#colin baker you beautiful man you

[heckyeahcolinbaker]

Crime and Comedy Theatre Company's production of The Hound of the Baskervilles was phenomenal tonight! Bravo Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Dee Sadler, Terry Molloy and co! Also lovely to see Colin briefly after, my bestfriend is so happy to have met him and got a hug! ❤

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

The Sixth Doctor

Featuring British Actor, Colin Baker

Back in 2022, I fancied a trip to Birmingham once I found out that Colin Baker (the 6th Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’) was going to attend ‘Collectormania 27 – Film & Comic Con Birmingham’ at the NEC, Birmingham. With my diamond pass, I was able to meet up with Colin, who signed my Season 22 Blu-ray booklet. We had a nice chat about Season 22 and reprising his role as the 6th incarnation of The Doctor in the latest episode, The Power of the Doctor.

He was really friendly with me, asked me about what I was up to, if I was dating, if I was staying at the same hotel as everyone else. As we briefly chatted, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He was a beautiful old man, blue eyes that twinkled, ruff and rugged lines in his face coupled with a smile that made my heart flutter. My eyes were zeroed in on his wide, hairy chest, and I was imagining running my hands through it as I fuck his ass. Feeling myself about to make a tent out of my pants, I said my goodbyes.

"Good day to you." He said, winked and smiled a warm friendly, knowing smile. If I wasn't here at Collectormania 27, I would have made a move for this man.

After hours of fun and entertainment, I headed back to the hotel. Wanting a nightcap, head over to the hotel bar and to my surprise, Colin was there. He bought me a couple drinks. With my bladder now full, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. Colin told me he’d join me since he had to go too.

The bathroom was empty, but when I went to the urinal, Colin took the one right next to me. I didn’t mind, but when I’d finished peeing, I realized I hadn’t heard him pee, so I looked over briefly and saw him stroking a thick, 7 inch uncut cock with a big head. Seeing that, got me rock hard quick, a result of staring too long. When finally looked up, he was looking right at me, smiling. It seemed like my heart stopped beating before only to beat a thousand times a second.

Then Colin surprised me again by placing his hotel room card on the edge of the urinal right next to me before heading to the sinks. He quickly rinsed his hands and walked out, leaving the key behind. I grabbed the key, pausing long enough to wash my hands.

By the time I got to Colin’s room, I was afraid he’d think I wasn’t’ interested, but when I entered the room, he was ready and waiting. Colin was in a hotel bathrobe and he’d ordered porn on the television. How lucky could I be. Colin was the epitome of a big horny grandpa and he was primed for action.

It didn’t take long before we both found ourselves naked on the bed, hugging and kissing each other. I held his tits and cupped them using my thumbs to flick his big nipples as I kissed my way to suck them. You talk about being content! Heaven can’t be better, I thought to myself as Colin moaned and stroke my hair while I nursed his nipples.

While sucking on his super tits, I ran my hand down to his cock and started jacking him off. I licked and kissed his belly, working my mouth down to his pubic mound. When I got close, I moved my mouth over his cock and started to licking his tasty treat. Taking the head in my mouth, sucking it, making circles with my tongue before taking his cock deeper in my mouth. The sweet smell of his crotch turned me on and I couldn't stop myself from sucking him.

After a minute or two, I was suck it with long strokes, reaching up to claw at his chest and nipples. Colin was thrusting upwards, fucking my mouth good as I bob my head like crazy on his sweet wet dick. My throat was full of thick sweet Granddaddy cock as I breathed threw my nose to take it all while Colin was grunting like a bull.

“Oh, yes! Oh, yes! Oh, yes!” He said as rammed his hard cock deeper in my mouth. Then without warning he grabbed me by the hair and forced my head down on it as far as I could take it.

Just then, I felt his load bursting out of his cock and filling my mouth. I swallowed as much as I could while he jerked and hunched in ecstasy. It was fantastic to know I could give him so much pleasure as I closed my eyes and twisted my head from side to side to set him off!

Looking down, Colin beaming from ear to ear before rolled over onto his belly, spread his legs and smiled as he said, "Come and get it."

When he presented me with this view of his beautiful ass. I quickly spread his cheeks wide and began to lick his ass. I started at the rim and gently pushed my tongue inside of him. This drove him wild and he pushed his ass back farther on my probing tongue. He was moaning loudly and I continued fucking his ass with my tongue and mouth.

I could tell he wanted me to fuck him hard and I grabbed my cock and started to touch the rim of his hot wet ass hole. He pushed his love hole on to my cock as I eased the tip of the head of my cock in his hole. I thought I would spew right then and there as I slowly pushed the full length in. It looked so hot to see his salt-n-pepper hair, the fur on his shoulders and back with traces going all the way down to the ass my cock was now firmly buried in. I didn't pull out but started to gyrate my hips to give him the full sensation of being fucked. Colin’s arms were folded under his chin when looked back over his shoulders and said, "Fuck me hard Jack I need it."

I slowly began to pull out until the head was just visible, then slammed it back as deep as I could go. Each time I would do this, I would feel his ass quiver in anticipation of my next thrust. He pushed his butt as hard as he could back down on my shaft. He wanted it all. The sensation of him pushing his hot big butt on to my cock was driving me wild. If I had died the next few seconds, well my life would have been worthwhile to have had the chance to have my cock inside such a sweet, hunky handsome mature man.

"Yes", he moaned as he reached back to pull me against him, making sure I was all of the way in.

I fell on top of him as I pushed my pelvis to his hot ass. His hole opened up wide now as I fucked him more freely now. He moaned loudly and began to push his butt to me meet my pace as he was loving my dick in his ass. Every so often he would squeeze my dick with his ass muscles. I could hold it no longer, my body tensed and I pulled him as tight as I could against me. It was only another three or four strokes before I slammed up against him and held myself there, my dick in him as deep as it could get and shot my load into him.

His hole sucked me in further still as my load bubbled inside him. I had shot more cum than I ever remembered shooting in my whole life. I rubbed his back until I felt my cock soften. I dropped to the bed and he turned over to grab me in his strong arms. He held me close and kissed my like I’d never been kissed before. I lay there in his arm's, exploring his body with kisses. He pulled me to his chest kissing the top of my head caressing me with his arms. He held me ever so tightly. What a sublime comfort. He caressed me like his baby boy. We were soon falling into a deep heavenly slumber.

[starleska]

Star I'm not nearly in as deep here as I was with some of your other interests that I ended up catching (throwback to my Jeremiah anon days), but I gotta say, you are making a CASE for Six. Look at him. How can anyone love him as much as he loves himself.

SIXIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💖🌈💖🌈💖🌈

oh yes yes yes you are SO correct and i am delighted that the Six propaganda is spreading. just look at him 🥴💖

Six is an absolute explosion of a man...pompous, verbose, irascible. he's unpredictable and loud and a walking disaster magnet!!! but at the same time...he's sweet, and thoughtful, and has such marvellous wit and humour about him!!!! i'm honestly baffled that he's not often at the top of people's favourite Doctors list!! (although, if the server i'm a part of is any indication, every Doctor is someone's favourite 😉) we all know how terribly Six, and by extension Colin Baker, were fucked over by the BBC during his tenure, and every day it breaks my heart. but the thing is, i'm very nearly at the end of watching Six's run...and i've thoroughly enjoyed every moment!! 🙈 perhaps a bit of a rocky start re: his unstable regeneration, trying to kill Peri, etc. but i honestly love this forthright, brash version of the Doctor. he feels distinctly more alien than some other incarnations, and is also a delight to watch because he's always on the edge of delivering an untenable amount of sass, or doing something ridiculous!! 😂💖 i'd say a lot of the gripes folks have about Six as a character get ironed out within a few episodes...and by that point it's much less to do with bad writing and more to do with someone not liking his characterisation!! yes, he's arrogant, over-the-top and confrontational...but that massive arrogance belies his persona as a tender aesthete who appreciates the beauty of the universe, as well as the individual spark of each person he meets 🥺💖 do keep your eyes open. you never know - Six did get me immediately, as many of my friends suspected. but perhaps Six will sit in your brain for a while and then devour you later 🙈💖

[danielfeketewrites]

DOCTOR WHO TOP 10 - 6th Doctor

Baker 2: Stronger, Harder, Bakerer

10. The Shape Shifter

While maybe not the greatest story ever, it introduces Frobisher, the best Doctor Who companion ever. There, I rest my case. Frobisher gang rise up!

9. The Hoxteth Time Capsule

Mysterious, feel-good, and free on the Big Finish website. Also featuring some really cool aliens.

8. Interstitial Insecurity

Colin Baker writes a prequel to Terror of the Vervoids. It's excellent.

7. The Ghost in the Machine

Sixie has just a cameo in this one, but I still had to mention it. It's this beautiful ballad about what it mean to be a Cyberman and I adore it. Dave Rudden is just the best, go read Twelve Angels Weeping.

6. Blood on Santa's Claw and Other Stories

Yes, yes, another Big Finish Main Range anthology release with four stories that I crammed into a single spot on my top 10... But all the stories in this one are really great. Trust me, give this one a listen and go in as blind as possible. It's worth it.

5. The Maltese Penguin

"My friends call me Frobisher. My enemies call me Mr. Frobisher. And the junk mail department of the Galactic Readers' Digest call me Mrs. F R Rubbisher — but that's neither here nor there."

Man, I just really want Big Finish to do another Frobisher story.

4. Davros

The Doctor and Davros as co-workers. Truly the greatest workplace sitcom of our time.

3. Vengeance on Varos

Oh, yeah, the sixth Doctor also had some TV stories! Most of them aren't great, but fortunately, there is the expanded universe!

Also, one of them actually is great! Vengeance on Varos - a dark, twisted, angry, political, and bizarre bit of 80s Who. It's the only television story with Sixie that I think absolutely slaps. Which is a shame. They should have done more stuff like this, it's excellent.

2. Voyager + Poly the Glot + Once Upon a Time Lord

Cheating again, big time with this one. But they are a trilogy of stories connected by the same antagonist, a rogue Time Lord named Astrolabus. And I love these comics to bits, so there you go. You shoul read the Voyager trilogy if you haven't done so yet. These three stories are just so creative, filled with so much creativity and great imagery.

1. The Holy Terror

Were you expecting anything else? It's funny, but also haunting. It's deeply rich and textured, but also a farce. It's an exploration of religion and how it blinds people. It also features a shape-shifting penguin detective. This one has it all. Rob Shearman tries his first Doctor Who radio play and just fucking nails it.

[incomingalbatross]

Doctor Who fancast of LotR, current draft:

Bilbo: Patrick Troughton <3

Gandalf: Peter Capaldi (this is only partly on account of his eyebrows)

Frodo: Paul McGann. I'm VERY committed to this

Sam: ???

Merry: Ian Marter. He's a posh lad, our Merry

Pippin: Frazer Hines (who otherwise would be a shoo-in for Sam)

Lobelia: ?? Don't know but she deserves the best in terms of casting. Considering SJA-era Liz Sladen

Gildor, Farmer Maggot, Fatty: All ?? (Farmer Maggot MIGHT be John Levene. Might be Sylvester McCoy.)

Tom Bombadil: Colin Baker. Listen, I was very torn here because OBVIOUSLY Tom Baker has the correct energy, but Colin does too and I think he would have more fun with the little songs. Also I want to save Tom Baker's voice for someone else

Goldberry: Lalla Ward (...unfortunately another point for Tom as Tom)

Butterbur: ...I feel like there's an obvious choice but I don't have him

Aragorn: Nicholas Courtney, YES my Brigadier bias is showing through, but you know he could handle "running herd on the hobbits"

Glorfindel: Peter Davison

Elrond: Matt Smith. Listen I like this choice so much. Old and wise and the last of his kind!!

Arwen: ?? This just feels like a game of "which dark-haired DW actress do I declare the Most Beautiful," except they also need the correct Elvish Vibes. For the vibes especially, I'm considering Carole Ann Ford. But then there's Mary Tamm, who is properly Tall. idk.

Boromir: ???

Legolas: Peter Purves?? I can't even tell you why he just kinda seems to fit and that's the best I got.

Gimli: Michael Craze??? See above.

Galadriel: ?? Again, this should be easier. DW has so many good actresses. But I can't think of anyone who's quite right. Mary Tamm in a blonde wig? Jacqueline Hill ditto? Lalla Ward would be great if she were just taller, but I don't regret giving her Goldberry either.

Celeborn: ??

Eomer: David Tennant. Eomer has a good range of Big Emotions, which I feel is important when casting David Tennant. (And yes I'm waiving the hair color here too.)

Treebeard: Tom Baker. THIS is what I was saving his voice for. You get it right??

Quickbeam: ??

Theoden: William Hartnell. <3 This one is very important to me.

Eowyn: Karen Gillian. Listen. She could DO it. (Also this makes both siblings Scottish, which amuses me.)

Grima: ??

Saruman: Jon Pertwee. I wanted him for Denethor too, but if I have to choose... Saruman.

Gollum: ?? Casting anyone as Gollum just feels mean.

