#was the first one i bought for a school project when i was like... 12

[bloodfreakpropaganda]

btw, finally finished my "when the leeve breaks" painting

oil in canvas

[missbutterworthless]

[i’m not a violent dog. i don’t know why i bite.]

The lead singer of BOTB’s Season 4 projected underdogs, Arlo Beck of Penny Arcade, declined further comment in regards to the threatening of a member of the media when questioned about former band mate and fellow competitor, Seven Lawless of Soft Violence.

Further Info Under the Cut!

TW for mentions of addiction 🫶

Introducing Arlo Beck, lead singer of Penny Arcade, a pop punk band of humble origins known most for their musically delivered political commentary and their revenge anthems (it is of particular note that such anthems were not common in the Lawless Era, with the band leaning far more heavily into charged love songs. Which could mean nothing.)

Fun Facts!

Beck is an Aquarius!

According to an insider source, beyond singing, Beck is quite capable with the ocarina.

Beck is known to juggle at any and every opportunity, regardless of who may or may not be watching. (He is apparently rather talented as well.)

Beck is known for accessorizing with heart motifs, noted by a previous local publication to be a nod to fellow bandmate Rowan Hart.

Beck often carries a bottle of quick dry black polish for ‘manicure emergencies’. He is known to have addressed such emergencies while on stage after chipping a nail during a performance.

Beck is often cited as the source for Penny Arcade’s ‘gimmick’ of collecting loose change in collection bins during a dedicated song at every performance. The change is then matched and donated to queer and at risk youth. Beck remains firm that every member of Penny Arcade, past and present, is equally responsible.

Picture Easter Eggs and more Fun Facts!

Arlo is wearing a WWOD? bracelet in the pic! The band got together to make bracelets with Orion’s most recent catchphrase while waiting for filming to start. Arlo made his particularly fruity. He also made a keychain version for Orion.

The time on Arlo’s phone is a nod to MCx7. Seven is, well, 7. And Arlo is 1 & 2 because his initials are the first and second letters of the alphabet. Hence, 7:12.

Arlo’s initial tattoo utilizes the S in SD as an infinity symbol. He acknowledges it is cringy. And poetically tragic.

Not shown is his tongue piercing, which Orion chewed him out for getting because his tongue was swollen and his speech slurred for nearly two weeks!

As stated above, he likes to wear motifs of his band members! Because he is a doofus! Most common because it’s his daily accessories is a heart motif for Rowan, but he also has jellyfish pendants and vampire bite chokers for Iris and different color bee pins for Devyn depending on their hair color! Jazzy is represented in the case he carries his juggling equipment in, which he takes literally everywhere after she bought him one for his birthday years ago. He is currently racking his brain for what to do for August!

43 of the 57 missed calls on his phone were from Orion. He knows because Orion’s ringtone is I Don’t Dance from High School Musical 2.

He is heavily addicted to nicotine (to Orion’s chagrin) and became a functioning (for now) alcoholic after The Fight™️. Prior, he imbibed during social functions but never alone and never when he had plans. Up until the audition, he never partook in other substances but caved into peer pressure. Despite his snark and notorius RBF, he is a chronic people pleaser.

The eyebrow slit is a scar from slicing his eyebrow open in Lucy’s diner after crashing head first into the dish station and shattering a plate. With his face. The scar is almost entirely faded but he can no longer grow hair there. He’s actually really insecure about it and has considered getting the spot microbladed.

That’s all for now folks! I mostly wanted to share my art :) I adore @infamous-if and have been playing with Arlo as my MC since Day 1! He finally fully clicked in my head and after days of attempting to find a face claim or craft him in the sims I decided to crack open Ye Olde iPad and do it myself!

Please feel free to share any fun facts about your own Infamous OCs! Regretfully my friends stay firmly opposed to interactive fiction so I am starved for fellow Infamous fans

[jccatstudios]

Hello!!! Reaching out because I have kind of a funny story. Five or six years ago, my uncle Caplain said one of his students was an artist like me and bought me a copy of your book, Meow Cats United. Although you've certainly improved a lot since then, that book has always inspired me-- it's extremely impressive to do that much work to fill a whole book. I'm so so happy to see that you have a tumblr and that you're still making awesome comics, it kinda made my day to find your blog ^^ keep making cool stuff I love your six of crows work!!!!

