#such a weird situation when everyone just see this really close copy of laura after losing her

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine 43

Spoilers, obv.

Issue 44 comes out tomorrow at the time of writing. As I’m on the west coast of the USA, it will be just after midnight GMT by the time they’re online. So abstractly, this is the first time ever which we come out when the next issue is out. Abstractly. I’d say the day counts as where I am, and doesn’t Comixology come out a little later? We’ll see.

It’s also been so long that I almost wrote notes for issue 44. This is a weird goodbye, this period.

Anyway – Issue 43, wherein we finish explaining all the big stuff we’re going to explain.

I mean, there’s more in issue 44 and 45, but it’s all details, with the denouncement really being based around the characters’ response to this issue. They know the truth. Now what are they going to do about it?

That was the main note I gave in the script to the team – if there’s any really big questions you are confused about, now is the time to say, as this is the best clarification it’ll get. As such, we worked on it a lot to nail what we wanted to say – and what we didn’t. Sometimes this meant actually simplifying a little to avoid repeating huge amounts of stuff and leaving people even more confused. More often it involves sliding in a little nod to something someone would be thinking about.

It’s an interesting issue, I think. It’s where we show a lot of our hand.

It also involved a lot of crunching.

Jamie/Matt Cover

Cassandra finally gets her head cover. Normally a cover relates to a key beat, which isn’t true here – except in the widest possible sense that it’s where Cassandra gets to say I Told You So to everyone, including herself.

Jason Latour Cover One of the fun things about commissioning these covers is getting to see a creator’s process close up. Jason’s process on this was amazingly never-ending – he was always tweaking, and trying things and moving in a different direction. Where he ended was stunning – very him, and very WicDiv too. I remember us and the Jasons semi-jokingly about swapping books for an issue – they do WicDiv for an issue and we do Southern Bastards. This cover absolutely makes me wonder how amazing that hypothetical issue would have looked.

(Our story would have been about a Taylor-Swift-esque-singer/songwriter-before-she-got-big in the town. And probably murder, as it’s Southern Bastards, right?)

IFC

That “Life goes on” still creeps me out.

1-2

Opening vignette that lets us establish what Minerva’s plan is now, as well as re-establish Beth and her crew, and actually let us define their current position, and even give their codenames, which have existed in the Bible document since issue 1, I believe.

(Oddly, calling people “Boss” is one of my verbal ticks. It seemed fun to give it to Beth here.)

As such, Minerva immediately HiveMinding them when they’ve just stated their agency is plain harsh. Jamie’s large panel on page 2 sells it incredibly well – the statues, Minerva walking away from us – it’s all so casual.

It’s also the running theme of the issue – what Mini has been doing all these years. This is just a particularly direct example of it.

Three panels on second page to try and stress the seriousness of what this is (Space = Meaning, remember). Of course, as the issue shows, this isn’t the real part of the issue – but you have to at least believe this is a real gambit. And it is – I mean, it’d be awful if Mini pulled it off. But in people’s guts they’d realise this isn’t how WicDiv goes, right?

Minor glorious Matt Wilson note – the crackle of green in panel 3 is wonderful. Give that guy another Eisner. He deserves a hat trick.

3

Show time in the showbiz and the “time to show you everything” sense.

4

Establishing the stakes and situation for the heroes. There’s a draft of the issue I wrote which is a couple more pages long, which would have pulled this out a little more. In the end, we decided it worked better shorter – I’ll tell you why when I get there, and we could use the space elsewhere.

Key thing is showing some response to Cam’s actions at the end of last issue – it’s important to know that they haven’t just walked away, right?

In the first panel, the “identify who is speaking” is a tricky one. The “say the character’s name” is a little brutal move, and I avoid it. We’re not that book. Dio is easy – and Lucifer, bless her, is immediately identifiable by her idiom. Her line also reminds people of what she’s like, which sets up the last page.

Laura’s captions here again, doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

It says so much about this issue that the last two panels are only a half page total. These are big rock and roll images, presented in a tiny space. Jamie’s composition makes it land really well, selling the drama.

Page 5

It says even more that we did all this in a page.

Tara’s move in the original version was basically a page, but looking at it structurally it actually left it even more underwhelmed – a fight kicked off, and then heroes were losing, and then Tara does this cool thing, and they’re winning, before immediately the hive mind kicks in and they’re losing again. This does not sell the joy of Giant Woman.

This works better, not least for sheer audaciousness. I used to have a thing about tableau based storytelling – the idea that you can create a large image which people can explore and juxtapose it with a few captions to create a larger conceptual space. This is very much that.

“People treating people like meat” reminds me for the second time when re-reading this issue of the line from Pratchett: “Sin is treating people like things.” The first time was the puppets bit. I’d agree with Pratchett, clearly.

In the original draft of the script I had a line “You want more? Go re-read Rising Action” which is a bit too cute, so I lost it. It’s not really the sort of thing WicDiv does, anyway.

Yes, Giant Woman is a Steven Universe nod. Putting aside that image of Giant Tara kicking ass which has been in my head forever, there’s so much to love in the image – to pick a small part, how about the Norns blasting in triplicate? We rarely see them act like this.

You can also trace via the colouring which of Beth’s crew have duplicated which God’s powers.

Page 6

There’s been a lot about people copying people’s powers in WicDiv, and trying to find out what someone can and can’t do, and then using it against them. This switches it up. The thing about being creative instead of a straight plagiarist that creative people make up new shit. That’s kind of the point of them.