Faramir: Hnggggh... I am considering both William Russell (Ian bias) and Arthur Darvill (to be opposite Karen Gillian but also he likes cool parts with gravitas). I don't know.

Denethor: ?? All wizard-adjacent characters should be played by Doctors but I've used all the applicable Doctors. ...Anthony Ainley?

Beregond: ?? He FEELS like a John Levene character but John Levene also feels like he really should be a hobbit. I am considering Duggan's actor on the grounds that he's also an everyman

Bergil: ?? I don't have any child actors on hand

Halbrand: ??

Elladan and Elrohir: ??

Prince of Dol Amroth: Okay actually THIS is William Russell

Ioreth: Catherine Tate I think

The Master of the Houses of Healing: pick any half-decent Time Lord, they'll fit the bill :P

Farmer Cotton: ??

Rosie Cotton: Either Anneke Wills or Katy Manning, probably. Or maybe Jenna Coleman.

[thekatebridgerton]

So I have a prompt for you if that is alright. A modern day AU where the Bridgertons are professional athletes and olympic gold medalists. They've been nicknamed one England's treasures. The only area the have difficulty in seem to be their love lives. What events would each Bridgerton partake in and how would they meet their significant other? Bonus if their partner is not a fellow athlete. Like Kate being a physical therapist or Penelope being a baker.

Okay, bad confession to make. I don't watch sports and have very little interest in sports (altough my SO swears he's going to teach me the difference between baseball and basketball). So I lack the range that would come if sports was one of my field of interests. And I've never actually watched the olympics. Sorry to my sporty type followers in advance. Still here it goes. not exactly olympic based, but here's a rough HC.

Kanthony: Rival polo players that always meet in the semi finals and end up trying to sabottage each other using every dirty trick in the book. Which usually means they both end up losing as Edwina takes the championship.

Saphne: The NBA basketball player and the reality tv star who need to work together on a publicity stunt to save both of their careers

Benophie: The professional swimmer and the ballroom dancer who use the same gym. Benedict has a habit of stripping infront of Sophie 'to take a swim' any chance he gets and Sophie is frankly fed up about it. Why can't this man keep his clothes on?

Polin: Cycling champion and the sports reporter. Colin goes around the world in his bike and Penelope covers news about him because her paper demoted her from the society pages after publishing a particularly bad scandal

Philoise: Track team star and professional boxer, always meeting in the same bookstore to hide from their handlers during breaks, strike a friendship by leaving notes to each other as bookmarks in the book they're both reading

Franchel: Francesca definitely does figure skating, John used to be her partner, now he's gone and Fran must accept the help of his cousin, who abandoned her when John died, Hockey playboy, Michael Stirling

Hyraeth: a volleyball player and the grandson of a competition organizer team up to find the championship long lost diamond trophy rumored to be worth millions, after finding a hint in one of his grandmothers journals

Grecy: The son of a well known game sponsor falls inlove with a beautiful tennis player (Hermione) and asks her partner to help him ask her out. Lucy thinks that if Gregory seduces Hermione, she wont quit tennis to elope with some waiter and leave Lucy this close to finals, so she accepts. Gregory starks liking Lucy instead. Too bad her uncle is arrested for rigging the game.

so there you got it, the sports au I never thought I'd write

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Baker!Dan Masterlist

Links Last Checked: October 12th, 2022

A Bouquet of Love (ao3) - LiquidLies

Summary: Phil is a florist sick of his usual schedule. When a new bakery opens across the street, the new baker brings everything he’s ever wanted and more to his life.

Company Policy (ao3) - watergator

Summary: Dan works in a bakery-by-day, gay club-by-night bar. Phil owns said bar. Things happen.

Cupcakes And A Child’s Love (ao3) wavydanrises:

Summary:  Dan is working at the bakery “The Cake Whisperer” when a man and his child come into his life. All it took was a spiderman cupcake.

First Try (ao3) - hell_is_our_home

Summary: Dan tries baking at work for the first time

it's all fun and games till somebody loses their mind (ao3) - hedgehogtongues

Summary: Wonderland. The newest Virtual Reality role-playing game that Phil's been dying to get his hands on. It's filled to the brim with pallid skies, sweeping landscapes and realistic backpack physics. But the most beautiful thing in Wonderland is most definitely a heart-shattering baker boy named Dan.

much-a-dough about muffin (ao3) - tinydragon (tiny_dragon)

Summary: Dan is the best baker in his apartment building until his new neighbour shows up and threatens his position (and his dignity). It turns out that actually, he might have a competitive streak.

pastry chef attempts to steal phil’s heart (ao3) - sierraadeux

Summary: If anyone asks, Prince Philip’s sneaky morning journeys down to the royal pastry kitchen are for nothing more than the perfect cup of coffee.

Pikachu and Jammy Dodgers - gorgeousdan

Summary: dan runs a bakery and every single day, a youtuber named phil lester comes in and requests a special cupcake. he would be a pain in the ass if he wasn’t so darn cute.

Raise the Woof (ao3) - Yiffandquiff (paradisobound)

Summary: Dan started his own dog bakery after a trip through Pinterest gave him the idea of baking a cake for his family dog Colin. The bakery is a success and Dan loves the fact that he gets regular customers coming in all the time to order cupcakes. One customer, in particular, comes in every day and goes by the name of Phil. But Phil never brings a dog with him...

Why?

Phil is a werewolf and likes eating the cupcakes himself.

Secrets and S'more (ao3) - flowerchilddeeno

Summary: In which Dan and Phil are coworkers who seem to hate one another, but then something happens at the staff Christmas party.

Stirring In Love (ao3) - andthenshesaid-write (ladyknight1512)

Summary: When Phil applied to be a contestant on the Great British Bake Off he didn't even expect to make the long-list, let alone make it into the actual tent. But make it he does and there he meets Dan, a baker unlike Phil in every possible way. After a rocky start, Phil realises that maybe he can learn some things from Dan after all, and the biggest things have nothing to do with baking.

Strawberry Shortcake - dxnhowell

Summary: Dan works at a bakery with his friend Louise, where a punk boy comes in every day and orders Strawberry Shortcake.

Stress Relief (or not) - ultxmasunicornphanfics

Summary: Pastel!Dan just wants to relax by himself after a hard day at school. After not seeing him all day, Punk!Phil wants to join. Baking and flirting ensue.

then you come through like the sweetener you are (to bring the bitter taste to a halt) (ao3) - t_hens

Summary: Phil really wants to be annoyed at the new shop owner next to his bookstore. the problem? the owner is really cute.

The 2018 Great Comic Relief Bake-Off (ao3) - TempestRising

Summary: Dan and Phil are invited to participate in the Great Comic Relief Bake Off, a two-day version of the full-sized competition. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood judge them, everyone is pretty sure they're a couple, and Dan and Phil constantly forget they're supposed to be competing against each other. Dan expected all that, but he didn't expect the weekend to bring up old feelings he'd thought he'd put behind him.

The Outsiders - notanotherphanfictionblog

Summary: Dan Howell is the son of the town’s most respected businessman, and his whole life is planned out ahead of him. He is to work in the bakery that his father owns, get married to a nice young lady, and follow in his fathers footsteps, keeping his head down, his nose clean, and make his family proud. It’s a simple life, but Dan doesn’t think it could be any more dull. What he really wants is to be his own person, not just a clone of his father; he wants to be an actor, he wants to leave his town, and he wants to choose who he wants to marry, not someone who his parents want him to. One day, a new young scriptwriter comes to town to work with Dan’s theatre group, and Dan’s life suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.

[spiltcandycoatedpunkblood]

managed to stumble upon a twitch stream of a classic doctor who marathon and boiiiiii was i happy to see that it was near the beginning of the sixth doctor’s run

[dishearteningmediocrity]

I haven't seen anyone post this interview with Colin Clive before, and it's quite a good one. So anyway, here's an article from the Birmingham News-Age-Herald on March 4, 1934, written by Gladys Baker. The text might be kind of hard to read, so here's a transcript. (I didn't transcribe the other article about May Robson, so apologies to all you May Robson fanatics out there; let me know and I will do it):

“Gotham’s Matinee Idol: Colin Clive” By Gladys Baker, Special Correspondent to The Birmingham News-Age-Herald

New York--Today when no man is a hero either in fiction or the theater unless he has robbed a bank or murdered his grandmother it is a welcome relief to find a man who is a “gentleman” in all that the word implies.

I am speaking of Colin Clive. His personality and very fine work as the leading man in “The Lake,” the Katharine Hepburn play, made me insinuate my way back stage to his dressing room to find out if he (like the very careful Camille) were two different persons “off stage and on.”

I found a charming, ingenuous young man who looks as if there were so much more he could say--if he would.

My job was to make him say it!

Clive is tall. His eyes are very deep blue and very alive. Hard eyes to fathom. His manner rather shy, but delightful. After offering cigarets and a highball (Englishmen I’ve noticed have a sense of Southern hospitality!) we started talking about the theater.

The inevitable question: “Why did you go on the stage?”

“Why does anybody do anything? My family were all army people--members of the Bengal Lancers--and I was in the army until a smashed knee wrote finis to that.” (and now I knew the reason of that limp which has been described by some as a romantic pose).

“Then I landed in London job hunting. That is the obvious reason, but of course, knee or no knee, I would eventually have come to it. That inner urge that makes a man paint, write, or go in for sculpturing, was unconsciously driving me in that direction.”

He smiled--no, laughed. “Lord, but I was pretty awful in the beginning. Only, 10 years of repertory cured me of that--I mean my worse faults.”

“You believe in repertory, then?”

“It is the only thing. It is necessary, it is absolutely essential if a person wants to become a first-rate actor. Without repertory background I would never have dared attempt ‘Journey’s End’!”

It was Mr. Clive’s interpretation of the leading character in “Journey’s End” which established him in London’s inner circle known as “Artists of the Theater.”

He belongs to the thinkers of the stage. He can stay perfectly quiet during a scene and makes his audience think with him. He plays always with a fine restraint and a sympathy which communicates itself definitely. He is one of those rare persons who can play an entire scene with his back to the footlights and still dominate the stage.

Actresses have told me of his great generosity--speaking in the vernacular of stage folks--he does not try to steal the show.

*****

He is modest, almost to a fault, and is embarrassed at praise. I spoke of his excellent work in the movies. He said: “Sheer luck. I really don’t know anything about movie technique--the theater, perhaps--but I’ve been doing that for 16 years.”

Nevertheless he has made such a name for himself in the cinema that in the last six weeks three of the major companies have been bidding for his services. Warner Brothers won. He leaves Sunday morning for Hollywood and the Warner lot.

“Monday, I start the ‘Key,’ with Edna Best and beyond the first scene I’m entirely ignorant of the play. What a marvelous country you are!” He laughed and then grew serious again. “That is all right for me, for I’m a hardened sinner, but for beginners who suddenly find themselves facing big parts with no experience to help them, it is not an easy task. Those who have the real stuff win but they are the exception. The screen like the stage is beginning to demand experience from its actors.”

“Acting is a whole time job. There is more to it than the casual observer would think. The layman doesn’t realize for instance that the well modulated voice that he hears from the stage or the screen is the result of many tedious hours spent in coaching under voice culturists. The rhythm, grace of movement is not just a gift from the gods but is gained from well trained muscles--the outcome of daily sports or calisthenics.”

“Don’t you ever feel the need of relaxation?” I asked.

“Yes,” he smiled, “actors are only human after all. I find mine mostly in reading.”

This hobby was not surprising for I had been told that whenever a friend of his becomes ill that instead of the usual boxes from confectioners and florists he sends books by his favorite authors: Victor Hugo, Anatole France and Voltaire.

Noting a bottle of brandy on his dressing table, I asked him if he found liquor necessary as a stimulant for his work.

“No, the actor who must get his inspiration from a bottle of liquor finds himself in the same place that a business man of the same habits would find himself in. For acting is a business and dependability one of the chief assets. However, that doesn’ t mean that I’m a teetotler--drink has a good place in life.”

***

Among his best friends are Edna Best, Herbert Marshall, and Noel Coward--all of whom are his near neighbors in Kent, where he has a country place. He’s really a gregarious person. He refuses even to have breakfast alone. Found in that position he postpones the breaking of his fast until a congenial companion is annexed.

Another sport he enjoys is prizefighting. In fact, his first choice for the film-of-the-year would be “The Prizefighter and the Lady” (which showed in Birmingham as “The Conquering Sex”). It is testimony to his acting adaptability that he came straight from parts in musical comedy (“Rose Marie” and “Show Boat”) and created the dramatic role of Capt. Stanhope in “Journey’s End.” After which he played in “Overture,” a play written by one of his closest friends--the late William Bolitho.

This adaptability extends likewise to his geographical adjustment. “For the last six years I’ve practically commuted between London, New York and Hollywood. If it’s possible, I always go by plane.” He is one of the few movie celebrities on the coast who refuses to sign a long-term contract. One picture is all any company can be sure of his services. Tactfully he admitted that he disliked playing in the cinema. “One never gets the same reaction from the screen as you do from having an audience right close up.”

I ventured to ask about the “leading lady”--not of the stage or cinema--but of his own life.

