It is possible that he is trying to search for the entire group now, but it is hard to say anything definitively as we don’t know if this representative is supposed to actually be Minchan or just another figure.

The masked man makes a couple more cameos:

1) After Verivery have been transported into VRVR’s layer through the hole in the ground, a mysterious man appears beside the hole. It is worth noting that this might not be the masked man, as we don’t actually see the figure from the neck up, so it is hard to confirm this or not. However, he is wearing a black suit like the previous figure was.

2) At the very end we see the masked man wandering a looping, circular hall by himself, possibly trying to escape as his hands are out reached as if he is trying to find his way.

The red scarf/blindfold:

After Verivery have disappeared through the hole, a red scarf is seen blowing in the wind above the hole. This scarf was last seen in Minchan and Yeonho’s possession in G.B.T.B., but Minchan likely carries the greater significance here.

We have a solo shot of the scarf, which is quickly followed by the mysterious figure’s appearance beside the hole (and a pair of shoes, but again, I’ll get to my two possible theories on that later.)

In this MV, however, the scarf is not used as a blindfold like it was previously.

The symbolism of “O”:

The symbol of “O” makes several appearances throughout the MV. This “O” in the name of their new series “Series O” is supposed to represent the dark space hidden within each individual.

With that in mind, let’s consider the many appearances of “O” or circles throughout the MV.

A few examples include: the orb, the circle table they sit around in the tent, their circle dance set (first seen in G.B.T.B.), the boys forming a circle together (first seen in Thunder) before they are transported their next location (through a circular whole in the ground), the circle of beds they wake up in, the circle of forks, the circle table they sit around for the feast, and the circle of chairs they are seen in when at the gunpoint of VRVR. There is also the significance of the focus on eyes in this MV, another example of a “O” first seen with Dongheon’s eyes when they arrive in the circle room, and then Kangmin’s eye when they are tied up by VRVR.

Interestingly, you’ll notice that VRVR are surrounded by much more square and rectangular objects in their scenes such as the TVs and even their table. Compare this to the circles constantly used with Verivery.

When VRVR leave their hideout to fetch the incapacitated Verivery, a blue “O” appears on the screen, perhaps indicating that VRVR are the dark space hidden within Verivery, and their victory over Verivery in this MV.

The topic of surveillance:

Surveillance is a very prominent idea in this MV, as we can see several shots of VRVR monitoring Verivery.

Before I get into surveillance in this particular MV, I want to talk about Verivery’s history with surveillance. Surveillance and monitoring in Verivery MVs goes all the way back to Super Special.

In Super Special, there are several scenes of the boys with a recording filter over the MV. But perhaps most significantly, is the scene in which Kangmin finds a wall of TVs.

The next most obvious connection to surveillance is in Tag Tag Tag. Here, Yeonho finds an old TV with footage of their group entering the house.

Another recurring image with surveillance, is specifically the old TV. This old TV hasn’t appeared in every single MV, but it has been in Ring Ring Ring, Tag Tag Tag, Lay Back, and now Get Away. There is a TV/Screen seen in Thunder, but it is not the same design as the one that appears in the MV’s previously listed. This could be due to the 80s aesthetic they were aiming for in that MV, though, so it is worth mentioning. From Now has no clear TV, except maybe the monitor that sits on Dongheon’s desk. But Ring Ring Ring, Tag Tag Tag, Lay Back, and Get Away have the most obvious connection with the TV.

The floating orb seems to be one of the main means of surveillance throughout this MV. It is how VRVR sees what Verivery is up to.

Hoyoung as the mastermind:

Based on the MV, it’s quite prevalent that VRVR Hoyoung seems to be one in charge of the VRVR charge against Verivery. Before we get into that a little background on Hoyoung:

Hoyoung’s role in Verivery MVs isn’t always consistent, but there are a select few times that we’ve seen evidence of Hoyoung being a mastermind prior to Get Away. In From Now, Hoyoung is the one responsible for shooting the planets, a spectacle that all the other boys see and are impacted by. And in the first Face It concept trailer, Hoyoung seems to be trying to collect signals from each of the other members and sketch their location out.