Once more, Matt showing the dance of the colouring between the Woden green (haunting the series like a ghost now) and the joy of Dio is (er) a joy.

Page 7

Another Matt moment – we step out of the club, and we drop to greys, before building the energy up.

I’m not quite sure how long Robin has wanted to punch Beth for. Or how long I planned to do it, even. I can imagine Robin thinking of this a lot though – she’s the one who takes a long time to snap.

There’s a dual structure here too – there’s two main compare-and-contrast bands in WicDiv. Beth’s and Cass’…

Page 8

And this is a very different kind of band break up.

The problem here is different – I want to give much more space. First draft it seemed that they got talked into it really easily. But it’s all the space we had so what to do? Once more, captions. Silent panel with captions can be timeless, and gives room for our minds to populate it. It’s been so long I can no longer remember if the fact the two almost-silent characters are shouting, but we’re not allowed to hear, because it’s private seems relevant.

Page 9-10

Hard cut made easier with the caption. Captions are great. Trust captions.

The shot of Mini at the edge, just looking back with space either side is great. Just the isolation of it.

The “try to sing” on the page turn seems a meaningful reveal. Can she?

No she can’t. This is another very old beat in the founding documents – it’s hinted at on page 9. Mini says that she gave it up – and she said the same in issue 9. I’m not sure I believe her. When planning it I realised that some people would take it as a comment on Work for hire – don’t get stuck keeping a story alive forever, as it will eventually atrophy your talent. It wasn’t planned, but I’d be fine with it as a reading. When Chrissy read it, she took it as “Don’t get stuck in art management.” which works too. Readings are fun.

Anyway – a performance. That the big thing in the issue is a performance rather than a fight is very much WicDiv turning towards its core concept as we head towards the final straight. Of course we’d do this.

Yeah, Matt and Jamie, killing it on the final panel of the second page – the Persephone-esque tentacles made something else, because she is something else now. The numinous expression of Minerva. Amazing.

Page 11

The borders in this sequence harking back to the Persephone performance in issue 18.

I may actually try to tweak this sequence in the trade and have a different execution of “When I was 14” and all the rest, to work a little more like a LOC CAP rather than a speech. We couldn’t make it work given the time before deadline. That’s the odd thing about our extended issues – just because it’s taking longer doesn’t mean we have more time to do tasks, right? Some things are only possible when the whole thing is together. It works, I think, but part of me wants to push it harder.

Anyway – these two. I loved writing them though. I said it back in the other flashbacks, but how the two of them dance is a delight. Hell, doing them across a lifetime is a delight.

Okay – I’m going to give you a name for Ananke’s sister. It’s the one I used in my notes. It’s no more her name than “Ananke” is really Ananke’s.

It’s Demeter. Ask me about it another time.

Page 12

The “god” in panel 2 is a Proto Norn.

This primal gathering brings to mind issue 9 as well.

Demeter’s expression in the penultimate panel? Love it.

Page 13

The captions are Laura’s style, but changed colouring. That Laura is helping Minerva performs means it comes across in her voice, was our thinking.

Captions are once more useful though – trying to get something that is evocative, but also clear was the battle.

(The Colours here!)

She-in-Thirds is a name-behind-the-name. The Maiden/Mother/Child archetype – the one which Ananke subverted in a few pages time.

Page 14

I find myself thinking whether the return to a close-to-eight panel for much of this is meaningful. This is kind of Bronze Age Phonogram.

Reading this I wish I had capitalised The Rebel – it’s another archetype. Proto-Lucifer. I’ll tweak for the trade.

I forget when the metaphor for a song for the “godhood” in WicDiv came to me, but it feels like the right one. It’s how songs often feel to me.

Page 15

If you go back to issue 34, you’ll see some of the details of this plan are different to the plan that Ananke has put into play there. In fact, the deal that she strikes in issue 34 is akin to what she wants here. It’s mainly for clarity – the reader needs to be reminded of what’s actually going on, as they won’t necessarily remember the details from way back then. I figure this is the plan she wanted to do, then found something else when Demeter wasn’t into it, before swooping around to something closer.

Page 16

“After all my friends were dead” gives a little flex in the timeline.

I do like Ananke’s hat.

“The Great River” being the Nile, and the pantheon we saw back in issue 36.

In terms of lists of things in this issue I was looking forward to write, the first meeting between Ananke and Minerva was certainly one of them. I tried to get something of the oddness here. Jamie and Matt manage to get the mood of issue 34 again too – I really do like this bronze-age western vibe. There’s a project I keep on thinking about doing, and it has some of that too it. Hmm.

Yes, page width panel of character delivering a line remains a key WicDiv tool. There’s so much I love here – the touch from Ananke, whose PoV we’re in. Minerva speaking to herself, speaking to us, etc.

That the knife is just sentimental is a minor beat I’m very fond of.

Page 17

Once more, Captions, as Laura makes sure we all Get It.

One of the debates in WicDiv fandom has always been whether the gods are picked by Ananke (i.e. Anyone could be a god) or whether they’re actually people with a gifts. Of course, the answer is that it’s both.

The thing I least like about WicDiv’s mythology is that the 12 people are people with this gift, for obvious “Ugh Chosen Ones” reasons. There’s some things that mitigate that a little, I hope, and not least that it’s clearly transferable to wherever you are in life. The core of it is “if you find yourself with a gift, be careful with it and use it responsibly.” It’s a book about the power, privilege, dangers and seductions of being an artist and all that. It’s only when writing that sentence do I realise how tired I am. This has been a busy week. Excuse me if the writing is looser than usual.