“She’s not easy to describe,” he said earnestly. “I suppose you would call her a brunette, for her hair is dark, very dark and slightly bobbed except about the ears; she has deep, understanding eyes…”

“Oh” excitedly, “an Italian beauty?”

He threw back his head and laughed, really in a most un-British gesture. “No, to tell the truth this lady who rules my life is from Scotland--”

“Oh!”

Another merry laugh: “You see I’m speaking of my little Scotch terrier, ‘Brenda,’ who really makes a slave of me.”

Having had his joke he told me about his wife. She is a charming French woman who prefers life in Europe to “commuting” about the world with her celebrated husband. It is not as unusual as it sounds that Clive should have chosen a wife with Gallic ancestry since his own early life was passed entirely among French people. In fact, until he was 6 years old his vocabulary included not a single word of English.

[lyselkatzfandomluvs]

My edits - Masterpost

Making a MASTERLIST for my edits because I’m losing track of what’s done and what’s in my to-do folders.

EDIT: looks like the links aren’t working on mobile anymore. They point to results on the whole tumblr instead of just on my blog. I don’t kow how to fix this so I’m afraid the only solution is to seach for the film title on my blog. 

Band of Brothers cast

They are under the tag #My BoB cast edits (outsourced content and reblogs from other content creators, mostly for those with wider fan-base, are tagged #BoB cast) and with the actor’s name or the serie/movie title.

Feel free to send me an ask if there’s anything you’d like to see from BoB and its cast

Ensemble

Band of Brothers (obviously 😝)

Ron Livingston's bootcamp video diary

Wales Comic Con 2020 twitch panel

We happy few 506 zoom panels

Doug Allen

Sherlock (BBC)

Jamie Bamber

A Christmas in New York

Hornblower

Eion Bailey

Center stage

Covert affairs

Dawson's creek

Deliver by Christmas

FBI

Fight Club

Life of the party

Mindhunters

Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Stalker

Switched for Christmas

Philip Barantini

Ned Kelly

Ben Caplan

Leap year

New blood

The coroner

The lost honour of Christopher Jefferies

Whitechapel

Michael Cudlitz

21 Jump street

A river runs through it

Dark tourist

Dragon : The Bruce Lee story

Kings of con

SouthLAnd

Standoff

Dale Dye

44 minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out

Michael Fassbender

Gunpowder, treason & plot

Dexter Fletcher

Below

Bugsy Malone

Caravaggio

Dramarama

Gentlemen in squalor

Hotel Babylon

Lock, stock and two smoking barrels

The Rachel papers

Music video - Kylie Minogue "Some kind of bliss"

Stephen Graham

Boardwalk empire

Ezra Godden

Dagon

Quarantine "Isolation" videos

Rick Gomez

Applebox

Daily Rick’s tips

Hawaii five-0

Law and order

Leave

The adventures of Pete & Pete

The millionaire Tour

The week

Three to tango

Interview - Your story interview with Christine Schneider

Scott Grimes

Critters

Colin Hanks

Parkland

Tom Hardy

Colditz

Nolan Hemmings

Black Book

Colour me Kubrick

Dive to the Bermuda Triangle

Heartbeat

Pump up the volume

Sharpe’s eagle

The Aryan couple

The Mahabharata

Frank John Hughes

Applebox

Blue lagoon: the awakening

Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family

Homicide: Life on the streets

Leave

Legends

NCIS

Players

Righteous kill

The Funeral

The Guardian

The week

Viper

Lucie Jeanne

Central nuit

Joséphine ange gardien

L’été rouge

Relic hunter

Robin Laing

Beautiful creatures

Dive to the Bermuda Triangle

Doors open

Murder room

Taggart

The coroner

The lakes

The slab boys

Waking the dead

Matthew Leitch

AKA

Below

Mile high

Renford rejects

Strike back

Damian Lewis

Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker

A touch of Frost

Colditz

Life

The baker

Ron Livingston

44 minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out

Addicted to Fresno

American crude

Applebox

Beat

Boardwalk empire

Body shots

Buying the cow

Defying gravity

Dice

Digging for fire

Dinner for schmucks

Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Drinking buddies

Fort bliss

Going the distance

James White

King of the ants

Kings of con

Leave

Little black book

Loudermilk

Music within

Office Space

Parkland

Players

Queens of country (trailer)

Relative strangers

Saints and strangers

Sex and the city

Shangri-La suite

Shimmer lake

Standoff

Straight talk

Swinger

The 5th Wave

The conjuring

The cooler

The long dumb road

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot

The Romanoffs

The sidekick

Timecop

Touchy feely

Tully

Interview - Off camera with Sam Jones

Interview - Alexander Valley Film Society

Misc - Keyboard cat

James Madio

Applebox

Hook

Leave

The week

Tim Matthews

Five children and It

Heartbeat

Judge John Deed

Music video - "Taking chances”

Ross McCall

A Christmas in New York

A country Christmas story

Crash

CSI: New York

Ghost whisperer

Hex

It’s not you, it’s me

Lucifer

Nature unleashed: Fire

Pie in the sky

Quarantine : Rome

Rome in love

Snake man/The snake king

Submerged

The beautiful ones

Waterland

White collar

Neal McDonough

Boomtown

Quantum leap

Jason O'Mara

Sons of liberty

The Agency

Peter O'Meara

Leap year

Strike back

Bart Ruspoli

Devil’s playground

David Schwimmer

Uprising

Matthew Settle

Beneath

Blue smoke

Criminal minds- Beyond borders

Divine secrets of the Ya-Ya sisterhood

I still know what you did last summer

Love, sick love

Marshall’s miracle

Ouija

So undercover

The Celestine prophecy

The in crowd

The mystery of Natalie Wood

U-571

Valentine

Douglas Spain

44 minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out

Richard Speight Jr

3 Blind saints

American crude

Applebox

Driven

J.A.G.

Jericho

Kings of con

Life

Matlock

The agency

The sidekick

The week

Shane Taylor

Agriculture

Aura/The exorcism of Karen Walker

Devil’s playground

Hunter killer

Quirke

Sons of liberty

Strike Back

The day of the Triffids

Walking with the enemy

Music video - Stalker Miller "Jenny"

Donnie Wahlberg

Boomtown

Dead silence

Righteous kill

The sixth sense

Rick Warden

Shackleton

Marc Warren

Colour me Kubrick

Peter Youngblood Hills

AKA

Michel Vaillant

Submerged

The beach

The marksman

********

MISC EDITS

James Badge Dale

Parkland

Scott Bakula

Quantum leap

Rob Benedict

Kings of con

The sidekick

Misha Collins

24

Dave Franco

interview GQ 2014

Misc - LG, It's all possible

Lena Headey

Waterland

Ilia Kulik

Center stage

Alessandra Mastronardi

Quarantine : Rome

Helen McCrory

Life

Ewan McGregor

Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker

Joe Mazzello

Wooly boys

Piper Perabo

Covert affairs

Norman Reduus

Beat

Zoe Saldana

Center stage

Michael Sheen

Music within

Brian J. Smith

World on Fire (BBC)

Sebastian Stan

Misc - Save with stories

Tom Wisdom

Mile high

[heckyeahcolinbaker]

I saw Colin Baker at London Comic Con yesterday!

Colin is such an angel, truly one of the kindest people I have ever met. He always playfully bellows my name whenever he sees me. 😆

Today I got a little emotional while talking about Nanny and he held my hand, especially when he read my letter. He loved his gifts I got him. Colin gave me some amazing advice too. 🥺

Thank you Colin, you are always my Doctor! 💙💙

Also say hi to Twinkle! Colin named him, therefore I have honoured him by giving Twinkle the surname Baker. 🥺🐘

Twinkle also has a X/Twitter account now! Feel free to follow! 💙

https://x.com/TwinkleBaker?t=hLmgWS-GEQOHh381UVxsBQ&s=09

[tartantardis]

Big Finish? Big start!

This blog is normally my old Doctor Who-related interviews, but hey, it's my blog, so I can do what the hell I like with it.

I had a fantastic time over the weekend, with the Big Finish live stream on the BBC YouTube channel, listening to great audios, accompanied by some gorgeous videos (created by the super talented Tom Webster), and best of all, there was the live chat.

I won't claim to understand or get memes. I just didn't find "fruit juice", "plum pudding", "shed", etc, funny. Maybe it's just my age...

Anyway, something I noticed were the large number of newbies, who had never heard Big Finish audios before, and were looking for somewhere to start. So, I might as well suggest a few full cast adventures, given that I know a wee bit about Big Finish...

Fourth Doctor

It's easy enough to pick up a Tom Baker release. His stories with the late, great Mary Tamm have a loose theme linking four of the stories, but really, any of them are good to go with (Especially The Auntie Matter). Personal favourites? Oh, I don't like to pick out too many, because I'm friendly with so many of the writers. Perhaps I'll make an exception and single out one, Wave of Destruction, as it's got the Doctor, Romana and K9, my favourite TARDIS team on TV. And it's coming soon to vinyl! Also, the Lost Stories box set is great, with two stories that were imagined for TV, but never made. I'd also recommend the Fourth Doctor novel adaptations.

Fifth Doctor

The Fifth Doctor range... oh, there's some great stuff in here. Spare Parts and Loups-Garoux spring to mind (Marc Platt x 2!), and there's plenty of stand-alone stories that you can dip in and out of. The Fifth Doctor box set is a good place to go, with Adric, Nyssa and Tegan, with one story set in the immediate aftermath of Castrovalva and the regeneration. Also, I'd recommend Creatures of Beauty once you get the hang of Big Finish audio drama - it's confusing, with a non-linear structure. And I rather like it. There’s also The Eye of the Scorpion, which introduces a new companion, Erimem, an Egyptian Pharoah. 

Sixth Doctor

Colin Baker's Doctor is wonderful on audio, given a chance that he was never allowed on TV, to shine, be compassionate, show his brilliance... and without the need to see the coat. There's some great new companions for the Doctor - Evelyn Smythe, Flip Jackson and Constance Clark, as well as Frobisher from Doctor Who Magazine given a voice (The Holy Terror - brilliant). The One Doctor is great fun, with the Doctor and Mel, and I rather like ...ish - a clever story based on wordplay for the Doctor and Peri. The Hour of the Cybermen is another favourite - featuring the return of David Banks and Mark Hardy as the Cyberleader and Cyber Lieutenant from the 80s!  I also recommend The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure (four linked stories that reveal just what happened to cause Colin to regenerate).

Seventh Doctor

There's a lot to go through with the Seventh Doctor. For example, the Lost Stories, starting with Thin Ice (not to be confused with the Peter Capaldi story) follows on from the end of the TV series, as planned out by script editor Andrew Cartmel. Or there's the Big Finish direct continuation, which takes Ace on a journey, and introduces a new companion, Hex (Philip Olivier - a gentleman and a great laugh in real life, and a fantastic companion). Highlights? Bang-Bang-A-Boom (a Eurovision spoof), The Harvest (Hex's introduction), UNIT: Dominion (a box set with a future Doctor), and Damaged Goods (a brilliant adaptation of Russell T Davies' New Adventures novel from the 90s).

Eighth Doctor

Oh, crikey. This is the one where it can be a bit difficult. With Paul McGann's Doctor, all you need to know is that it's one man and his TARDIS to start with. There's a couple of obvious joining points - Storm Warning is one of my favourite Doctor Who stories of all time, in all media (thanks Alan Barnes!), as it introduces us to the breathless, brilliant and bouncy Charley Pollard (NOTE: CharlEY, not CharlIE). Or, move on a bit, and there's Blood of the Daleks, bringing us Lucie bleedin' Miller (NOTE: LucIE, not LucY). There's a few other easy jumping on points - the trilogy with Mary Shelley (especially the fantastic The Silver Turk - Marc Platt again!). Dark Eyes is great, but it gives away the ending to the Lucie run, and introduces another fab companion, Liv Chenka. Ravenous picks up from the end of Doom Coalition - with the Doctor and Liv searching for their missing friend Helen. Also, give Shada a go - it's great fun!

The War Doctor

Oh, it's easy enough. Pick up box set one, Only The Monstrous, and off you go! Easy! Sir John Hurt is wonderful, with that rough as gravel voice bringing new depths to the character we only briefly met onscreen.

The Tenth Doctor

Pick one up. Seriously, any of them. If you know your Tenth Doctor on TV, then that's all you need. Adventures on audio with either Donna or Rose - that's all you need.

[accio-spaceman]

VORTEX Magazine - Issue 87

May 2016)

Download for FREE on the Big Finish website

Time For Ten

Kenny Smith goes behind the scenes on Big Finish’s most high-profile release yet.

[Above: David Tennant. Text reads Time For Ten - Kenny Smith goes behind the scenes on Big Finish’s most high-profile release yet.]

Let’s be honest – we’ve all been wanting David Tennant to play the Doctor for Big Finish since, well, the first day he got the job. Newspapers at the time of his casting as the Tenth Doctor made mention of the fact he’d already worked on the Doctor Who audios alongside Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy.

(Full Article Under Cut)

Of course, Big Finish have wanted him to return to the part and bring the Tenth Doctor back to life on audio.