Whether this was Verivery Hoyoung or VRVR Hoyoung isn’t clear, but I would speculate Verivery Hoyoung. It’s possible that his other version is just as calculating, if not more, than he is.

In Get Away, Hoyoung is the first VRVR member we see, and he happens to be alone observing the surveillance of the Verivery members.

Something interesting to note, is that prior to Verivery partaking in the feast and becoming intoxicated, Hoyoung is the only member who has a solo shot in his VRVR form. All of the other members sing in their Verivery form. But after the Verivery members have eaten the feast, only VRVR are seen singing the rest of the song. Hoyoung never has a solo shot of his Verivery version singing/rapping.

Kangmin:

Now, we could just assume that everyone in Verivery is good and everyone in VRVR is simply their inner darkness personified. And that’s a totally reasonable conclusion given how the MV ends with VRVR subduing and seeming to be victorious over Verivery. It’s clean cut. However, what’s the fun in that? Besides, there seems to be a lot more complexity in Verivery MVs for that to simply be the case.

Kangmin has obviously been at the center of a lot of their MVs. We’ve known something is up with him since Tag Tag Tag, and it’s a popular theory that this is when the real Kangmin and the fake (VRVR?) Kangmin were switched.

However, there is the possibility that fake Kangmin has been around a lot longer than we originally thought, which is suggested through this scene in From Now in which we see Kangmin putting a finger to his lips, as if telling the viewer that he has a secret. Kangmin again puts his finger to his lips at the beginning of Get Away.

This suggests that the fake Kangmin could have been around before Tag Tag Tag even.

In Thunder we see that the real Kagmin was presumably rescued by the other members from whatever he had been running from (his fake alter ego perhaps?)

But things are still as complicated as ever for Kangmin’s character it seems, so let’s look at little bit closer at him in the Get Away MV.

At one point, Kangmin with the VRVR group reaches for a sandwich/bread but is stopped by Dongheon how thrusts his fork into the sandwich/bread. This could be because while the other VRVR and Verivery members are enjoying their gluttony in rich foods and drinks, Kangmin notably goes for a very simple, plain food. It’s suspicious to Dongheon why Kangmin is not enjoying the more expensive food.

Dongheon and Kangmin both stare each other down, and the other VRVR members look on throughout the exchange. Dongheon then aggressively confronts Kangmin and threatens him, but then Gyehyeon intervenes.

Gyehyeon:

Now, Gyehyeon’s role here is important, considering what has happened to him in the last few MVs. In the Connect + Thunder DIY, Gyehyeon was the focus. He was the only member who never had an item that he was holding turn red. Towards the end of that MV, Gyehyeon wakes up in a barren room by himself, followed by the Latin translation of “He acknowledges, and he has feared me.” The final scene from the DIY MV is a blurry perspective shown from the floor, which is presumed to be Gyehyeon, trying to make out the exit.

The meaning of this is up to interpretation, but it could suggest that Gyehyeon has figured out something about the existence of VRVR members hence the “he acknowledges and he has feared me” (in other words, he has figured out the existence of his darker self.)

As I mentioned, earlier Minchan seemed to be looking for Gyehyeon in the G.B.T.B. MV.

And this part is a bit of a stretch so take it with a grain of salt because I don’t know how much of the So gravity DIY is supposed to be canon to their whole lore, but I will point out that when Kangmin is seen in distress and crying it is Gyehyeon who comforts him. Perhaps this suggests that these two are self-aware or on the same side? Kangmin is struggling with the weight of everything going on with the other members and Gyehyeon comforts him that they will help save the others. Again, that’s a stretch so just keep that in mind.

Back to Get Away. Gyehyeon intervenes when Dongheon is threatening Kangmin, and Dongheon looks prepared to end Gyehyeon then and there, if it wasn’t for Hoyoung telling him to snap out of it.

Kangmin and Gyehyeon:

Now, the inner conflict within VRVR could just be because VRVR are the worst versions of themselves, and they’re going to be prone to fight. Yet I still find it suspicious that it is only these Kangmin and Gyehyeon that are shown to have any conflict with the group.

We know Kangmin’s identity as real or fake has been up in the air every era. And Gyehyeon’s recent potential self-awareness puts him in the same sphere with Kangmin.