Anyway, I’m probably over-worrying. If X-men is fine, we probably are too.

So – end of the page is a download of some of the explanations of stuff folk will inevitably be going “Wait – what?”

And then Tara steps up.

When you’re writing a large group scene, with limited space, there’s choices you make of who speaks and who doesn’t. Who’s going to have the strongest counter-argument to something? Who’s going to have the biggest reaction? Them. They’re the one who carries the scene.

Which is Tara. Perhaps you could make an argument for Baal, but Baal is reeling through all these issues – plus if you choose one or the other, you tie-breaker would be who hasn’t had spotlight.

Page 18-21

And the counter is equally inevitably Cassandra (who is also in the process of beating herself up). Being Cass, she puts it harshly. Clearly, this is going to get a response from Tara.. and Cass opens up herself and makes herself vulnerable. Which is a hell of a thing for her, right?

I’ll stop this – I’m just walking through the emotional flow, but I love these two women here.

Which segues into the last formalist style thing of the issue. Once again, we have a space = meaning problem. This is clearly the most important sequence of the issue, but we have so few pages. We turn to one of the core WicDiv moves of black panels in a six panel grid, and loading them up with text. Suddenly we have a sense of ritual, a lot of dialogue produced in a stylistic way and most of all a whole extra page (hence an extra page of weight).

It’s also a complete showcase for Matt. The last godly panel of them is them at their most Godly, this final little iconic burst. A confession, and it’s gone.

I cried when I got the colours for this. I forget which one it was – there’s just some wonderful Jamie expressions in there as well.

Choosing the confessions was definitely tricky. We have space, but too much is too much. Some of them I kept simple, and others needed a little space to explain. The ordering was also one of those processes where you feel out the character, and think how they’d speak. Dio would clearly jump in, then Inanna, then Mimir trying to just piece it together, and all leading to Baal.

I did try and write a Baal caption, but any words were just too small.

And then, of course…

Page 22

You’ve probably seen me talking about year 4 as Solving The Equation. Yes, we knew lots of the key things, but there’s lots of elements of the execution were worked, and rethought and discovered. I may be able to talk a little more about this in the last issue’s notes.

This was a big one. I was chewing over the synopsis and thinking… a battle against Ananke/Minerva is a little underwhelming after everything, right? At this point in the story, Minerva is a busted flush. In reality, Laura (and Demeter) won the intellectual battle against Minerva in Mothering Invention. She’s already beat her. It nagged at me. There was something else.

Then there was the other thing – I knew that Lucifer was going to get her body back, but I wasn’t entirely sure what she’d do when she had it.

The two came together: of course, the final confrontation isn’t between Laura and Minerva. It’s with Lucifer, the person who brought Laura into the world, the person who brought us all into the world. The girl who wanted to be on stage, no matter the cost. That’s the final battle.

And best of all, I had no idea what would happen.

Well – not quite, but suddenly a whole lot of things was up in the air.

Page 23

Song reference, obv. Always connected to something in my head in my early career. If I do writer notes for the playlist, I may actually tell you.

Oh – some people wondered whether all the skulls meant everyone was dead. No – it’s just there’s no god in the slot. I’m not that kind of shithead.

Anyway – issue is out tomorrow. Or maybe today, depending on where you are. It ends the story, with 45 being an epilogue with a somewhat different tone. Clearly, it’s a huge issue, so be a little careful with your tweeting. The last cover is especially a big spoiler.

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Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading.

[sabbathism]

People don’t like season 2, and here’s what they have to say :

tl;dr: I answer the web’s most vehement complaints about season 2 of American Gods. If you happen to recognize yourself in one of those, then I suggest thinking about it really really hard and, perhaps, giving the show another chance. If you recognize yourself in several of those, please drop the show. It’s not worth wasting your time and especially not ours. (I put a list of helpful cast and production related facts at the end.)

Hi, Nelle here, I’m but a humble fan who wishes to have fun seeing gods bicker and argue among mortals, complete with the craziest of situations, stellar cast and great visuals. And yet I can’t help but hear things when I start browsing this hellsite in quest of juicy fanworks.

Although I’m no Joan Of Arc, I hear voices from above and here’s what I have to shout back (lest I get burned at the stake)  :

“The pacing is all over the place ! It’s too slow !”

Is it tho ? Pacing has been “all over the place” (really meaning: different from what we avid show-viewers are accustomed to) since season 1, we’ve never gotten straight answers out of anything unless we started listening and paying attention to details. 

The book (you know, the source material) has four parts, the fourth serving as an epilogue to the whole story, season 2 is most definitely meant to close part 1 which, allegedly, had the slowest of pace to begin with. And it doesn’t even have half the new narratives the show has been creating. So no, it’s not slow. I promise you things are happening.

“It needs to follow the actual book more !!”

What’s a good adaptation ? Is it something that is 100% truthful to the source, down to every word ? Is it something that should offer something for people who don’t know the source ? Or, on the contrary, be something inseparable from it ?

American Gods as a TV show offers new things for people who have read the book and for those who haven’t, while keeping the beloved moments and aspects from the original material.

Why add or change stuff ? Well because, if you’re a book reader, you get welcomed into the state of existential dread that comes with not knowing what happen next, I promise it’s part of the fun. But also because author Neil Gaiman believes that he can do more, do better, with something that was written 20 years ago and needed the changes in a lot of places. He’s aware that he has, in fact, a show to make, and not a carbon copy of the book, as well as a fanbase that deserves to be challenged and entertained.

“Why taking the focus off Shadow ? He’s barely the protagonist anymore !”