And executive producer Nicholas Briggs – a friend of David’s for years – reveals the man himself has been just as keen as everyone else to get back into the studio with Big Finish.

Nick says: “David and I had a conversation about his doing Big Finish long, long before we got a licence to do plays based in his era. He actually, light-heartedly, encouraged me to go out and get the licence. At one stage, Michael Stevens and I had plans for Big Finish and Audiogo to do a coproduction of audio drama featuring the Tenth Doctor. But David’s schedule and Audiogo’s demise meant that plan didn’t materialise. But when we finally got the licence, I did chat to David on the phone. He eventually came up with the idea of a special, three-CD release.”

Line producer David Richardson adds: “The pitch for the Big Finish/ AudioGO co-production still exists – although none of the stories made it into this collection. The plan back then was to have episodes with a running theme, one that would climax with a big reveal and the return of a character from the Tenth Doctor era – but when we came to do this set of the Doctor and Donna stories, it was felt that it was best to go down the route of individual, unconnected episodes.”

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves a little.

 This month sees the eagerly anticipated return of David, alongside Catherine Tate as everyone’s favourite temp from Chiswick, Donna Noble.

However, the process of getting them back together hasn’t been an easy one.

Big Finish executive producer and company chairman Jason Haigh-Ellery says: “We’ve had a lot of support in getting series based around the New Legacy Doctors. When the time was right, the BBC gave us the rights and helped us to get these productions up and running as soon as possible.

“We’re really pleased to have got David and Catherine back together.

“I first did Big Finish with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred many years ago, certainly before Doctor Who was as central a part of my life as it has become since.”

– David Tennant

“Someone said to me, ‘Why did you announce John Hurt and David Tennant just a few weeks apart?’ The thing is, it took about two weeks to sort John out and get him into studio. With David and Catherine, it took a year – and you don’t want to announce anything until you have it recorded.

“It wasn’t in any way planned to announce them as closely together as we did, it just took us a year to sort out dates when we could get David and Catherine in studio together again.

“It was very important to both of them that they were there, acting together, so they could get that old feeling going again.

“A lot of people have said that David and Catherine’s relationship on-screen was some of the best stuff in 21st century Doctor Who, as a favourite combination of Doctor and companion. Seeing them work together, you can tell it’s obvious the two of them love working together and enjoy it.

“It was well worth waiting a year for, to have them together.”

Nick continues: “Once the BBC accepted the proposal, David Richardson and script editor Matt Fitton started working on story ideas, and kept me informed all along the way. It looked like we might get David and Catherine into studio fairly imminently then, so the scripts were worked on quite quickly. Then, when they were ready and tentative studio bookings made, David and Catherine – very busy people! – suddenly became unavailable. So we had to wait quite a while. So it’s true to say those scripts were then waiting for the final bookings to be made. So that’s why, when the information was leaked on the internet, we couldn’t comment, because we weren’t one hundred per cent sure it was actually going to happen. We had everything crossed!

David Richardson adds: “We certainly began story lining back in the summer of 2014, and the scripts were all signed off by May 2015. So they sat on the shelf for several months before we were able to get David and Catherine together in October.”

[Above David Tennant and Catherine Tate.]

When it was revealed in October last year that David Tennant was to play the Doctor for Big Finish, it marked his return to the Moat Studios after an absence of a decade.

Speaking to producer David Richardson, David Tennant recalls: “I first did Big Finish with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred many years ago, certainly before Doctor Who was as central a part of my life as it has become since.

“I was always keen to come and play. I did a few different characters, one with Colin Baker, one with David Warner and some Dalek stuff with Nick Briggs. It was always something I really enjoyed.

“It was a lovely little job when it came along, so it’s nice to return to that because doing audio stuff is always really good fun.

“There’s an immediacy to it – you turn up and haven’t learned the lines – you prepare a little but basically you are flying by the seat of your pants, to a certain extent, and if you have got lots of good actors who inspire you and make it good fun, it’s really not a bad way to spend a day.

“It’s quite tiring and it’s quite intensive because you do a story in a day, faster than you work on Radio 4, but there’s such an energy to this stuff, you can’t help but be barrelled along by it. It took about two weeks to do a show on TV!”

Jason Haigh-Ellery was particularly delighted to welcome David back into the Big Finish family.

He says: “You know what, it didn’t feel like David had been away for a decade. That’s just unbelievable. When David came back it felt he’d only been away for a year or so, it really didn’t feel like it had been 10 years.

“As ever, David was lovely to everybody, and he slotted right back in. “David has an amazing memory and he remembers everyone’s name. He just walked in and went around, saying hello to everybody. He was wonderful.

“It’s great having him back, and I hope we will do more with him.”

Being back as the Doctor has been a joy for David, but he admits it was a bit of a worry to start with.

He says: “It’s been really good fun. I was a bit nervous about whether I would slip into it with ease, or would it be a bit of a stretch, but it really felt like returning to a comfy pair of trousers, rather than a scratchy vest.

“It’s all quite high energy, the character, but once you key into it, it always makes sense.

“That was always the key to it, it was very tiring to do, but they’ve also been invigorating. It has its own momentum, I think.

“I’d always used the script as my springboard, really, from what Russell T Davies and the other writers wrote and that’s what I’ve continued to do here. You take what’s on the page and use it as your starting point.

“If you come at a character like this with pre-conceived notions, that you might play him like this or that, the danger is you can be fighting the actual story and the script – the whole thing has got to evolve as one piece.”

David was particularly pleased to be reunited with Catherine Tate – with whom he has also worked on Comic Relief, Much Ado About Nothing and Never Mind The Buzzcocks and the recent Shakespeare Live – as they have a firm established friendship.

He says: “I think Catherine and I always got on, right from the moment she came to do the tiny bit at the end of Doomsday. She came down and shot the cliffhanger for series two. It took all of half-an-hour and from that moment, we got on – and always have done. That’s something we can hopefully bring to the characters.

“We’ve worked together in various places and in various ways and it’s something we enjoy doing. It’s just always nice to see her and it’s nice to play.”

“I think Catherine and I always got on, right from the moment she came to do the tiny bit at the end of Doomsday.”

– David Tennant

For the Big Finish production team, there was a huge sense of relief when they finally got their leading man and woman into studio after months of planning.

Nick says: “There was a great sense of occasion. And it was wonderful to hear David and Catherine working together. I actually thought Catherine’s performance was slightly different to her performance on TV. She seemed far more restrained than I expected her to be.

“But she’s a very shrewd actress, and she knew just how to pitch it when acting so close to a microphone.

“The camaraderie existed the moment people arrived at the studio, that people were familiar with each other.”

– David Richardson

[Above Left to right: Beth Chalmers, Blake Ritson, Alice Krige, and Alan Cox]

“I think what she’s done for us is rather beautiful and often very moving in all sorts of unexpected ways.

“I’ve run out of words to describe how brilliant David is. He’s a lovely chap. Very easygoing and fun to work with and… well, he just delivers! It’s such a joy to behold.”

David Richardson adds: “In the months running up to the recording, I’d got myself in a terrible state of stress. “It was clear every step of the way how momentous these episodes would be, and I felt the pressure that they had to be as good as they possibly could be, and that David and Catherine should have as great a time as they possibly could recording it.

“Of course, I needn’t have worried. For two huge, international stars they are very laid back and approachable people. It was lovely to sit and chat with David in the green room, and to hear him say he had bought our Blake’s 7 audios and enjoyed them!

“Nick let me cast all the plays, and I was very careful to hire people that we knew were accomplished actors and fun to be around, but also to have some people who David and Catherine would know and feel comfortable working with. So it was great to have Niky Wardley, who was one of the mainstays of The Catherine Tate Show. Alex Lowe and Alan Cox knew both David and Catherine. Dan Starkey had worked with them on the TV series… It meant the cameraderie existed the moment people arrived at the studio, that people were familiar with each other.

“Oh, and I cast Alice Krige because she really is one of my favourite actors, and one of my favourite people to be with at the studio. I’ve worked with Alice three times now, and we just sit and have the most extraordinary conversations about life. She’s wonderful.”

The pair found there to be so many highlights over the three studio days.

Nick pauses, before saying: “There are so many. But I think my personal highlight was when Catherine found so many poignant moments in Death and The Queen. I had, rather unfairly, pigeon-holed it as pure knockabout comedy. But Catherine saw past that and at one point brought a tear to my eye.”

David admits: “The moment I’ll always remember is recording the very first scene. David and Catherine threw themselves into it like they’d never been away. I was in the control room, and Matt Fitton was sitting on the sofa and we just turned to each other and grinned the biggest grins… I love all three scripts – Technophobia is just right for a Tenth Doctor opening story. Time Reaver is wildly imaginative but also quite personal and dramatic too. And Death and the Queen is bonkers and touching and brilliant.”

David Tennant adds: “I think the three scripts, like the TV show, are very individual in themselves.

“They are very different types of stories and they each had quite unique concepts to them, whether it’s the tone or the entire story.

“The first one is a much more recognisable world, with the conceit of it. You expect it to be one type of story but it’s another. It’s very clever. I think the third is quite an unusual world. Like the TV show at its best, they are fun, new ways of telling the same type of stories.”

[Above Cover for “Technophobia” by Matt Fitton, featuring a banner that reads “BBC Doctor Who - David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Technophobia by Matt Fitton, featuring Rachael Stirling and Niky Wardley”, and a photo of David Tennant. Background features the Big Finish logo, text that reads “Brand New Adventures - Full Cast Audio Drama” and photos of mobile phones, a Koggnossenti (the story’s antagonists), Catherine Tate, and David Tennant.]

Technophobia is very much a story in the mould of a Doctor Who television episode from the Russell T Davies era.

Set in the present day, it features a menace from an area where people wouldn’t expect it to come.

David Tennant says: “What I love about the first story is it’s quite a recognisable, traditional Doctor Who set-up, where it would seem that the machines are taking over – and that’s the kind of thing we’ve seen before – and there’s a brilliant twist.

“It’s a wonderful and rather chilling idea. It’s not an idea I’ve come across in Doctor Who before.”

Joining the cast is Niky Wardley playing Bex. Niky is no stranger to Big Finish, after appearing as the Eighth Doctor’s companion Tamsin Drew.

She tells Vortex: “What a treat to work with Catherine and David on Big Finish. David Richardson had asked me to be in it but I had no idea who else was in it until I saw the cast list a few days before so it was the best surprise!

“I was lucky enough to be recording with them on their first day, so to see them walk into their booths and then voice the Doctor and Donna again, after such a hiatus, was incredible.

“They bounced back to life straight away such is their amazing chemistry. David’s energy as the Doctor is so affecting, he sweeps you along with him and Catherine’s genius with comedy makes it just the perfect partnership. It was thrilling to be a part of it.”

 [Above Cover for “Time Reaver” by Jenny T Colgan, featuring a banner that reads “BBC Doctor Who - David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Time Reaver by Jenny T Colgan, featuring Sabrina Bartlett, Terry Molloy, and Dan Starkey”, and a photo of David Tennant. Background features the Big Finish logo, text that reads “Brand New Adventures - Full Cast Audio Drama” and photos of lasers, the story’s antagonist, Gully, Catherine Tate, and David Tennant.]

[Above Left to right: John Banks, Dan Starkey, Alex Lowe, Sabrina Bartlett, and Terry Malloy.]

Time Reaver takes the Doctor and Donna back out into space.

David Tennant enjoyed the story, saying: “It’s nice to have a big, proper sci-fi story on a big alien world, but as with the other stories we’ve done, we kind of think it’s going to be one type of story, about gun runners or this terrible weapon that’s going to destroy everything, and actually it’s even more interesting than that.

“It’s about a civilisation that doesn’t quite operate on the same moral framework as everyone else and how that can be confused when they move out into the stars, and there’s some lovely character stuff going on there as well.”

In the guest cast is Dan Starkey, playing Dorn. These days he’s best known to Doctor Who fans as Strax from the Paternoster Gang, alongside the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, but he was delighted to work with the leading pair – for a very nostalgic reason.

He reveals: “It was a great day. David and Catherine were there at the very start of my ‘professional’ Doctor Who career, when I joined them in series four for The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky, so it was nice to come back to them again, now Big Finish are doing new series Who.

“Most actors enjoy radio because it’s just good fun. We get the work done, and we can have a laugh with it. It’s always good being in the green room at the Moat then having a great lunch – and with David and Catherine around, it was great fun. You can tell they really get on.

“I very much enjoyed that period of the show, with the Tenth Doctor and Donna. It’s very strange now, thinking back to how much time has passed since then.

“I loved the way the Doctor and Donna were just great mates, going around, solving problems, and at that point, it felt like Doctor Who was really back and had taken over television. It was a great time to be involved in it and get on the bandwagon!

“Not having to sit in the make-up chair for three hours is something I always appreciate!

“It’s a great script by Jenny Colgan, that really captures that breathless rush that was there in the series four stories. You can really picture the bright colours, and there’s lots of pathos as well. It’s got that tension, which is really familiar as well.”