The pieces seem to be there. Minchan, who we have also seen to be quite self-aware of the things going on, is shown looking for Kangmin and Gyehyeon in previous MVs, and coincidentally VRVR Kangmin and Gyehyeon seem to be on the same side possibly? Interesting.

I propose the possibility that either Kangmin or Gyehyeon, possibly both, have been placed within VRVR.

Which leads me to suggest one my main theories that VRVR Kangmin is the snake within Verivery. This is backed up Kangmin’s shot with his finger to his lips, suggesting that he has a secret he’s trying to keep from the rest of the group (aka he’s not the real Kangmin). He’s also seen leaning on Verivery Dongheon after they arrive in VRVR’s layer, and Dongheon helps move him from room to room. This could be one of two things: VRVR Kangmin is leaning on Dongheon to try and show vulnerability, so that he and the others will no suspect his true intentions or, if not VRVR Kangmin, then it’s actually Verivery Kangmin, who is possibly still wake from Thunder (though doesn’t really hold up through G.B.T.B.)

Also, VRVR choosing to keep Kangmin and/or Gyehyeon within their leagues doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. It would be smart to keep their enemies closer to them at this point.

The left behind shoes:

I have two possible theories about the shoes. One theory supports my previous claims in that the shoes left behind are VRVR Kangmin’s, who is currently with Verivery. This theory isn’t as sound as the other, but I thought I would include it anyways for the variety. The other is completely independent theory about the shoes with no connection to Kangmin.

           Kangmin:

These shoes seem to resemble the shoes that Kangmin was wearing in the MV, though it’s hard to say 100%. Weirdly enough, the shoes didn’t go with him to the VRVR layer. Remember how the fake Kangmin always seemed to be connected with no shoes? It could be a sign of his true identity as VRVR Kangmin.

           Minchan:

The other possibility is that these shoes have to do with Minchan. The shoes are seen at the same location as the scarf, which obviously carries a clear connection to the last time we saw Minchan.

It’s also possible that VRVR Minchan already caught Verivery Minchan. As I’ve mentioned previously, Minchan has always seemed to be a bit more self-aware of their surroundings than the other boys. This is notable in Tag Tag Tag, where he was the only member who saw the fake  Kangmin at the end. In Lay Back, we know that Minchan was running from his other self for the duration of the MV. In Thunder he is the only one who stops what they’re doing to look out the window at something. And in G.B.T.B. Minchan is shown multiple times stuck in the center of a circle of chairs, one notable time in deep panic and fear.

From Get Away, we know that these circles are supposed to represent your darker self. So perhaps at the end of G.B.T.B., VRVR Minchan was starting to catch up with Verivery Minchan after chasing him throughout Lay Back, and was finally caught at the beginning of Get Away by VRVR Minchan.

This theory could suggest that the masked figure we see is Minchan, and the mysterious figure beside the hole is VRVR Minchan. And if that was VRVR Minchan in the forest, then perhaps he was the reason that Verivery were able to access the VRVR layer. The letter said that 7 will make a large point open (presumably the entrance to VRVR’s layer), but we only see 6 Verivery members, and yet somehow they are still able to get in. Perhaps VRVR Minchan was there in the forest, allowing the members to access the VRVR layer.

How, though, if Verivery Minchan wasn’t there? It is probably safe to assume that VRVR is still Minchan in some way—these dark counterparts are still the Verivery members, but just their darkest form. So if VRVR Minchan has captured Verivery Minchan, then it seems right now he is keeping an eye on the other members of Verivery and assisting his VRVR colleagues from a different angle.

However, based on the final scene of the MV, assuming that the masked man is indeed supposed to be Minchan, than it seems he is trying to find his way out of that circular hall he’s been stuck in to find his members. ---- That’s all for this comeback! If you made it this far, I appreciate you for reading all 3,000+ words of this <3  if you have theories of your or you want to add onto something I’ve said, or you have questions about what I wrote (I know it was a lot sdfnsfnafdsa) feel free to talk to me!! I’m always down for some good theorizing :D ALSO I’M SORRY IF THIS WAS A MESS AND IMPOSSIBLE TO FOLLOW I DID MY BEST

[todaydreambelieversfic]

Author Spotlight: Coffeegleek Day 3

Author : @coffeegleek​

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

At least a few revisions. Then multiple editing passes, and even with my spouse as my proofreader for the past 25+ years, and doing more editing passes before posting to AO3, I still find annoying little typos, sometimes large ones.