Because there are..... characters ? who are also part of the story ? Like, actual stories need characters ? But alright, I know it can get confusing when you have a lot of those, here’s how you can still tell Shadow is the protagonist : months of advertising and the entirety of season 1 which was spent following Shadow with only minor breaks allowing other characters to breathe. Trust me they need the development too, or then we’ll really have reasons to complain.

You want a narrative focusing solely on staying in Shadow’s head ? Alright. Try the book. But here’s my take on its narrating choice, as a graduate in english literature : it’s boring. To the point where Neil Gaiman himself got sad that he couldn’t follow other characters.

“They’re not giving the POCs enough space ! Where are the coming to america segments ? At least they gave actual insights.”

Out of every piece of fiction, I truly don’t think you want to get angry at American Gods for how much room it’s giving POCs... (a 20% white cast ensemble, POCs and especially WOCs writers and directors on production, ethnically accurate casting and writing, diversity positive messages, etc) Really I’m sure there are many other places in the fictional industry were the question of diversity is more than legitimate. American Gods has yet to be one of them, by far.

As for the Coming To America stuff, well, there’s not that many in the book to begin with. There are a whole bunch for sure, but we’ve got over quite a few of them in season 1. If there’s more believers you want, we’re served with the latest episode 4, with humans worshiping both Old and New, and interacting with gods. I’m sure we can review that point again once the season is over.

“Those white directors don’t even know how to read or write POC characters !”

*cough*

here’s a list of the POC directors and writers on episodes 2 to 5 of season 2 only :

Deborah Chow (director)

Aditi Kapil (writer)

Salli Richardson (director)

Rodney Barnes (writer)

Orlando Jones (writer)

That’s half the entire director-writer team for these episodes, with Neil Gaiman being involved. You’ll have to point out to me exactly what you mean by “not writing right”.

“New Media ? 1. she’s a bitch, 2. her actress is just plain bad, 3. she’s a hurtful stereotype.” 

And here comes perhaps the trickiest one of all... I’m gonna have to bear with you, as much as you’re gonna have to bear with me :

1. Yes. 2. No. 3. Yes, and it’s a problem, but not for the reasons you think.

First of all, and let’s get it out of the way : actor =/= character nor writing. You think the writing is bad and/or that the character is annoying ? Well, it’s certainly not on the actor. You wanna know the actual level of Kahyun Kim’s acting ? Starring in an Alan Cummings play alongside him. We’ve got a lot to discuss but please keep her out of this.

Second, New Media is an absolute bitch of a character. She’s mocking, manipulative, and too ambitious for anyone’s good. A lot of people seem to love her tho and to that I say good ??? I mean, great if you like her, because she’s got as much potential as the rest of these crazy characters, I’m not here to tell you who you should hate and who you should love.

But there’s a problem you shouldn’t ignore, and that its so far she’s not well written. It’s a terrible thing to say in such a show but she’s really not : because we barely see her talking, because we barely got any scene with her (remember what I said about letting character breathe ?), and because what we’ve seen of her so far is the stereotype of the hypersexualized naive asian girl. Complete with tentacle porn scene. (Whether you felt weirded out, amused or utterly disgusted by this is your own valid opinion.)

The character has been officially described as “the goddess of global content”, “a cyberspace chameleon” and “a master of manipulation.” In recent addition to that, actor Bruce Langley (Technical Boy) has said : “New Media’s willing to be perceived as naive because if she’s being underestimated, when she does make her move, you’d never see it coming, but she knows way more than she lets on.” He then goes on to compare her to Gillian Anderson’s Media.

This proves that the way New Media comes off isn’t a problem of intent (the naive part is calculated and they want the character to be duplicitous, falsely seductive), but of handling, and it’s just as bad. Sure, Gillian’s Media also knew more than she let on for about as much screen time -I’m sure New Media will get to her four scenes in one season-, but she had been grounded in the narrative as her own character, she’s had her exposition speech and time. (See her meeting with Shadow in S01E02) We’ve yet to see that much of Kahyun’s New Media.

Because they do not give her what she needs to be more than a two dimensional character, we find ourselves with a shallow character who doesn’t give too many signs of the thought process everyone seemed to have put into crafting her beforehand, including Kahyun’s acting. This is a serious issue that needs to be handled before the season ends, or she will just stand out like a nasty spot in an overall incredible piece of fiction. Hell even Laura (another very unlikable character) manages to be a great addition to the narrative. Come on people.

You can of course argue that they could have gone for another type or personality for her, other than naive and sex-oriented, for a korean actress to play. You’re right, there’s a lot of aspect of social media that could have been put to work, but not only are we gonna need more than two scenes (at least the tentacles aren’t a regular occurrence so far), but it’s just like they could have not made the Technical Boy hang Shadow. 

The New Gods appear as the ‘general bad idea’ we promote through and associate with their element. Mr. World is gonna be the creepy looking government dude, Tech is gonna be the lanky rude geek, they’re gonna be cold, insensitive and selfish. They’re gonna be the things we don’t like. Throughout season 1, Tech Boy was in the same place we find ourselves in with New Media : he was the loud white racist teenager hating on anon on the net, he was unlikable from start to finish, and it’s only once we got inputs from his actor, the writers, and then now that they’re showing more of his story and personality well after season 1 that we see him as the fully complex and interesting character he is.

Let’s all keep our wits about us, not engulf ourselves in blind hate or love, and encourage the writers to prove us all that this character is worth the while like her actress says.

(I still won’t forgive the bitch, but at least she won’t stick out like a sore thumb.)