Another guest star in Time Reaver is another man who has spent most of his TV Doctor Who career behind a mask. Terry Molloy plays Rone in this story, but is best remembered for playing Davros against Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy’s Time Lords.

Terry recalls: “It was lovely to be at the microphone with David again, as we had previously worked together back in the 90s on a radio version of Edward Bond’s play The Sea. In Time Reaver, the studio fizzed with the energy and pace he always brings to the Doctor, and of course the interplay between him and Catherine Tate was fast, furious and very funny!”

 “It was a great day. David and Catherine were there at the very start of my ‘Professional’ Doctor Who career.”

– Dan Starkey

[Above Cover for “Death and the Queen” by James Goss, featuring a banner that reads “BBC Doctor Who - David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Death And The Queen by James Goss, featuring Alice Krige, Alan Cox, and Blake Ritson”, and a photo of David Tennant. Background features the Big Finish logo, text that reads “Brand New Adventures - Full Cast Audio Drama” and photos of strom clouds, a skull wearing a black hood, Catherine Tate, and David Tennant.]

Rounding off this first trilogy is Death and the Queen.

David Tennant was delighted with the script: “Death and the Queen is kind of like a twisted fairytale. It’s got some slightly deconstructed elements which make it the most broadly funny, the most broadly comic, of the three. That always works for the Doctor and Donna as a pairing.

“It also goes to some quite dark, quite unusual places and you also get to see Donna at her best. She struggles with finally getting her fairytale wedding, and nothing quite works out as she would imagine.”

Joining the guest cast is Beth Chalmers as Hortense.

She grins: “I’ve now worked with every single one of the Big Finish Doctors – I’ve worked with the others to a greater or lesser degree over the years, and in the last year, I’ve now added John Hurt and David Tennant – which is pretty cool.

“It was a bit cloak and dagger being in this one, as I was only told about it a couple of weeks before we went into the studio. I think I was doing one of the John Hurt episodes, when David Richardson asked me what I had coming up, and I asked him, ‘Why?’ He told me it was something they were keeping very, very quiet and told me it was these two, David and Catherine.

“Catherine Tate is a real treat to work with, but David Tennant is just so classy – he’s amazing. It’s fantastic to work with great actors and he’s such a brilliant guy too. I’ve worked with his wife Georgia before and you hear such lovely things about him from other people who have worked with him – and it’s all true. David’s got a kind of left-field, zany madness to him – he’s brilliant.

“I was really thrilled and knew there weren’t that many being made, so it was amazing to be one of the few actors to be asked.”

Beth found herself having to work hard on her character. “This story is a bit like a period drama, with a medieval castle. I did most of my scenes with Catherine Tate, who was speaking in her modern way with her modern rhythms, but I had to use a period voice. It’s hard to keep that going when she’s being funny, quippy, cool and modern, while I had to stick with the medieval voice.

“But when you compare the two voices, it makes her even more funny.

“It was a great story to do – it was fun, and almost cartoony, but I don’t mean that in any way to sound disrespectful.

“There weren’t too many vortexes and galaxies to worry about, so I could understand it!

“I also loved working with Blake Ritson – I was bowled over when I heard him doing his stuff.

“It was a great day, and it felt really special in the studio. I’m really looking forward to hearing how it all sounds in the finished version.”

 Responsible for the music and sound design on the trio of tales is Howard Carter.

Having worked on the War Doctor box sets, The Diary of River Song and UNIT, he’s loving the chance to get the Tenth Doctor onto his CV.

When first asked to work on this series, Howard admits he was: “Very excited! I’ve been working on the new series releases for the past seven months and knew these were coming up so it’s great to finally get stuck in. I read all of the scripts in one sitting and was thrilled at how brilliant they were and how much scope there was for me to be creative with the sound design and the music.”

How did he approach the plays – did he try to evoke Murray Gold’s style, as well as doing his own?

Howard explains: “With the Big Finish audios I’ve always felt that we should be moving the world of Doctor Who forward rather than creating pastiches of what’s been before. While it’s important to retain a certain level of stylistic familiarity I was keen to make sure the musical language was fresh and not too restricted by Murray’s style. His sound has been so integral to the characterisation and general atmosphere of the show that it would be foolish to ignore, but at the same time I feel the plays are best served by taking a step forward.

“As such, I wanted to create a score that wouldn’t sound out of place in the world that people are familiar with, while letting my own influences and style filter through. The music is still very thematic with certain motifs running through the boxset, but my main aim was to write scores that best serve these plays and the overall atmosphere of the set.”

He adds: “It’s a great privilege to be working on these stories. The scripts are so fantastic it’s both humbling and exciting to be bringing them to life knowing that so many people will get the chance to hear the Doctor and Donna back together. I can only hope people have as much fun listening to them as much as I’ve had working on them.”

 The final element that really seals the deal for these audios are the covers, which have been created by Tom Webster.

As with the rest of the Big Finish team, Tom was delighted to be working on these releases.

He adds: “I was so excited to work with the David and Catherine images. I think the moment where I started to cut the images out was where it really hit me, the Tenth Doctor and Donna in Big Finish. Amazing!

“I found it quite easy to create a feel for the era on the special deluxe edition, I set out to emulate the style of the series box sets and particularly the vanilla DVDs. I wanted to go with very bright, vibrant colours and the most dynamic photos that I could use.

“I decided from an early stage that I wanted to play with a TARDIS interior motif - so I created something inspired by the coral structures, which provided a nice framework. The vanilla covers were lots of fun, as I was tasked with making each one distinctly different. Technophobia really feels like a Russell T Davies episode one, so I really wanted to go for a bright and brash impactful image.

“I’m actually extremely happy with them all, I spent lots of time getting them just the way I’d imagined when reading the scripts. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be doing such huge releases for Big Finish and I didn’t want to let anyone down. I hope people enjoy them!”

 Since the Big Finish Tenth Doctor audios were first announced, they have received plenty of coverage in the media, from publications as diverse as Jenny Colgan’s local newspaper the Ayrshire Post, to national papers like the Daily Mirror, whilst they’ve also had numerous mentions on TV, including a big plug on The Jonathan Ross Show on ITV.

David Richardson says: “We knew the reaction was going to be huge. And it was probably bigger than that! So it was brilliant, and such a relief to have the secret out there having kept it to ourselves for so long. We’d had a year of whispering in locked rooms and sending coded emails – and suddenly all the world knew!”

Nick adds: “Can I just say too how delighted I was? It was one of those things. We’d been living with these plays for so long. It seemed almost surreal that we were actually doing them. And when our listeners and other Doctor Who fans loved the idea too… It was simply amazing.”

Jason was particularly pleased that Big Finish received so many mentions when David was doing the media rounds to promote his Netflix series Jessica Jones.

He laughs: “I feel like sending the publicist for Jessica Jones a bunch of roses!

“They did a great job to get David on a lot of programmes to talk about Jessica Jones, and we kind of hijacked their promotional tour!

“Of all the things we’ve done over the years, that definitely got us the most media attention.

“David, I’m sure, knows how much he was loved as Doctor Who. If he ever had any doubts, I think going round and doing publicity for Jessica Jones, where everyone asked him about doing the Big Finish audios, has shown how much people are still interested in him and love him as the Doctor.”

– VORTEX Magazine, Issue 87, Pages 6-15

 [Above Cover of “The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Volume 1″. Text reads: “David Tennant - Catherine Tate BBC Doctor Who The Tenth Doctor Adventures Three Full Cast Audio Adventures Technophobia - Time Reaver - Death And The Queen” Background features the Big Finish logo, Catherine Tate, David Tennant, the TARDIS, Time Reaver’s antagonist, Gully, a black hooded figure, and a castle.]

 The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Volume 01

Technophobia

London’s Technology Museum faces a revolution. Is it all down to simple human stupidity, or is something more sinister going on?

Time Reaver

An illegal weapon is loose on the streets of spaceport planet Calibris - and the Vacintians are closing in…

Death and the Queen

The Wedding of all Weddings comes under attack by a skeleton army. Can Queen Donna save her people from Death itself?

 Written By: Matt Fitton, Jenny T Colgan, James Goss

Directed By: Nicholas Briggs

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Niky Wardley (Bex), Rachael Stirling (Jill Meadows), Chook Sibtain (Brian), Rory Keenan (Kevin), Jot Davies (Lukas), Alex Lowe (Soren), Sabrina Bartlett (Cora), Terry Molloy (Rone), John Banks (Gully), Dan Starkey (Dorn), Blake Ritson (Rudolph), Alice Krige (Queen Mum), Beth Chalmers (Hortense), Alan Cox (Death)

 Available as deluxe five-disc box set, limited edition of 5,000, and as individual vanilla releases.

For full details visit www.bigfinish.com . 

[chloefranco]

Imagine Killian Jones as a florist (AU)

A Killian “Hook” Jones Imagine. Kinda alternate universe?

Summary: It’s still in Storybrooke but imagine Killian was also stuck there because of the curse instead of still being in another realm. This lil’ story is based off Christina Perri’s song ‘The Words’ and Colin was in it! He looked so cute as a florist so I thought I would write something about it. An alternate universe to Once Upon A Time. 

Warnings: None. Just fluff and fluff and fluff.

PART 1

   You were on a walk in town, holding fresh baked bread in a brown paper bag in your arms. It was just 7 in the morning, you were always a morning person well ever since you saw that florist next to the bakery a month ago. You knew who he was, Killian Jones. But you never noticed how cute he was. Let’s be real, you only go to the bakery every morning at 7 sharp just because you knew that he would be at his shop at that exact time, working. You never talked to him before because he always seemed too busy. You have bought so much baked goods every single morning that the baker, Mrs. Mckinley was worried about you. “Honey, you alright?” She asked you with a suspicious look. 

“Yeah, why do you ask?” You smiled.

“Sweetheart, you’ve been buying bread and pastries every morning for nearly two months. That’s a little odd, don’t you think?” She said putting your bread and pastries in a brown paper bag. You didn’t know what to say honestly, you were speechless. When you didn’t say anything, she sighed and looked at you. “What is it?”

“Oh, Mrs. Mckinley. There’s this guy.” You said really fast.

“Oh no, a guy.” 

“Yes, he’s so cute.” You said, then you whispered the next part. “He’s right next door.”

“Why are you whispering? Nobody can hear us.” She chuckled,

“You can’t trust these walls!” You whispered again. “Anyway, I buy stuff from you all the time at like the crack of dawn just because he’s at his shop at 7 sharp. He’s always smiling at me but it’s one of those friendly smiles! And I’m too shy to say anything to him.” You rambled.

“You know what, honey that’s it. You’re going over there now and you’re going to make a conversation with this man. And you better not buy any more bread from me until I see you talking to him.” She said as she pushed you out the door. Then she poked her head out her door, looking at somebody behind you. She smiled, and said “That’s the florist right there. Good luck.” 

   You turned around to see Killian loading a crate of flowers into his truck, your heart was racing a million miles per second just looking at him. He caught you staring and smiled at you. “Good morning, (y/n).” He nodded at you, making his way past you, pushing the door to his shop with his shoulder as he carried two watering cans. Your heart raced when he said your name. ‘He knows my name?’ You couldn’t stop smiling now. ‘Should I go in or should I just go home and try again tomorrow?’ All these questions racing through your mind. You were about to just go home when you heard a door open and saw Mrs. Mckinley poking her head out the door again. “Psst. Go. What are you waiting for?” 

   You walked up ahead to his shop, pushing the door, making the little bell above the door jingle. You looked up to see him already looking at you with a smile slowly forming on his face. 

Killian’s POV

   My god, why did I say her name? Now she’s gonna wonder how I know her name. But then again, this is a small town. She shouldn’t be surprised. I greeted her after seeing her looking at me. She was so beautiful. I don’t even have to open my shop so bloody early in the morning but seeing her at 7 sharp everyday, I just had to. I smiled at her, carrying watering cans into the shop, silently praying that she’ll come in. I was tying twine around some plants, hands visibly shaking at the thought of her coming into my store when I heard the bell above the door jingle. I looked up to see her, carrying her bread like she does everyday. I always wondered why she loved bread so much cause I see her buy it every morning. It was a bit concerning actually. I smiled at her once more, hoping it didn’t come off as weird. 

“Hey.” She said with one hand inside the pocket of her coat.

“H-hey. (Y/n).” I said, dusting off my hands and coming over to her. 

“Are you the one who tends to the mayor’s garden?” She asked, touching the plants on my shelf. 

“Yes, actually.” I scratched my head with a nervous smile. “Can I help you with something?” I smiled even more.

“I was just looking around, I’ve seen you around but I never knew you were a florist.” She told me with a chuckle, looking into my eyes. 

“Killian Jones. At your service, love.” I said bowing slightly, making her smile. My heart was not meant for these kind of feelings. Her smile was enough to just make my heart flutter like crazy. 

TO BE CONTINUED.

[fuzzballsheltiepants]

The Forging of  the Wolf, Chapter 13

Aedion’s saga continues.  A little smut, a lot of angst, and some violence.  Trigger warning for self-harm.  Read the earlier chapters:  Chapter 1.  Chapter 2.  Chapter 3.  Chapter 4.  Chapter 5.  Chapter 6.  Chapter 7.  Chapter 8.  Chapter 9.  Chapter 10.  Chapter 11.  Chapter 12. 