If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

There was a crack fic I stopped writing years ago. It was a self-challenge during one of those tumblr trope challenges. I was trying to combine all of the tropes into the same fic as they were announced. It got zero traction though so I gave up. I'd love to go back and complete it, make it better. I had the whole thing outlined too.

What do you look for in a beta?

My spouse. We've been together for decades. He's been proofreading my original science fiction work and various fandoms' fanfics since before we were married. He even proofreads my Klaine smut and doesn't blink an eye. (He's a Glee fan too and on tumblr.) He knows what I'm trying to say when I can't find the right words and supplies them. He catches things I don't. What I love the most is for my original work, he's written his own fanfic. It's BAD. It truly is, but it's so heartfelt and earnest. He even came up with a soundtrack should I ever publish my sci-fi novel and the movie or show rights be bought. You really can't get a better beta than that. <3

There’s a number of friends on tumblr that I bounce ideas off of and who give me advice for topics they know far more about than me and google. I try to thank them in my fics.

If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I’m going to steal another author’s recent answer and say that I could never do someone else’s work justice. However, I would love to see the author’s ideas for their fics even if they couldn’t write a prequel or sequel.

I suck at remembering titles and author names. There were two political fics that I would love to read more of should their authors ever decide to write in those verses again. One was where Kurt and Blaine's dads were running for president and Kurt and Blaine were along for the ride, staying in the same hotels at time (where they first met,) having to do school remotely, having to be the perfect sons for the press and Blaine being fed up because his parents were conservative Republicans. Then there was another fic where Burt was president and Kurt was the First Son living in the White House, along with Finn, and it was hard to date when your every move is watched by the press.

Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I write AU, so canon is only a word often misspelled by me. :) Seriously though, I try to incorporate as many canon elements and characters into my AU fics as I can. It's the kind of AU I like to read as well. What draws me to read and write AUs is taking canon characters, putting them into a different setting, and seeing how they'll react. At their core, they still need to remain the same in principle and have many of the same traits. Like Kurt will always love fashion and be headstrong no matter what. Blaine is always going to have that spark within himself, no matter how depressed or oppressed he gets. Burt and Carole are always going to be loving and nurturing parents at heart. Even in fics where Burt isn't woke, there's a part of him that means well. (Not one of my own fics, but one I read a long time ago.) Different circumstances will change the canon characters and make them react in different ways though. Like, Kurt could end up more withdrawn and hide his love of fashion as a matter of survival and self preservation. He or Blaine could turn into "bad boys." Coach Beiste will always have a heart of gold. Miss Pillsbury will always have a problem with messes. Things like that. I know canon. Give me all the alternate universe versions of it and I will be a happy camper.

Talk about a review that made your day.

I haven't checked for reviews on my fics in ages (because I'm an insecure chicken) so I don't remember any specifically. I do remember there were many that made my day. There are those who take the time to review every chapter. Ones who write only a short note to thank me for writing the fic - both the angsty ones and the cracky fun ones. I love it when someone mentions something that no one else has that I was hoping someone would notice because I was proud of it. I'm not a popular author and don't get a lot of kudos or comments or reblogs compared to many. So each comment and kudos means a lot to me and I'd like to publicly thank every single person who wrote one or hit that kudos button.

Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

I once got a troll who decided it was his job to complain that I had misspelled hors d'oeuvres in one sentence out of an entire verse where the word was written multiple times correctly. It was a series of Klaine Advent one shots for the Empty Nest verse. At first I was shocked and replied with an apology. Then I was, "F this. The person is a troll who didn't read any other part of the fic or verse, just this one quickly written one shot entry, and if all they had to say was that I'd misspelled a commonly misspelled word, then they aren't worth my time." I deleted the comment. There's concrit and trolling. It wasn't concrit.

What advice do you have for people just starting to write?