(if you want Kahyun’s input on her character and experience, here’s a lengthy interview)

"They don't even know how to write their own character, period !"

By all means, tell me your basis of characterization to declare that characters who didn’t even have enough screentime to have much substance in season 1 (except Shadow, but strangely no one complains about him) aren’t written right when their creator is literally hovering over the writers and actors shoulders, because he wants them to be developed and written right.

It’s not Harry Potter, Neil isn’t making up facts about them to make himself look better, maybe accept that the vision you had in your mind wasn’t entirely accurate to the truth of the characters and that’s okay ? You can still write them yourself however you want, tell the stories you want to tell, Neil has made it very clear that he doesn’t consider fan ideas less valuable than his.

“Bryan has such as specific, unique vision ! They’re just trying to copy it and they’re failing.”

Definitely. No really, you’re right, I’m a big fan of Bryan’s work, I lost my mind like everyone else when he said he wasn’t giving up on Hannibal season 4.

But you know who else has a unique vision ? The seven directors who took over (four of those are women) and the show-runner who had already worked with him beforehand. They’re not trying to copy his style, they’re trying to make a smooth transition so fans like you don’t have a hard time mourning the terrible loss of Bryan and Michael. And for every person who noticed the changes, there were just as many who haven’t even paid attention to it.

Concept : some people may watch shows/movies for the story and the characters, not just for who’s behind the camera. (As far as I’m concerned, I actually like the image better. Everything was killer in season 1, and I think it’s even nicer in season 2.)

“Bryan gave us Salim and the Jinn, and now they’re just gonna be cast aside because those directors lack the LGBT+ sensibility Bryan has !”

Alright, yup, sure. As a member of the community myself, I totally recognize that someone who’s also part of it will know firsthand of the subtleties and details to give the best representation possible on screen. The example of Salim and the Jinn is perfectly fine, since the entire segment was indeed beautifully made. But if we cannot allow people from outside to ponder and think about our lives through writing (which is probably the best way for them to start understanding and broadening their mindset), how can we expect wide representation to improve in any meaningful way ? Especially considering that the show has been casting LGBT+ actors, in an environment where the cast is listened to and solicited on their opinions. 

And especially when Bryan was not the one who gave you Salim and the Jinn. (Because I’ve seen people genuinely believe it.) Neil Gaiman did. He wrote a gay muslim couple in his book 20 years ago, way before it was considered a political statement. He’s also the one who gave strict and specific directions as to how these very characters should be handled. Because if he expanded Salim and his fire boyfriend Jinn’s story from a one-shot to a full story integrated into his entire narration, then it’s certainly not to pull a “bury your gays” or make them miserable. No need to be LGBT+ to be a decent writer and human being.

“Production was a mess anyway, I knew it’d turn out like this. It sucks without Bryan.” 

Define “mess”. Because all the incendiary reports we got throughout early production had been utter bullshit.

Showrunners being “fired” ? Bullshit. “Disastrous” organization ? Bullshit. “Screaming matches” between directors and actors ? Bullshit. Actors “refusing” to come back ? Bullshit.

Every report that wasn’t made through direct input of the cast or production team was not only wildly exaggerated, but also fake ? But please, hear it from Neil himself :

It was weirder for me to read some of the stuff online that said, “Oh, my god, American Gods, behind the scenes, is all falling apart.” I was going, “But they just shot four episodes, and everything is fine. They’re doing some re-shoots, but they’re doing less re-shoots than they did in Season 1.” [...]

I was reading Steven Bochco’s biography on the tube, going into work on Good Omens, every morning, and learning about what went down on Hill Street Blues, and then on NYPD Blue. That was worse, by a factor of thousands, than anything that happened on American Gods. A showrunner came, and a showrunner left. That’s not even an unusual thing. [...] The weirdest thing for me was putting out a thing on Twitter on Season 2, and having a bunch of people go, “We thought this was canceled.” No, it’s not canceled. In its own mad way, it’s on schedule.  

(Source)

The show was never in any danger, much less in jeopardy. It's overreactions to false rumors and dramatic assumptions that can kill a show faster than a showrunner leaving. You want to be critical of a production ? Go ahead, and check your sources and facts. Please. I promise most of the time it’s not worth the worry, much less losing all hope.

“Bryan cared, they’re just ruining what he’s built.”

I dare you to watch any cast interview and tell me these people don’t care about the show, and that they do not value the work everyone else (from hair department to makeup artists, producers, writers, directors and costume team) puts into it as well.

I’ve watched my fair share of shows, I’m curious about production and behind-the-scenes material in general, and I’ve never seen a group of people being so genuinely happy and passionate about what they do and create together.

Neil took time out of preparing Good Omens (which he was showrunning himself) to be more active because he knew things would be different between season 1 and 2. Ricky Whittle (Shadow) had his contract reviewed to better accommodate shooting and planning. Orlando Jones (Nancy) contributed to writing episodes (especially regarding Black history and representation) and brought inputs on characterization. Ian Mcshane (Mr. Wednesday) participated in directing when he explicitly said during season 1 that he wasn’t interested in working as a director on this kind of show.

And that’s for the well-known names only. Go on the American Gods hashtag on instagram, you’ll find all the various artists who participated in crafting all the details found in new episodes. They’re out there talking about how excited they were to work on it all, how they did it, the love they have for the show and crew. They’re active and positive in every way you can be, please tell me how much they don’t care.