Delaney reached the top of the hill and pulled Horse to a stop.  A light snow had been falling off and on for hours, and the scene before her belonged in one of the paintings in Clery’s parlor.  Below her lay the lights of the city, sprawling along the curve of the river that from here was a broad gray streak.  Far off the distance, she could see the castle rising up, towering above the smaller buildings, bluish gray in the dim light that filtered through the clouds.  It looked strange and fragile compared to the white beauty of Orynth.  Turi had told her it was made of glass, as bizarre as that seemed; she wondered how it was even possible to build a structure that size from glass.  Having watched the glassblowers in Orynth a time or two, she smiled at the image of a giant as big as the continent blowing through a pipe the size of the river below, spinning and crimping to build the form.  

She had finally reached Rifthold.  It had taken weeks for her to master the letter-writing codes well enough to please Clery.  He had found her a group of merchants to travel with, deeming that safer than her traveling as a lone woman, no matter how many times she had pointed out she’d made it to Orynth on her own.  In the end she was grateful; it was much more pleasant to camp with the others than it would have been alone, and they helped shield her from the occasional patrols as well.  

One of the merchants rode up next to her.  “What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful,” Delaney said.

Margite snorted.  “Only from afar, believe me.  Once you’re down there, the smell alone is enough to make you forget all about this view.”

“Oh, wonderful.”

“At least you’re working in a bakery, that should help mask it,” the young merchant said, grinning, as she turned her horse to start the twisting road down the hill.  Delaney followed, and they soon caught up with the others.  Horse had the peculiar habit of sliding down hills on his hindquarters.  Delaney had not realized this was unusual, but it had caused quite a lot of alarm among the merchants until she explained it was just his way.  They slid past Margite and Rou, and finally caught up with Coline and Olivyi at the bottom.  Horse stood and shook his sparse mane, obviously quite proud of himself.  

Coline laughed.  “I’m going to miss the two of you,” she said in her honey-sweet voice that could convince a milliner to buy a hat - and did, regularly.  “I wish you could keep traveling with us.”

Delaney smiled.  “I hardly think I’d be much of an asset, I could’t sell bread to a starving man.”

“Don’t tell your new employer that,” Olivyi quipped.  

“Thankfully, I don’t think they expect me to sell it, just bake it.  That I can manage.”

They were near the gates, where she counted three guards perusing everyone who passed.  There wasn’t a line; whether that was due to the weather or the approaching nightfall she didn’t know.  The men seemed bored, barely scanning the five of them on horseback, only stopping Julot the driver with the wagon full of goods.  They paused, waiting for the inspection to finish, Delaney allowing Horse to pick at the sparse grass as payment for getting them there safely.  When one of the guards thumped on the wagon, she tugged up his head and they headed into the city proper.

It was enormous, much larger than Orynth, but it lacked the classic majesty of the white city.  The main road ran parallel to the river though several blocks away, and Margite had not been joking about the smell.  Dead fish odor permeated everything, though some neighborhoods blended that with the even more delightful smells of fetid piss and garbage.  She hoped she’d get used to it in time, but for now, she wrinkled her nose and the others laughed.  After a while, they reached the market district.  There, though they were right along the river, the smells of coffee, bread, and spices outcompeted the less pleasant odors from the river.  The road opened up before them into a large square.  It was deserted at the moment, all of the stalls coated in a layer of fine powdery snow, and starkly beautiful with the lights from the castle hovering over it all.  

Rou led them through the square and towards the warehouses at the far end.  There, the merchants unloaded the wagon into their reserved area with the efficiency that comes from long practice.  Delaney helped where she could, mostly just getting underfoot and sliding around on the slick cobbles.  Finally, Julot unhitched the horses and he, Rou, and Olivyi backed the wagon in before pulling the door closed and padlocking it.

They dropped the horses at the stable of the boarding house where the merchants would be staying and began walking through the section of the market square that contained most of the bakeries.  There were still lights on in most of the windows, people inside working in preparation for the approaching solstice celebration.  When they reached the address Delaney had been given, there were lights on but the door was locked.  Suddenly she was glad for her small posse of merchants.  She hesitated briefly before knocking, and Coline gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.  Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and raised her hand.

A rap on the glass door had a black-haired, red-cheeked young woman poking her head through an interior door, then scurrying over to open it.  “We’re closed,” she said politely, “but we’ll be open first thing tomorrow morning.  Is there something  that you’re looking for?”

“I’m Delaney,” she said, feeling like an utter idiot when the woman looked at her blankly.  “Um, my cousin Fulke spoke with someone here about a job for me?”

At Fulke’s name, the other woman’s face had cleared.  “Ah yes, welcome, Delaney.  I’m Lina.  Would your friends like to come in?”  Delaney looked around to them, wondering if her panic showed on her face.  

Margite gave her a hug.  “You’ll be fine,” she said.  “We’ll come by tomorrow, see how you’re making out.  And you know where we’re staying.”  Delaney nodded.  “Good luck my friend.”

This was echoed by the rest of them, and Delaney murmured her thanks.  It wasn’t enough; she owed them so much more. After the emotional whirlwind she had been on for the past eight months, their easy acceptance of her into their ranks had somehow made the ground under her feet more steady even as the terrain had changed from the rugged forests of pine and rock near Orynth to the broad plains of grass in northern Adarlan.   This trip had been the first time she had truly been able to see how varied and lovely this world was; almost her whole life had been spent in the training camp, and on her trip to Orynth she had seldom been able to feel easy enough to just…look.  Margite and Coline, and Rou and Olivyi and even silent Julot - they had given her that.

With a deep breath, she smiled through the tears that burned her eyes and waved as they left.  Turning back to Lina, she was ready to apologize for making the woman wait but she saw such a softness in her round face that she knew the apology was unnecessary.  “Thank you for understanding,” she said instead.  

Lina smiled.  “Good friends are always a blessing,” she replied, stepping back holding the door open.  “Come on in.”

The bakery was new and familiar at the same time.  The warm, rich, yeasty and sweet smell swamped her and she breathed in deep.  The small store at the front opened into a large bustling workspace in the back, at least double the size of Ea’s.  A dozen men and women of a wide range of ages were scattered through the space, and there was flour floating in the sweltering air.  Everyone looked up as Delaney followed Lina into the room, and there were quick smiles of greeting all around before they returned to their work.  

“You came at a bit of an awkward time,” Lina said apologetically.  “With solstice in a couple of days, we’re really busy.  I can quickly show you where your room is, so you can get some rest, and I can show you the ropes in the morning if you like.”

Delaney shook her head.  “No, I’ll help, just tell me where I can put my stuff and wash up.”

Lina gratefully took her to the small wash room and she quickly washed her face and hands and put her hair up in a knot before rejoining the other bakers.  An older man with a pleasant open face called her over and, after a few questions, directed her to a station to roll out and bake cookies.  In what seemed like no time, there were dozens of perfectly golden cookies cooling on racks and Delaney was wiping the sweat from her flushed face.  

The older man approached and surveyed the cookies, gently touching one to test the texture, then picking it up and breaking it in half.  “These are perfect,” he said, nibbling on one half while handing the other to her.  “Luk.”

“Delaney,” she replied, taking the cookie then shaking his outstretched hand.

“Welcome to Rifthold, Delaney.”

*****

“Again.”

Aedion spun his sword in his hand, eyeing the officers who faced him.  In the two months since Mikkal had left, he had been working as much as he could drag his pathetic ass down to the pitch.  A number of his fellow officers had taken it upon themselves to try to beat the shit out of him regularly.  They generally failed, though when it was three on one - he glared at Ivry, Bellamy, and Levett - they certainly could make him sweat for it.  Somehow, even Colonel Sayre, General Paget’s right-hand man, had gotten involved, and it was he who was calling for them to repeat the exercise.

He was exhausted, though he wouldn’t admit it.  Each night, his dreams drove him from sleep; he had finally stopped reaching for that warm male body, finally stopped hoping for that beautiful voice to begin singing while strong arms wrapped around him.  So instead he read, now devouring books about history and strategy rather than the silliness he had previously favored.

Ivry, Bellamy, and Levett got set, and Aedion lifted his sword, but before they went Sayre called out, “Wait.”  Everyone relaxed, and Sayre limped over to Aedion.  “I’ve been watching you for weeks now, boy,” he said, loudly enough for the others to hear, “and I want to see you fight like you would in battle.”  Aedion looked at him in surprise.  “You’re plenty well-schooled in all the techniques, but as far as I can tell you lack the ability to put an opponent down and keep ‘em there.  Prove me wrong.”

“I could hurt somebody,” Aedion said.

Sayre nodded thoughtfully.  “True.”  He turned to the other officers, and they all nodded back.  “Just try to stay your killing blow.”

At least they’re all wearing armor, Aedion thought, as he hefted his sword and his shield.  The armor and the shield were on Sayre’s insistence, and had become standard protocol when he trained.  The latter was because it had been determined Aedion was sloppy with protection, that if he was on a battlefield where there were archers he would need to be able to use it.  He still preferred fighting with two blades, but perhaps…perhaps he was underestimating the usefulness of the shield.

Bellamy charged first, and Aedion parried, then slammed the shield into him, knocking him off his feet and sending his sword flying, before spinning to counter Ivry.  Ivry was too quick, too balanced on his feet for the same maneuver to work, and they clashed, then circled.  When Aedion heard Levett come at his blind side, he lunged at Ivry, pushing him onto his back foot, before spinning to counter Levett with his shield.  A blow from the fist holding hilt of his sword against Levett’s temple dropped him to the ground, and Aedion turned back to Ivry.  For the first time since they’d met, Ivry looked unnerved, but he didn’t pause, just continued on the offensive.  In a few more moves, Ivry was disarmed, and Aedion stopped.  

Bellamy was still on the ground, though he’d managed to roll onto his hands and knees.  Levett was out cold; Sayre and Aedion both rushed to check on him, Aedion sheathing his sword as he moved.  “Well, he’s breathing,” Sayre said grimly.  Levett blinked, then groaned, bringing his arm up to shield his eyes from the light.  Aedion moved to fetch the healer, but looked up to see Raedan already returning with her in tow.  He hadn’t even realized Raedan had been among the gathered watchers, though he wasn’t surprised.

“Levett,” Sayre said quietly, “can you hear me?”

“Mmhmm,” Levett responded, still not taking his arm away from his eyes.  

The healer arrived then and bent over him, talking quietly.  After a few minutes, he rose to his feet, a little unsteadily, and Aedion was right there, helping him as they walked slowly off the field.  When they reached the infirmary, Aedion lifted Levett and set him gently in one of the beds.  “I’m sorry,” he said, as the healer disappeared to grab a tonic.

“For what?” Levett croaked, trying to smile.  “Not your fault I’m slow.”

Before he could respond, the healer was there shooing him out.  When he turned to leave, Sayre was right behind him, and they walked out together.  “The only thing you did wrong, boy,” the colonel said once they were back outside, “is apologize.”  He clapped Aedion on his armored back before heading off towards his office.

Aedion shook his head in disbelief, then headed towards Ivry’s house.  He couldn’t stop his hand from slipping into his pocket and touching the worn, folded paper that lay there.  He had been carrying it around since he had found it, tucked deep into his saddle bag, about two weeks after Mikkal had left.  He didn’t need to pull it out to read it.  When he closed his eyes, that elegant flowing script was all he could see.

Dearest Aedion,

There was so much I should have told you and didn’t.  I don’t think you have any idea how brilliant you truly are.  You need to be willing to embrace every part of you, if you are going to achieve what you hope to.  Your heritage is a blessing.  Don’t fear it.  Your strength, your speed - these things will save you.  

We never really spoke much of your family, but I know what was done to them.  And I can guess by whom.  You have the strength, the courage, and the intelligence to do what needs to be done.  I wish I could be there to help you, to see you set things right at last.  For I have every faith you will do so, and no matter where I am, I will know - and be proud of you.

I am grateful that the gods saw fit to let us have each other, even if it was only for a few months.  I see now that this was why they spared me; that they denied all my prayers while I was in Fenharrow so that I could have the joy of knowing you.  Now that I am going back into that hell,  know that no matter what my thoughts will always be of you.

With love, Mikkal

When he had first read this, he had been angry, so angry, with himself as well as with Mikkal.  The last paragraph - he should have known.  Should have understood the shadows he had seen lurking in those amber eyes.  Mikkal had hinted at it enough, but he had been too caught up in everything, too happy, to recognize it.  But Mikkal…he should have told him.

Perhaps that shared pain, those shared unanswered prayers for death, were what had drawn them to each other.

Now, softened by the intervening weeks, he clung to the first paragraph.  That and the memory of their last night were what dragged him out from his tangled sheets each morning, what pushed him to pick up the weapons that had become so heavy.  For though he was learning all he could about strategy, he was no closer to figuring out how to actually pull off his plans.  