Have fun writing, even the hard stuff. Know that it's okay to take breaks. Try your best and know you'll get better the more you write and the more you read. Pronouns are your friend and free. Don't put, "I know this is going to suck, so whatever," in your fic description. We all suck at times. It's a part of writing. But if you want folks to read it, using that as your fic's summary isn't the way to go. Just my opinions, which won't even buy you a cup of coffee.

Which fic do you most like to discuss with other people? Why?  

I think it’s pretty obvious from all of my rambling that I enjoy talking about both of my series - Empty Nest verse and A Very Hallmark Christmas verse.  I'm not a popular author and I know my fics, especially the Empty Nest verse ones, aren’t everyone’s thing, so I never get to really discuss them except with friends that I bug to death in private and via long replies to comments on AO3. (You all are saints blessed by all of the good and patient gods.) I have so much to say about them - the process of writing them, the world building, research, and character decisions that went into every single one. I know they’re not perfect. I know the Empty Nest verse grew miles beyond the ficlette about Burt and Carole that it was meant to be. I know my sense of humor in the Hallmark verse isn’t everyone’s thing either. I still worked really hard on them and am glad that I did. Empty Nest let me release a lot of the fear and anxiety I had for my Hispanic and gay son after the 2016 election. The Hallmark ones were a needed break to put some humor into my life. If others enjoyed them, great. If folks want to know more, my inbox is always open.

What's one aspect of writing fic that gets you really excited?

Writing humor even if I'm the only one that finds it funny. As I said above, writing the Hallmark Christmas movie dialogue and plot and the actors as they were filming it was a blast. Writing the commercials was fun and exciting. In my angsty fics, knowing I wrote a good scene, line, or moment that brought out all the feels. That's more of “satisfaction of a job well done” than excited.

***

Check out Coffeegleek’s Fics

Humorous Spooky Drabbles -  Humorous drabbles to spookish type prompts based on a tumblr post called October Drabble Prompts #1 by hallofceleano. The parts in bold and italic are from those prompts. Characters include Kurt, Blaine, Burt, Carole, and Finn. All fun; only #4 has some mild angst. #4 is for snarkyhag and regarding #5 - I know next to nothing about Twilight and had to look up Taylor Lautner on imdb. The liberties I took are my own.

A Very Sloppy Christmas - lucy8675309 posted to tumblr a series of gifs with Kurt dressed up as an elf. It inspired me to write the following prompt, which CoffeeAddict80 encouraged me to write as a fic:

I now want a fic where real Santa’s elf!Kurt gets drunk and vents to Blaine about all the woes of working for Santa. He’s over 100 years old and the outfits are terrible. Why couldn’t they wear clothes like the elves did in that one movie? Drunk elf Kurt has no idea he’s venting to Santa’s son.

Bonus if he wakes up and realizes he just had a drunken one night stand. He isn’t sure who it was with. Only that he’s naked, the guy in the bed beside him is naked and showing off a really great ass. Then said guy turns over and after Kurt’s done staring at his dick, he looks at the guy’s face and realizes who it is.

It’s a Twisted World -  I decided to challenge myself by combining the posted 5 weekly Klaine AU Friday themes and adding another one of my own. So that means: Farm, Fairytale, Vintage (1900’s,) Super Powers, Zombie Apocalypse, and Harry Potter World Klaine with a splash of a fic idea I thought of while in the produce section of the grocery store. Each week, the story will continue, though each part stands alone. This is not a brilliant work of perfectly composed fan fiction. What it is, is fast-paced, cracky fun, with a large dose of innuendo. At least it had my son laughing his ass off. I hope y'all enjoy it too. :)

[evenstevensranked]

#17: Season 3, Episode 18 - “Stevens’ Manor”

With the house to himself for the weekend, Louis decides to open up a bed and breakfast to afford a snowboarding trip for the gang! What could possibly go wrong?!

I’ve been meaning to tell you guys to ignore any typos in my reviews within the first day or so of them being posted. It takes a few read-throughs for me to catch any/all errors. 

That being said...

This episode opens with the subplot. Although, this is yet another one where the subplot and main plot work together super well. I’ve noticed that this is becoming a theme with these higher-ranked episodes. Huummm. 

It starts off with Ren spying on Ruby breaking up with some random guy Dexter. Her oh so serious, love of her life boyfriend of 4 days. Sounds about right. This show seriously nails how ridiculous middle school ~relationships~ truly are. Ruby is devastated, so Ren presents the idea of turning their upcoming weekend sleepover into girls night complete with nail polish, magazines and ice cream! Yeeee!