Production made the choice of taking its time making this season rather than rushing it when it’s been very clear that delaying can cause massive loss of viewers, because they care more about how the show comes out than what people actually think. They took in stride whatever problem a show of this magnitude could naturally encounter (again guys, no disaster happened) and worked to solve it the best way they could because they were perfectly aware that we fans care. And somehow that’s what made some of yall disappointed ??

If you seriously think Bryan (and Michael, some people forget about him smh) cared more about American Gods than these people -when he, in fact, cared just as much-, then by all means, leave right with him.

(Also uhm, idk if you noticed, but they’re both still credited in the fucking opening. Because, you know, they’re going by the bases they’ve settled.)

Some (hopefully) helpful facts :

+ Bryan and Michael weren’t fired, they walked out of the show after mutual understanding with the rest of the production that they weren’t agreeing on budget and realization. They concluded that pushing it would just be harmful to the show.

+ Likewise, Jesse Alexander (second showrunner) wasn’t evicted but stepped out once disagreements rose as to how to handle the end of the season. Again, they found a solution fairly quickly.

+ Gillian Anderson had only signed for season 1. Whether her character will ever be seen again (probably in flashbacks) is entirely up in the air. No promises, no impossibilities.

+ Both Kristin Chenoweth (Ostara) and Chris Obi (Anubis) have not been able to contribute to season 2 due to conflicts in their schedules.

+ Neil Gaiman has been much more involved in the production of season 2 as he had finished shooting Good Omens, something which took up most of his time when season 1 was produced.

+ Taking time producing a show =/= production being a disaster.

+ Always go for the reports/articles involving interviews and/or inputs of the persons actually working on the project (cast members, producers, writers, directors). Those are the most reliable sources you can fight. (Just remember that there’s always a possibility for fake news/drama online !)

[stopforamoment]

MILF (1 of 7)

Sturm und Drang MILF (1 of 7)

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three) Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OFC Rinda Parks Word Count: 1,864 Rating: M for Language Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this. The keep reading link shows up on my laptop but not my phone. Ugh. This series takes place in week three of the school year, and Bastien and Rinda are about to go through their first major friendship challenges. Summary: Bastien is getting some extra attention from one of the moms, and he isn’t thrilled when Rinda teases him about it.

Rinda couldn’t wait until the school day was over. A mom started showing a special interest in Bastien, and since Rinda had the most interaction with him, she was given the important task of getting more details. She walked into his office with a big grin “So, the juicy gossip is that there is a MILF who is totally interested in you. Are you going to ask her out?”

Bastien gave Rinda a wary look and reached for his phone. “I want you to know that I downloaded the Urban Dictionary app, Rinda. Okay, what’s a . . .” He blushed and set his phone down and returned his attention to his laptop. “Bastien—hey. I’m changing the topic. Please just talk to me.” His jaw clenched and he refused to look at her, so Rinda sat down next to him and looked at her phone while she waited him out. Ten minutes later, Bastien was still immersed in his work and Rinda knew she fucked up. Big time. Bastien’s silent treatment never lasted that long. “Okay, Bastien. It looks like you won this round. Henry will be here soon, so I’ll talk to you later.” She leaned closer to him, hoping he would look up at her. “Bastien, I really am sorry that I teased you about that. Please forgive me for taking it too far and upsetting you.” Bastien didn’t even acknowledge Rinda when she left. . . . . . The next afternoon Laura and Rinda didn’t have pick up duty, so they stayed in the classroom at the end of the day. Rinda grabbed a chair to hop up to the window to watch Bastien and the MILF interact. “Rinda, what’s going on with Ms. Trakas?” Rinda laughed. “I don’t know. She’s totally into him though. Touching her face, playing with her hair, learning in. Oh, wait. Oh. Oh my God, Laura. She touched his arm. Like, total flirty smile and oooh, this is really good. Now she’s keeping it there, and he’s not moving away. Oh damn, if only we had some kind of listening device. I can’t see his reaction, but he’s not moving away.”