He had received his promotion to Captain a few weeks ago, a necessary step before he could be sent into Terrasen with a company of his own.  It was the weather that kept him where he was, as the snow coming down from the Staghorns would be making the roads challenging at best farther north.  Here they had had a few snowfalls, but the sun had returned in between to melt it away.  In Perranth, or Orynth, they would not be so lucky.  He didn’t know to which city he would be sent first.  Orynth was four times the size of Perranth, and contained the majority of the lords who still lived and likely most of the rebels.  On the other hand, Perranth was more securely under Adarlan control, given that that piece-of-shit Vernon had surrendered completely to the King of Adarlan after he gave his own brother and niece over to the butchering blocks.

This was what should have been occupying his thoughts, but at the moment, he just wanted to find some release.  The fight was over so quickly that it had just whetted his appetite, especially since he had finally loosened the tight leash he kept on himself.  He knocked on Ivry’s door and was welcomed in by Mrs. Ivry, who promptly handed him tiny Morghanna and went to get her husband.  He emerged fresh from his bath a few minutes later, smiling a bit at the sight of his daughter being cradled in Aedion’s huge hands.

“I could use a ride into town,” Aedion said quietly,  not wanting to wake the sleeping baby.  “Any errands I can run for you?”

Ivry was more than happy to hand him a list, and Aedion was off after transferring Morghanna carefully to her father.  Avenar sensed his mood, and kicked up her heels as he let her into a gallop once they hit the road.  Once they hit the town, he tied her and completed his errands before allowing his feet to carry him towards The Sow’s Ear.  The small tavern was at the far end of town from the inn, and had a rather different clientele.  He dodged drunken dancers before landing at the bar, accepting his glass of ale from the curvy bartender.  Lizabet gave him a wink, and he sipped slowly, watching her and the other staff serving the patrons, waiting for her signal.  When she tapped on the bar and the brown-haired woman took her place, he rose from his stool and walked out into the alley.

It was the ale - far superior to that of the inn - that had first brought him here, but it was the bartender that kept him coming back.  That first visit, she had dropped a note in front of him inviting him to meet her in the alley during her break.  He had been a bit startled when she had declined his offer of a visit to the inn, instead talking him through taking her against the brick wall of the tavern.  Now it was a regular occurrence, with him finding excuses to make it into town multiple times per week.  

Lizabet was waiting behind the tavern, and they lost no time.  As he covered her mouth with his, she unbuttoned his pants, freeing the arousal that had sprung the moment he’d stepped out of the building, then lifted her skirts.  He picked her up with one arm under her ass and the other supporting her shoulders, and she reached between them to guide him into her.  It was a matter of a few thrusts before she was moaning into his mouth, a few more before he felt her core clenching around him.  He found his release not long after, ignoring the hollow feeling that always persisted despite the waves of pleasure coursing through his body.  

As she was straightening her skirts, he asked, “How long do you have?”  Sometimes they could manage another session.

“I need to get back,” she said with a smirk, “but I can send one of the other girls out.”  She had offered this a number of times, and he had taken her up on it once or twice, but he shook his head.  The door closed behind her, and he turned and headed back to Avenar.  On the ride home, he couldn’t fight the wave of shame that washed over him.  It had not been that long since Mikkal had left, and he couldn’t stop rutting like a tomcat in an alley.  He cursed his lack of self control.  Yet he knew in two days, or three, he’d be back there.  It was a pale imitation of making love, but at least it was a few minutes of feigned closeness.

Once he was back in his room, he pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen.  As he had every week for the past two months, he began to write.

Dearest Mikkal…

*****

The hammering outside was driving into Mikkal’s brain.  The camp he was at, that had begun as a temporary holding during the initial push into Fenharrow, was being made permanent.  The dining hall, kitchens, infirmary, and main house were already built.  Now the barracks were going up, at his insistence.  The original plan had been to build the officers’ houses first, but he pointed out that it was much more efficient to build one large building to house the barracks, and the officers could always bunk in if they wished to get out of the tents.  It had been the first time he had pushed back a bit against General Chambers.  Since he had been careful to do it behind closed doors it had been accepted, if not with grace, at least with grudging respect.

He just wished it wasn’t being built right next to his gods-damned tent.  But then, the general was entitled to his bit of revenge.

“Major Paget?”  One of the pages entered with a stack of letters for him, and he nodded to the corner of his desk then thanked the boy for setting them there.  Finishing up his report, he leaned back in his char, studying the pile of envelopes.  Taking a deep breath, he reached for it.

The first few were the expected responses from some of his fellow officers at nearby camps, concerning his inquiries regarding the welfare of the locals caught between the rebels and Adarlan’s forces.  There was a letter in his father’s strong hand.  And then - there it was.  Aedion’s scrawl.  Starting at the top, he read through, making notes about where the farms and markets were still thriving, and where they were burned out or gone fallow. The latter list was far longer.  He shook his head as he jotted down the last few names; he needed to present this to General Chambers.  It was vital to get food to the regions where the farms and markets were gone as soon as possible.

His father had written primarily to congratulate him on his promotion to major.  There were little bits of information about the camp; his mother was enjoying her time watching the Ivry’s baby, evidently Raedan Lamar had made a full recovery, and Major Bellamy was engaged to a girl from his hometown.  And at the end:  Ashryver continues to work with Colonel Sayre as you had suggested.  We will be putting together a small company of men to accompany him in the spring, when we expect him to begin to rally a force in the north.  

Lastly, he reached for Aedion’s letter.  He just held it for several long minutes, fingers tracing the letters that made up his name.  Sighing, he flipped it over and broke the seal.  His heart cracked anew as he read.  Each of these letters had the same effect.  After the first one, that had been so crackling with anger and pain he had barely been able to finish it, he had actually put in for a transfer back north.  It had been denied, and even though he told himself that was expected, the only thing that kept his dagger from plunging into his own skin was imagining the anguish he would cause his mother.

He had not been able to answer any of the letters.  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; it was that when he picked up his pen it seemed to be physically impossible for him to actually make it move across the paper.  Setting the paper down on the desk, he leaned back in the chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.  “Shit.”

A lieutenant stuck his head through the flap then.  “Major Paget?”

“Yes?”

“You’re wanted by the general, sir.”

“Thank you, lieutenant.”  Picking the letter up, he caressed it lightly before dropping it into the box with the others and left the tent.

*****

Delaney was beginning to get the feel of Rifthold.  She shared the rooms above the bakery with several other young women, and though the days were long and hectic, they often went out afterwards.  There were always a dozen parties to be found, and it seemed like everyone in the whole city between the ages of fifteen and thirty managed to be at one of them.  At first she had hated it; the noise, the crush of bodies, and the smell of sweat and alcohol and worse all combined to make her feel nauseated.  But now she was used to it, and was coming to even enjoy it.  Gossip flowed with the liquor, and she found that as long as she had a drink in her hand and acted vaguely interested she was easily incorporated into conversation.

Fulke had come to see her as soon as she had sent word of her safe arrival, greeting her with a hug and some clothes.  He agreed to take on Horse, so she wouldn’t have to worry about selling him.  He also insisted she renew her self-defense lessons, something she grumbled about but was secretly pleased to hear.  She had one day off per week, and spent that afternoon with him training.  He then had her and a rotating cast of friends for dinner.  About half the friends were rebels, from all over the empire.  The rest were people he met in the course of his cover job as an arms merchant.  Once Delaney convinced him to invite her merchant friends, and that was by far her favorite evening.  Rou and Fulke hit it off immediately, and the small flat was filled with all their laughter.  When her friends left the city a few days later, they assured her they would visit on their return; it was the only thing that kept her from grieving their departure.

Otherwise the winter wore on uneventfully.  Her weekly letters to her dear Uncle Clery went out like clockwork, largely full of unimportant nonsense so far.  She caught occasional glimpses of young Prince Dorian when he rode out on his horse, always with a brown-haired youth of about Raedan’s age at his side.  Now that she was in Adarlan, she was able to keep better track of its soldiers, and had indeed confirmed that Raedan was still a soldier in General Paget’s camp.  Aedion’s promotion to captain made her grin, but she couldn’t brag as she wished to so she settled for cutting out the clipping with his name and tucking it in with her meager possessions.

It was getting close to spring, though you wouldn’t know it in the city still filled with dingy slush.  She was bringing fresh rolls up to the front when she first saw her.  Rich, golden brown hair braided into a crown around her head; warm brown eyes flecked with gold; and such finely modeled features that she looked like one of the rare porcelain dolls she had seen in the shops.  The woman was probably a year or two older than Delaney herself, and she smiled so sweetly at Lina, who was working the counter that day, that Delaney froze.  When she turned to leave, her packet of cookies - cookies Delaney herself had baked - in her hand, she saw Delaney gaping at her and paused.  A tinge of shyness crept into the smile but she held her gaze for a long moment.  When she finally left, Delaney nearly fell over and she realized she had been holding her breath the whole time.

“Does she come in often?” Delaney asked as she dumped the rolls into their basket.

“Who?” Lina asked absent-mindedly, taking advantage of a short lull to neaten the glass case.

“That woman with the cookies.”

“Lady Massie?  Yes, she’s in regularly.  Loves our cookies and the miniature cakes.”

Lady.  Of course she was an aristo, and Delaney herself was the unclaimed daughter of a soldier and a camp laundress.  Oh well.  At least she could look at her.  But to be able to see her regularly…it became of vital urgency that she learn the sales aspect of the bakery as soon as possible.

*****

It was the middle of the night when a runner started pounding on the door of Mikkal’s small cottage, still so new it smelled of paint.  He yanked open the door, and the wild-eyed boy panted out, “We’re under attack.  Rebels, hundreds of them.”  Cursing, Mikkal threw on his tunic and boots and his light armor, the runner helping fasten him in, then grabbed his sword and dagger, buckling them on as he moved.  Running out and up the closest watch tower, he met one of his fellow majors at the top, staring grimly down at the men with torches surrounding the camp.  A number of their own soldiers were marching through the gate, ready to engage.  As they watched, the rebels dipped their arrows in the flames and sent them soaring over the wall.  

“Well, shit,” Mikkal said as the arrows landed on the newly built buildings.  Most of them extinguished on impact, but a few started to burn.  Turning, he ran back down the stairs and towards the stables.  Chetak was already saddled along with the other officers’ horses, and he threw himself on and spurred him into a gallop.  They raced through the camp, the gates swinging open again as he approached.  The Adarlanian soldiers parted as he burst through, and he charged down on the rebels, using Chetak’s big body to drive them back without drawing his blade.  They began giving ground to get away from the plunging hooves, and his men surged behind him to aid in pushing back.  A few took aim at the horse with their bows and Mikkal roared in fury as they let fly.  Chetak grunted and lurched as an arrow hit him in the hindquarters.  Pulling him up, Mikkal reached back and yanked it out, sitting the resulting buck, then throwing his leg over and dropping to the ground.  The horse, not being a fool, spun and galloped back to the camp while Mikkal turned to the assailants.  They were poorly armed, with cheap leather armor, and his own troops were at his back as arrows began to fly from the watch towers.  One by one, the rebels began to drop, but they did not retreat; all who could stay on their feet engaged.  Mikkal found himself attacked by three opponents, whom he quickly disarmed, then disabled with strokes to the backs of their legs.

“I don’t want to kill any of you,” he screamed in frustration, as the third man fell and a fourth came in to take their place.  There was no sign any of them heard.  The fourth man went down, and as he did so an impact drove into Mikkal’s left shoulder, bringing him down to his knees on ground that was already slick with blood.  Looking down, he saw an arrow protruding from the joint of his armor - am impressive, or lucky, shot.  He brought his sword up, then sliced down, shearing the shaft so it no longer protruded before lurching back onto this feet.  Looking down the hill, he saw his soldiers pushing the rebels back, continuing to pursue even as they turned to run.  Mikkal realized - this wasn’t going to be a mere victory for Adarlan, it was going to be a wholesale slaughter.  

He ran down into the fray, screaming at his men to stop, but his voice was drowned out by the cries of the dying rebels, by the bloodlust he knew was roaring through the veins of the soldiers.  As he reached the front and tried to turn back to get the attention of his men, a rebel leaped on him from behind and he went down, rolling, hooking the man’s ankles so when they stopped he was on top.  There was a thin burn from under where his armor ended but he couldn’t acknowledge it as the man slashed upwards with a dagger, just as he brought his own sword down.  His honed blade sliced through the man’s throat and sank deep into the spine beneath.  The threat eliminated, Mikkal sat back on the man’s abdomen and looked numbly at his throbbing sword hand.  The little finger was gone, the ring finger cut to the bone.  