Ruby clearly shocked and offended by Dexter’s decision to end it. We don’t actually hear the conversation, so this exaggerated expression really gets the point across.

It cuts to Louis, Twitty, Tawny, and Tom (who I will refer to as “the gang” from this moment forward) discussing how badly they want to go snowboarding at some lodge. Tawny estimates that it’d cost around $200 per-person, and I mean, what 13-year-olds have that sort of money laying around? I’m a grown adult and I can’t even afford Starbucks on some days. So, yeah. To any sane person, the idea would be totally off the table and seem completely farfetched... But not to Louis Stevens!! He’s all “Oh, it’s no problem” as he runs to answer a call on the school’s payphone, which is the millionth thing that closet space next to the stairs has been used for. The call is from someone looking to book a reservation at Stevens’ Manor. I really hope that payphone has a different number than the school and that Louis didn’t give out Lawrence Jr. High’s number as the contact info for “Stevens’ Manor.” I can’t. 

He explains to the gang that Steve and Eileen are going away for their anniversary, Donnie has an away game, and Ren is sleeping at Ruby’s... which means he’s got la casa all to himself. Twitty asks how he’s gonna get his parents to actually let him stay home alone though... and like??? I know that Louis can get a little crazy, but does he really need a freaking babysitter or something? Actually, wait. What am I talking about?! He immediately seized the “home alone” opportunity to turn the house into a bed and breakfast. Here we go again with the give Louis Stevens an inch and he will take 100,000 miles trope, lol. His plan is to fake cry to Eileen about wanting to come with her and Steve and not wanting to stay alone, before deciding to be ~strong~ and stick it out. Steve even calls Louis a “soldier” for it, haha. Okay. Whatever works I guess! I’d like to point out this kinda ugly transition they do of Louis smirking about his plan, to the moment where he’s actually executing it. It’s so weird looking omg. 

That morph tho. I guess the editing job isn’t too bad for 2002... but dang, it’s just slightly unsettling to me lol. 

I like how this episode basically jumps right into the plot asap! We’re only two minutes in at this point and the BnB transformation is already underway! Eileen and Steve ultimately leave and trust Louis to man the fort of course, and the birth of Stevens’ Manor happens the second they’re out the door -- courtesy of a short montage. Louis must’ve been preparing for this bed and breakfast idea for a long while, just waiting around for the opportunity -- because he has shirts embroidered with a fancy “SM” ready to go for him and his friends to wear! He’s even set up the technology to accept credit cards. Louis Stevens does not play! 

The first guests arrive and I’m assuming it’s supposed to be a joke when Louis greets them “Welcome to Stevens’ Manor! You must be the Mannings!” lol. The Mannings are an older couple made up of a “fellow Lou” Louis and his wife Edna. This information is vital for later on. When they’re shown to their room, (which is Louis’ bedroom transformed into the “Lincoln Bedroom” lol) Edna says “This is even cozier than the pictures we saw on the internet!” WOW!!! Louis really did have this planned! He probably whipped out a www.stevensmanor.com domain for this. How did he rearrange and clean his room with enough time to take the photos, post them, and get hits on the website (in 2002, mind you) without his parents noticing though? That stuff took tiiiime back then. Not to mention cleaning that filthy room of his would require the help of a garbage company! Oh, well. That’s an irrelevant detail. I told you he’d been preparing for this moment! 

Where did he get that bust of Lincoln (see 2 photos up) and that painting too? I searched out of curiosity and found this near-exact bust which costs $850!!!!! That thing better be some cheap plastic knock off because something tells me Louis somehow spent more money on making the place look legit than he’ll ever make back from it lol. 

The next guest is a woman named Mrs. Colepepper. What is up with these writers and throwing the word “pepper” into last names? We already have Ryan Zellpepper and now we’ve got this lady lol. I also just realized that both of these characters are black... not that that means anything at all. It’s just randomly sort of interesting imo. 