Bastien was becoming a favorite with a lot of the parents at the school. He always wore his suit, and damn, he wore that suit. But he was also loosening up with the kids, which was even more endearing to them. And there was one mom, recently divorced, who was ready to pounce. “So what’s the deal, Rinda? You talk to him the most.” Rinda shrugged. “I do, but I really don’t. I mean, I love working with him and he’s been so great to me and Henry. I like him a lot. But I really don’t know anything about him because he doesn’t open up about his life. I did tease him about Ms. Trakas and he completely shut me out. I really don’t want to go there again.” Rinda looked out the window again, her brow furrowing. She knew Bastien was very private with his personal life, especially at work. But was he also that shy? “Hey Laura?” “Hmm?” “I know we were joking about Bastien at the end of summer, but you’re sure you’re not interested in him, right?” Laura looked up and nodded. She had a crush on Bastien when she first met him, but as they got to know each other they slipped into a comfortable working routine. Not as comfortable as Rinda and Bastien were, but a comfortable professional working routine. Rinda looked over at Laura. “Okay, just checking. Bastien may need a wingman, but I don’t know if he’s comfortable enough around me that I can get away with it.” She stepped onto the chair and then jumped the rest of the way to the floor. “He’s coming back inside and we’re supposed to meet in his office this afternoon. Hopefully he’s not still upset with me for yesterday’s MILF comment.” Laura whipped around. “MILF? Jesus, Rinda. No wonder he’s been avoiding you all day. You’re the only one who would even think about talking to him that way.” Rinda laughed. “Actually, I don’t think before I talk to him that way. That’s the whole problem.” . . . . . Rinda was waiting outside of Bastien’s office when he walked up. “I’m sorry I’m late, Rinda. Pick up duty took longer than I expected. Anything new I need to know about?” He sat down behind his desk, but Rinda remained standing. There were a couple of families who were dealing with difficult divorce and custody issues. Rinda gave Bastien a hard copy of next week’s custody schedule and the highlights of where he’d need to be and when. She also included the emergency contacts for the children, but she and the principal also had the info and could take care of that if needed. Even though everything appeared fine at school, Rinda wanted to be prepared. There were several instances back home when a parent would purposely try to pick up on a day they didn’t have custody. At times it got violent and required law enforcement intervention, and an emergency contact would need to come pick up the child if both parents were in police custody. It took Rinda under a minute to update Bastien, and he nodded when she was done. “Bastien, is there anything else you needed to go over?” “No, thank you for this.” He looked up at her. “Seriously, thank you. I knew joint custody affected children at school, but I never thought about . . . all of this. I’m glad we’re prepared for the worst.” Rinda nodded, and then closed his office door and sat down across from him. Bastien leaned back in his chair and gave her the deflective stare with silent treatment. Not that he even needed to. It was clear he was still upset with Rinda. She got right to the point. “Bastien, I’m sorry about the comment I made yesterday. I joke around with you a lot and take things too far. That was obviously beyond teasing you, and I apologize that I invaded your personal life and made a joke about it.” Bastien sighed. “Thank you, Rinda. I appreciate that. I needed some time to myself. I don’t like the idea of my interaction with Ms. Trakas being public entertainment or something people talk about, so thank you for giving me space today.” Rinda nodded and started to get up. She knew it was smart to leave it at that and walk away, but she wanted to help. She just didn’t know what kind of help Bastien wanted. She decided to sit back down and just go for it. “Bastien. Just let me say a couple things without you shutting down and deflecting, okay?” Bastien leaned back, suddenly wary. Rinda continued anyway. “Look, people gossip at any work place. And I’m going to be honest with you. Everyone can see that Ms. Trakas is interested in you, whether you are interested in her or not.” Bastien blushed and tried to cut Rinda off, but she stopped him. “Bastien, no. Look, if you need to turn around and stare out the window or pretend to work on your laptop so this isn’t so embarrassing, that’s fine. I totally get it. But I need to talk to you about this. I want to help. So just listen, okay?” Bastien gave Rinda an even stare before pointedly opening his laptop. Rinda got the hint, so she stood up and walked to the bookshelf, suddenly interested in the selection. “Bastien. In case you haven’t looked in a mirror lately, you’re pretty drop dead gorgeously hot. And you don’t have a wedding ring, and you don’t mention anyone, so the assumption is that you’re either really single or it’s really complicated.” Bastien began doing random searches on the laptop, refusing to look up. Rinda continued to calmly page through a book, not looking at Bastien. “You’re also this complete man of mystery because, well, we don’t know much about you. Just that you’re a Cordonian hero who was injured in the line of duty multiple times. Saving the life of the King during a shooting. Digging people out of the rubble after an explosion, escorting them to safety. That’s like Romance Novel 101 material, in case you didn’t know.” Rinda caught Bastien shaking his head and trying not to grin. Good, he might actually be okay with me talking about this. “Look, I don’t know if you’re even interested in her, or if you’ve got something else going on. But whatever it is, please know that I’m here to help.” Bastien looked up at her and his voice had a sarcastic edge. “And how would you do that, Rinda? Play matchmaker?” Now it was Rinda’s turn to lean against the bookshelf and give Bastien an even stare. “If that’s what you want, yes. You won’t be here much longer, so it isn’t like it’s going to be a conflict of interest. I’m sure she’d understand that you couldn’t pursue anything while you’re still working here. If that’s even a concern of yours. And if it’s weird to ask her out, there’s a million and one ways I can arrange a time for the three of us to meet at school and then I suddenly have to run home to Henry. Or maybe some teachers mention going we’re going for drinks at the end of the week and she casually gets invited along. It’s easy to figure something out where the two of you end up together in a group situation, or just the two of you. BUT only if that’s what you want.” “And if I DON’T want?” “Then I tell the gossip train to shove it and respect your privacy. End of story.” “End of story? Just like that?” Rinda walked back to her chair and sat down, refusing to break eye contact. “Look, Bastien. People have been trying to get me back into the dating scene since day 366 after Jameson’s death. Trust me, if you want to be left the fuck alone, I get it. I’ve mastered quite a few tricks over the past six months that I’m willing to share with you. Of course, having a wedding ring and an elaborate backstory about a hero husband who died in the line of duty is a big help.” Rinda gave an unapologetic shrug and grinned. “I could always create a backstory for you . . .” Now it was Bastien’s turn to grin. “No. Please, not a Rinda Ramble backstory!” They both laughed but the room got quiet when they stopped. After a long pause Bastien finally spoke. “So, Rinda. You think I’m cute?” Rinda rolled her eyes. “God, I knew that was going to bite me in the ass. No, Bastien. Not ‘cute.’ I think I said that you’re ‘hot.’ There’s a difference. You’re not cute.” “Mmm, no Rinda. Your exact words were ‘pretty drop dead gorgeously hot.’” Rinda just stared at him. “Seriously? That was your take away from this entire conversation? Why the fuck do I even waste my time trying to talk to you?”

[feenix-wright]

I saw this and thought it looked fun (someoneelsemadethis I think their name is at the bottom of p2) Part 1

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?

I honestly dont know XD it's been a long time

2. Are you outgoing or shy?

I can be a bit of both depending on if your someone new but I lean towards outgoing

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?