A sudden cessation of noise made Mikkal look up.  The rout was over; the ground was littered with lumps he couldn’t bring himself to consider.  It was too dark to even begin to guess at the numbers, or to try to differentiate how many of those mounds on the grass were his own men.  Chest heaving, he looked down at the corpse between his knees.  The man’s dagger was laying in the grass next to him, and there was something next to it.  He reached down and picked the object up with his left hand, feeling a dull twinge of pain in his right and another just above his pelvis, and stared at it stupidly.  After several long seconds it registered that it was his finger.  Dropping it, he pressed his hand down on the chest of the rebel, studying it.  He could still hold a sword, still fight, still murder in the name of the King once his ring finger healed.  If only that knife had been sharper, had come up with more force…

There was nobody near him.  He reached down and picked up the dagger.  Gripping it in his bloody left hand, he studied his right.  Angling the knife to fit into the existing wound, he sucked in a breath and yanked, drawing the blade through the ring finger and deeply into the middle one.  Biting down on his cry, he dropped his head for a moment and breathed, trying not to be sick from the sharp metallic smell of the blood that mixed with the smells of urine and shit leaking from the dead man beneath him.  Curling his index finger in, he finished the job on the middle finger, severing it at the first knuckle.  

He did vomit then, though the pain was more muted than he expected; it was more from the sight of the finger dropping, the quiet thud as it hit the ground.  He dropped the dagger next to it before vomiting again.  The spasms caused the burn in his lower abdomen to increase.  Once he was finally done retching, he stood shakily.  There was a sticky wetness seeping into his waistband and shirt and he looked down, but he couldn’t see past the edge of his armor.  

Voices sounded nearby, and he turned towards them and tried to walk up the hill.  The voices were familiar, but he couldn’t see anybody; suddenly he couldn’t see much at all, it was so dark, as if the moon and stars had disappeared behind clouds.  He took a few staggering steps before his legs wouldn’t work at all, and there was a distant shout as he went down on his knees.

Suddenly there were hands on him, rolling him onto his back, and low fervent cursing.  His armor was unbuckled and he felt a pull in his left shoulder as the front was lifted off.  The arrow.  He tried to help but his arms, like his legs, wouldn’t move.  Somehow the moon and stars reappeared then, and there was enough light that he recognized one of his lieutenants and a couple of other men, one of whom had turned aside to retch.  One of the men was kneeling behind him, gently elevating his head, and he looked down, to see his abdomen gaping open, the torn muscle glistening through the blood.

“Shit,” he tried to say, but nothing came out.  Figures, he thought.  Now the gods see fit to answer my prayers.  His last thought before the world went black was, Aedion, I’m sorry.

*****

It was during a gray thaw that Aedion’s orders finally came.  As early as safe passage was possible, he was to select a small number of soldiers to head to Orynth.  There they were to try to glean what information they could about the Bane, most of which was rumored to be north of the Staghorns.  He was then to use his judgment whether to return to camp or continue north for more information, but he was to report back before taking any action to recruit members of the Terrasen army.

This led to a series of arguments about how many soldiers should accompany him.  Aedion initially wanted to go alone, but accepted the general’s flat refusal.  Sayre wanted to send a small force of around thirty; Aedion insisted that would come across as overly aggressive for their purposes.

In the end, they settled on five total: three regulars, one lieutenant, and Aedion himself.  Few enough to travel quickly, but not so few they would be vulnerable.  The first person he approached was Raedan; he hadn’t even gotten halfway through his first sentence before Raedan asked, “When do we leave?”  Aedion had blinked at him, and Raedan had given him a twisted smile.  “I’ll follow you anywhere, Aedion.”  

“It’s going to be rough.  Not too many inns on the way, we’ll be camping a lot, and I have no idea when we’ll be back.  Even if we’ll be back, when it comes down to it.”

“Anywhere.”  And that was that.

The rest of the soldiers were a bit harder to select.  Raedan took it upon himself to make suggestions, all of which Aedion ignored.  Not that he didn’t trust Raedan, but he knew what he needed.  He ended up selecting Osment and Dorsey, for the other regulars, and Lieutenant Hirons.  The latter was from the class of lieutenants that had preceded Aedion’s own, and he was good-humored and hard working.  Not the best fighter but clever and good in the woods, which would be much more important on this mission.

Spring came early.  It was barely past the equinox when the rain replaced the snow and the flowers began to emerge.  Finally the general settled on a date, and it was a good several weeks earlier than originally planned.  Aedion was eager to get going; he had nothing to hold him now, especially since Raedan was coming with him.  The sooner he could get away from his cold sheets and empty bed the better.  Plus when he was hundreds of miles to the north he could pretend that was the reason his letters had all gone unanswered.

Two days before he was due to leave, he found himself buried in Lizabet in the alley yet again.  He kind of figured fucking opportunities would be thin on the ground, given he had no interest in any of his companions.  When they had both finished and she was straightening herself, he blurted out, “I’m leaving in a few days.”

“Oh?” she said, tucking her shirt farther into her skirt.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back.  If I’ll be back.”

She looked at him then, and gave the most casual of shrugs.  “Well, then,” was all she said, and she turned and went back into the tavern with no hint of a backwards glance, no trace of disappointment in her face.  He stared at the door for a moment, then started to laugh.  Still chuckling, he headed back to the camp.

One of the stable boys took Avenar’s reins from him as soon as he dismounted.  “You’re wanted in General Paget’s study, sir,” he said, and Aedion thanked him.  He wondered what part of the plan had changed; he’d spent more time in that study in the past two weeks than he had in the previous ten months.  He walked to the main house and knocked on the door.  Mrs. Giffard let him in, and for once her pleasant face was grim as she led him to the study and knocked on the door.  He could smell fear and grief in the air, and a gnawing dread began in his stomach.

The voice that called “Enter” was almost unrecognizable.  Aedion walked in, and the general’s gray, drawn face was decades older than it had been the day before.  He reeled back as if he’d been punched in the gut.

“He’s dead, isn’t he,” he said, his own voice a mockery of its usual self.  “Mikkal, he’s…”

“No,” the general said, shaking his head and coming around the desk to put a hand on Aedion’s arm.  “No, they think he’s going to live, at least as of three weeks ago.”

Aedion dropped into the seat behind him and covered his face in his hands.  General Paget stood near him, patting his shoulder.  “What happened?”  He forgot to add the sir, and the general did not correct him.

“Rebels attacked his camp in the middle of the night, setting fire to the buildings.  He rode out to try to drive them back, and he ended up in the midst of the fighting.  When they found him, he was next to the body of a rebel, and…” The general’s voice broke.  He took several deep, shuddering breaths and continued, “and he was missing most of his right hand, and was nearly gutted.  He also had the head of an arrow in his shoulder, they said he was hit early on and cut off the shaft so he could keep fighting.”

Aedion was shaking his head, thinking of that body he knew so well, those hands, mutilated.  More scars marring his skin.  “But they think he’ll be all right?”

“They think he’ll live,” General Paget repeated.  

Aedion caught the distinction.  “What aren’t you telling me?”

There was a long pause before Paget replied.  “He never drew his dagger.  He rode out there without a shield, and he never even drew his dagger, just his sword.”  

It took a while before he understood.  His turquoise eyes were as hard as gemstones when he met the general’s.  “You don’t mean…you think he didn’t intend to survive.”

“It was a rout, son, not a single rebel escaped.  According to the major who sent me the letter, by the time he was hit with the arrow, the fight was all but over.  And he ran back in.  He went to the front of the lines and engaged again.”  There were tears coursing down that rugged face, that Aedion had seen angry and calm and passionate but never so full of despair.

So you still pray for death, Mikkal, after all we had?  Were you thinking of me as you tried to die?  What kind of love is that, or was it never love for you at all?  He dropped his head back in his hands, pressing his palms against his eyes until he saw a kaleidoscope of light as he fought back the tears, the anger that flared at the betrayal.

Abruptly he stood, and bowed to the general.  “Thank you for telling me, sir.”

“I don’t expect to hear more before you leave.  Do you want me to send updates?  It may be hard while you travel.”

“Thank you, sir, but no.  I don’t think it’s practical.”  And I’m not sure I want to know.  He bowed and turned to leave.

“He does…care for you a great deal, Aedion.”  General Paget had never used his name before that he could recall.

His hand resting on the door handle, Aedion looked back at him.  “Not enough, sir.”  With another bow, he opened the door and left.

[plusorminuscongress]

New story in Politics from Time: The Speech Joe Biden Waited His Whole Life to Give

Joe Biden gave the biggest speech of his life to a near-empty room, his words hanging in the air against a backdrop of hermetic silence. There was nothing fancy or newfangled about it: a graybeard politician in a suit and tie, flags and a curtain behind him, standing at a lectern, telling you how he saw the choice ahead.

“Give people light,” he said, quoting the late civil rights leader Ella Baker. “Those are words for our time.” As president, he vowed, he would “be an ally of the light,” and a President for the whole of the country.

The bar had been set absurdly low for Biden, whose opponent’s campaign—the official reelection effort of the incumbent 45th president of the United States—has for months been openly calling the 77-year-old former Vice President senile and mentally deficient. In fact, the whole four-day non-convention that culminated in Biden’s speech had been testament to the moment on which his candidacy was borne, a moment so much bigger than the man. All parties, or at least all sensible ones, strive to project the image of a big tent, but few can boast the range that President Donald Trump has pushed under one canopy, from Bernie Sanders to Colin Powell to the pop star Billie Eilish and a plate of Rhode Island calamari.

Over the course of the surreal proceedings, Biden popped up from time to time—getting to know regular people like health care workers and union members via video call —but it was hard to shake the impression that he was almost irrelevant, the figurehead for a movement brought together by dire circumstance. One after another, speakers paid tribute to him, always in the same terms: a decent man, honest, compassionate, a regular guy but more so. On the convention’s final night, the candidates he’d defeated in the primary lined up alongside a historian, a 95-year-old World War II veteran, some senators, Mike Bloomberg, a kid who, like Biden, has a stutter, an athlete, an actress and his own granddaughters to recommend him for the job that he’d aspired to his whole life.

And then, finally, it was Biden’s job to close the deal. It was a short convention speech, as these things go. The camera panned slowly in as he delivered it, without cutting away. He talked about who we are, the soul of the nation. The pandemic and how bad things are right now. “A president who takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators, and fans the flames of hate and division,” he said, never calling out Trump by name. Democrats feel like they overdid it with that stuff four years ago, and we know how that turned out. The desperation this time around is palpable.

All through the convention, Democrats pushed the crazy idea that this whole fractious country could answer to a single leader, that we could have a nation where things actually get better. In Trump’s worldview, that’s all phony, naive crap you’d be nuts to fall for. When the President’s own kids were little—the first three kids, with Ivana—he would kiss them and push them out the door of the penthouse apartment in Trump Tower every morning while saying, “Don’t do drugs, and don’t trust anyone.”

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And yet, at the Democratic Convention, America was told over and over that right and truth could prevail over brute force and lies, that Congress was capable of passing laws that helped people, that the virus could pass into history and people start hugging and shaking hands again, not just because they could but because they liked each other. That votes could matter. Like most slick Hollywood productions, it required a suspension of disbelief.

Biden used to go to the floor of the Senate and recite the Irish poets, one of those charming quirks senators once had when they, too, were humans like us, instead of Potemkin people engineered by consultant machines. The boy with a stutter, a beautiful, brave 13-year-old named Brayden, talked about how he and Biden had talked about Yeats. Biden’s a softie like that, obviously. But by the end of speech he got mad, talking about the fascists and the soul of the nation and George Floyd and John Lewis and whatever happened to liberty and justice. As he listed all the outrages of the moment, the old man’s anger and confusion felt more fitting than not.

The convention shot broadly and, in the end, said little. You can make people feel good or you can have a specific message, but you can’t do both. It papered over the party’s deep divisions, the collision that awaits between its cosmopolitan and working-class bases, not to mention all those newly converted Republicans. “I have always believed you can define America in one word: Possibilities,” Biden said, a line so vapid on paper it could be one of Jack Handey’s Deep Thoughts.

Maybe he isn’t what he once was, but he can still say this kind of thing like he means it. And in that sense, if the purpose of a political convention is to bring together the believers and give them one shot at showing their best argument to the nation, the Democrats pulled it off. Good politicians talk about results, not proposals, and Biden talked about jobs and health care and Social Security. He paid tribute to the “American story” of his half-Jamaican, half-Indian, HBCU-attending, liberal, tough-on-crime female running mate, Kamala Harris. At the end, he quoted the contemporary Irish poet Seamus Heaney—“the longed-for tidal wave/ Of justice”—and when he finished the screen dissolved into a disorienting field of Zoom-like squares of people clapping, all in different places.

Biden became a Senator at 29, a too-big-for-his-britches guy from a teeny state, and so many bad things happened to him since that you have to think if he becomes President, the White House will get hit by lightning. He loved being a senator, being the Vice President, being a leader of men. His whole career—more than that, his whole ideology, his whole political framework—was premised on an unquenchable belief in the overriding power of speaking from the heart.

That was, obviously, problematic. Over and over—in 1988, in 2008—he was proven wrong. People wanted something more substantive, more original than that. But even if you believe Joe Biden only ever wanted power and glory, you have to admit he never stopped trying. And now 2020 hinges on whether, after so many years, he’s finally right.

Then the speech ended, and Biden and his wife walked outside to see the fireworks go off. They stood there, in their masks, outside the empty arena in Wilmington, Del., watching the fireworks.

By Molly Ball on August 21, 2020 at 11:04AM