The last main guests are a pair of twin teenage boys and their parents. Now, Even Stevens is good at not double casting people (a.k.a being weird and having the same actors play two or more different characters throughout the series and hope the audience doesn’t notice) -- But they messed up here and I gotta call it out!! They’re acting like this is the first time we’ve seen these twins, but they actually already made an appearance as LJH students back in Season 2! Their first appearance is literally sooo brief that only a weird superfan like me would notice, but yeah. 

The twins in this episode.

The twins in Season 2! We haven’t covered this episode yet so I feel really weird including a screenshot but.. lol. 

There’s this short scene where Louis introduces Tawny as the Manor’s “human jukebox” because apparently she’s a piano wiz and knows “all kinds of songs” (Also, where’d Louis get the grand piano?! haha) One of the twins sarcastically asks “Does she know ‘I hate it here, we should’ve gone to Hawaii’?” And Tawny adlibs a song “I hate it here, we should’ve gone to Hawaii, where they say Aloha and roast little piggies!” This one line always gets stuck in my head. Always. I’m tempted to continue writing additional lyrics just to give myself more to sing.

There’s also a fantastic bit here of Tom arguing with Mrs. Colepepper about the pulp in her orange juice. I can’t even explain it, all you have to know is that it’s amazing. Also, Louis tells the twins to check out the “Rec Room” and hands them two ping-pong paddles. They’re like “All you have is a ping-pong table?” and Louis says “Yeah... Well... I never said anything about a table. So.” IT ALWAYS GETS ME! It’s such a small line, but I love it. ALSO Beans is the BnB’s “licensed masseuse.” Right.  

At Ren and Ruby’s sleepover, Ruby gets a make up call from Dex and they talk on the phone all giggly for an hour and a half. Ren is fed up and decides to head home. Safe to say Ren was in for a surprise when Mrs. Colepepper was asleep in her bed... 

Louis tries to explain the situation to her and of course, Ren is vehemently against it until she sets her eyes on the ~gorgeous~ twins. As they’ve already stated -- The twins hate it there, so she catches them juuust as they’re about to check out. Ren literally referred to these guys by name in S2. They were some weird names like “Mosh and Stosh”?! lol, Smosh. But now she’s acting like it’s the first time she’s ever seen them in her life and it always bothered meeeeee. 

Something that kills me about this bit is when their father says “The boys just aren’t happy here. I kinda have to agree with them. Your kiddie pool hardly qualifies as an ‘aquatic center’ so...” -- LOUIS REALLY PUT “AQUATIC CENTER” as a selling point knowing that all he had was a kiddie pool.

Imagine showing up to a BnB where this is the advertised “aquatic center.” I am dying of laughter. First the nonexistent Rec Room, now this. I can just hear Gordon Ramsay ripping this place apart on an episode of Hotel Hell.

Ren immediately tries to persuade the twins to stay for obvious reasons by bribing them with lame board games, but they apparently reciprocate her attraction and decide to stay. The fictional board game they pick to play is The Organ Donor Game (sounds like a fun time???) and it’s so suggestive. Ren says “Ooo! You landed on my kidney. That’s gonna cost ya! No cheating and... Hands off my pancreas” in the most sultry voice ever. Like... WHAT?! The doorbell rings while they’re playing and it’s Ruby coming over to apologize, but she too decides to stay at the Stevens’ once she sees the twins. Wow. I love how a fan is always conveniently there to blow Ruby’s hair dramatically whenever she sees a guy she likes.  

It happened the moment she developed a crush on Louis, too. And, uh... Didn’t Ruby JUST GET BACK TOGETHER with Dexter like, an hour ago?  

Meanwhile, Beans is giving Louis Manning a massage by walking on his back in hiking boots??? Beans just further solidifying his place as “The Worst” in my heart. Old Louis (which is what I’ll call him now I guess) gets his back thrown out thanks to their wonderful, 8-year-old, obviously not licensed masseuse. This place is a lawsuit waiting to happen. 

Eileen decides to call home and check in with Louis, which creates one of my favorite situations everrrrrrr in the series. Y’all know I love when shows highlight the comedic side of miscommunication, and this is probably Even Stevens’ best stab at it. Edna is the one who answers Eileen’s call and all hell breaks loose when Eileen asks for Louis. “Louis hurt his back, he’s in a great deal of pain right now.” Edna explains. And Eileen says “You tell him I’ll be there in two hours and that I love him very much!!” Of course, Edna thinks Old Louis is cheating on her with some woman named Eileen and it’s great. 