All my friend at my next convention <3

4. Are you easy to get along with?

I'd like to think so I never seem to have a problem with people as long as you dont mind my crazy

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?

Maybe ? I'd hope so if I was left in there care

6. What kind of people are you attracted to?

Oh, ^////^ um that's alot to unpack but usually outgoing people into the same things I am there more but that's a good overview

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?

gosh probably not but you never know love is weird but I also in no rush

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?

no one atm but if you count fictional characters Phoenix wright I just saw a cute post

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?

depends I dont like talking personal stuff or others personal stuff but in general it's a fine topic

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?

A good friend

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?

copy

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

ooof um 1. believe 2. natural 3 bad apple 4. smoke and mirrors 5.duolingo song cover

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?

yeah it's nice as long as they ask first

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?

Yes I ask for them sometimes

15. What good thing happened this summer?

I am closer to my friends and farther from some I'm hoping to catch up with alot of them

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

Yeah it was my grandma on her cheek :3

17. Do you think there is life on other planets?

it would be crazy to say there is not in such a vast universe

18. Do you still talk to your first crush?

No idk what even happened to them

19. Do you like bubble baths?

sometimes

20. Do you like your neighbors?

yes they are all very sweet

21. What are you bad habits?

if I'm super excited I will sometimes interrupt the conversation. I also laugh sometimes when I'm nervous

22. Where would you like to travel?

Japan . I'd like to see the tezuka museum

23. Do you have trust issues?

Yes but I'm generally still trusting

24. Favorite part of your daily routine?

saying morning to my darling baby birds or flopping into the couch one of the 2

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?

hmmmm I'm not really uncomfortable with myself

26. What do you do when you wake up?

planed around work on a normal day maybe between 8 and 10

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?

I think it's a good color but I'm extra so lighter

28. Who are you most comfortable around?

My long time friends and people who know me well

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?

yes

30. Do you ever want to get married?

Yeah one day weddings are beautiful but I gotta find a partner first XD

31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail?

yeah but not a long one

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?

......^///^ wouldn't you like to know

33. Spell your name with your chin.

myle. (I got close its kyla XD)

34. Do you play sports? What sports?

no I never joined one

35. Would you rather live without TV or music?

TV I need music in my life

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?

Yes all the time but crushes are a bit different than likeing I suppose but the answer is still yes

37. What do you say during awkward silences?

depends on the person I will likely say well

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?

I would but I dont really have a dream guy or girl I kinda have a type like julian from the arcana but I leave my expectations open because you never know looks are deceiving

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?

hmm I like Nordstrom . Minnesota market. games by James and such.

40. What do you want to do after high school?

well im already out I wanted to do alot of things but now I'm not sure

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

it's a gray area and a complicated topic I belive its story by story

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?

something is wrong or I just need a quit moment usually the prior

43. Do you smile at strangers?

yes they may need some positivity

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?

oooo tough choice but I'd go space

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?

the general need to pee and do stuff

46. What are you paranoid about

hmmm being poked in the eye XD

47. Have you ever been high?

no

48. Have you ever been drunk?

yes

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?

Nah

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? navy

51. Ever wished you were someone else?

yeah but who hasnt

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?

my weak self confidence

53. Favourite makeup brand?

ooooo Laura Mercier

54. Favourite store?

dont really have one tbh

55. Favourite blog? not sure I'd have to look them up

56. Favourite colour? Dark Blue lately

57. Favourite food? cherry cream cheese cookies

58. Last thing you ate? macaroni and meatballs

59. First thing you ate this morning?

caramel (unless you count ice)

60. Ever won a competition? For what?

yeah for visual arts

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?

never

62. Been arrested? For what?

nope

63. Ever been in love?

Yes *deep dog sigh*

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?

I was so nervous XD but I was a lil more out going than I am now and surprised them with it

65. Are you hungry right now?

I could eat but no not really

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?

most of them are my real friends

67. Facebook or Twitter?

Facebook

68. Twitter or Tumblr?

Tumblr

69. Are you watching tv right now?

not this moment

70. Names of your bestfriends?

*stares deep in your eyes* that's classified

71. Craving something? What?

marichino cherries

72. What colour are your towels?

royal blue

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?

1000

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?

why yes always

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? total alot

75. Favourite animal?

red tailed hawk

76. What colour is your underwear?

no I wont tell you

77. Chocolate or Vanilla?

strawberry usually but vanilla is fine

78. Favourite ice cream flavour?

as above XD but the caramel core blondies by Ben and Jerry's has my heart

79. What colour shirt are you wearing?

black

80. What colour pants?

black

81. Favourite tv show?

ooo Black Jack (it's an anime)

82. Favourite movie?

Star trek into the darkness

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?

been a loooooong time since I've watched these

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?

I dont know

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?

idk

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?

marlin

87. First person you talked to today?

One of my friends

88. Last person you talked to today?

a coworker

89. Name a person you hate?

hate is so strong but trump fits that I supose

90. Name a person you love?

my parents I dont tell them enough

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?

the customer who just peed on our stuff

92. In a fight with someone?

never been in that situation

93. How many sweatpants do you have?

3 maybe?

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?

1 atm

95. Last movie you watched?

the kings speach

96. Favourite actress?

hmmm I cant spell but knightly

97. Favourite actor?

Chris pine

98. Do you tan a lot?

no not a bit

99. Have any pets?

2 birbos

100. How are you feeling?

great atm maybe a bit sleepy

101. Do you type fast?

not as I'd like too