Louis (Stevens lol) overhears the conversation and starts freaking out because how the hell are they gonna get all of the guests out of the house and revert it back to the way it was when it’s only midnight? That’s when Ren gets the brilliant idea (no seriously, it’s brilliant) to set all of the clocks forward to 7am checkout time! Oh my freaking god. Most of the guests have only been asleep for an hour or so, and suddenly they’re being told breakfast is ready. It’s absolutely hilarious! “Skies will be mostly... dark” Ren informs them of the days’ weather, omg. 

There’s no way they have enough time to serve everyone a full breakfast, so they shove all the food into a blender and give it to the guests as the “Deluxe Breakfast Combo To-Go!” Seriously, Gordon Ramsay would have a field day with this.

They pretty much scream at the guests to “move it!” and get outta the house at midnight while they’re all still in their pajama’s and disoriented. Even if it was 7am, this is some terrible service. At this point, I’d give Stevens’ Manor a generous zero stars on Yelp.  

Amazingly, they get everyone out with enough time to hustle and clean up the house before Steve and Eileen get back! *Whew!* Louis and Ren scramble to explain the whole Enda lady who answered the phone situation and claim that she’s the school nurse. Steve is so confused, “The school nurse made a house call in the middle of the night?!” Honestly, though. Suddenly Edna walks back in the front door “Excuse me, I forgot my umbrella.” Haha. That’s when she and Eileen have their final brush with miscommunication. Eileen is all “Thank you for taking care of Louis!” and Edna says “Well, let me tell you something, Eileen. I have dedicated my entire life to taking care of Louis, so let me give you a little warning... STAY AWAY FROM HIM!” 

Steve: “These school nurses are so protective...” 

Steve and Eileen decide to head upstairs and go to bed immediately, to Louis and Ren’s relief -- which actually made me realize something... Where do Steve and Eileen sleep?! From what we’ve seen of the upstairs it seems to only have a bathroom and Louis, Ren, and Donnie’s rooms! I’ve never seen space or a door for a third bedroom up there! Omg. Maybe they have a secret bedroom in a hidden attic or something? Hey! They had a giant secret cave underneath their house. It’s possible. 

The final minute bit of this episode is great. Steve and Eileen are watching some local news program and Mrs. Colepepper happens to be the host. She shares her experience at Stevens’ Manor and how she’ll never forget it in a strangely positive review segment. The best line is when she says “I don’t normally sleep through the night, but when my head hit the pillow -- the next thing I knew, it was morning!” HAHAHAHA. She makes a point to mention the “hip, young staff” and shows a picture of the gang (see cover photo.) And yeah. Steve blows a gasket. 

THE END!

This is a great episode. I mean, really. It’s super memorable, funny, and it’s an awesome episode for the cast as an ensemble. I cracked up countless times writing this review! It definitely gets a lot of “iconic” points for sure. I just personally prefer episodes that have more of a story to them and focus on the characters. As great as this episode is, it’s definitely one of those wacky plots that could only make sense in crazy Season 3. But I gotta give it to them... This is such a wild and elaborate plot, but they somehow make you believe that Louis could’ve actually pulled this off irl. I’m sure there were some impressionable kids out there who entertained the idea of doing something similar themselves, lol. I want y’all to know that #17 isn’t a “bad” spot by any means. I feel like I say this a lot, but at this point in the countdown, everything seriously is pretty much top notch. I’m simply arranging the best of the best in an order I hope is both personal and objective. It’s a difficult line to straddle, believe me.

To top off the review, I’ve added not one -- but two Stevens’ Manor designs to the Redbubble shop!! AYYYYYYYYY! I got carried away. I’m actually really excited about these, haha! Ya can now get the main “Stevens’ Manor” design and the employee logo design printed on whatevaaa you want. Doing these reproductions of things that exist within the shows’ universe is so fun. I’m really trying my best to get as close to the way they appear on screen as I possibly can (with my limited photoshop skillz)

They’re available in the shop now! Yay!

Thanks for reading!!

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