WOAH!!! What a small world! Tell your uncle "hi" from me. Hope he's doing well. His classes were always entertaining haha

Bit of context for the rest of you, Meow Cats United was a graphic novel I started when I was 12 and finished when I was like 14 or 15. My school wanted me to stop taking the advanced 7th-grade math course and go on to high school math, but I've never been into the idea of skipping grades, so I had to fill in the period I would've been taking that first math class. I pitched the idea of creating a graphic novel, and two-and-a-half years later, I published this book.

It's funny, if you ever go to comic industry panels, the pros will always tell you to start small, do an eight-page comic as your first work. And they're usually right about that, since big projects are more likely to be demotivating and harder to finish. Well, this 198-page book was my first project, and it solidified my motivation to pursue comics for the rest of my life.

This ask really surprised me this morning! I never thought I'd see or meet anybody who knew this comic, besides the people I knew from my hometown of course. I'm really glad it could inspire you. I have a lot of dream projects, but reworking this comic as a professional might just be the one I'm most excited to take on.

This ask honestly made my day. Thanks for reaching out!

[craftypeaceturtle]

Something stupid...

I recently rewatched tmnt 2012 and thought... wow, there's loads of fully rendered and designed shops in the background. Has anyone ever listed them all for reference?

I didn't even check the fandom wikia so maybe someone has. But hey ho. I've done it now.

So here's all the shops and comics shown in the TMNT 2012 series, for your reference fellow writers and other insane people.

.

Comic books seen throughout the series:

'From the Sewer' (S1 E1, 08:09)

'Martial Pain' (S1 E4, 09:00)

'Famous Creatures of […] Town' (S1 E7, 22:49) **couldn't make out one of the words, sorry!

'Corps Cadares: The Dead Will Save the Earth' (S1 E11, 04:08)

'The Timely Times' (S1 E20, 09:43)

'Diabolical Dead' (S1 E20, 09:43)

'Barbarian' (S1 E20, 09:43)

'Space Heroes' (S1 E23, 10:08) -- Leo collects.

'Tales from the Cosmos' (S2 E2, 00:46)

'Dude' (S2 E4, 10:04)

'Modern Ninja Magazine' (S2 E7, 00:50) --Raph collects.

'Shock Techno' (S2 E10, 00:19)

'Weekly Weird News' (S2 E14, 28:17)

'Green with Envy' (S2 E16, 10:17)

'Split' (S3 E5, 05:45)

'Wingnut' (S4 E19, 00:12)

'Arachnid Man' (S4 E19, 00:27)

'Superb Man' (verbal, not physically shown- S4 E19, 00:29)

'Fantastic Four Food Groups' (S4 E19, 00:31) --heavily associated with Raph.

'Dracula's Castle' (S5 E17, 07:19) -- heavily associated with Mikey.

'Vampire Hunter' (S5 E17, 07:18) --heavily associated with Mikey.

.

Shops seen throughout the series: Book Store (S1 E1, 10:28)

Second Time About (S1 E1, 13:21) -- April stayed with her Aunt above this shop.

Vlad's Repo Depot (S1 E1, 19:31)

Kingfisher Antique/Rare Buy.Sell Jewelry (S1 E1, 21:30)

Fortune Cookie (S1 E3, 14:32) --Purple Dragon base

Rock Bottom Boxing Club (S1 E4, 10:27)

Old Chinatown Tattoo Company (S1 E4, 10:27)

Downtown Athletic Club (S1 E4, 16:08)

Futua-noid Electronics (S1 E5, 17:38)

Pet Supplies (S1 E5, 17:38) -- right next to an alleyway, so I would guess that this the pet store the turtles were bought from.

Mad Wax Records (S1 E5, 17:46)

Everything Store (S1 E5, 17:47)

Dim Sum Then Sum (S1 E7, 12:24)

Laundromat (S1 E7, 13:03)

The Olympia Diner (S1 E8, 02:35)

Tidal Wave Fresh Fish (S1 E8 09:24)

Balzac Chateau du Beuf (S1 E9, 00:32)

Pocket full of Rosies (S1 E9, 00:43)

Wolf Hotel (S1 E9, 13:48) --first met Shredder.

Chinese Herbs and Health (S1 E10, 15:28)

Antonio's Pizza-Rama (S1 E13, 04:53)

Produce City (S1 E16)

(Closed down) Maramba … Shop (S1 E14, 00:35)

Chilly Chillkins Refrigeration company (S1 E14, 21:03)

Roosevelt High School (S1 E15, 09:05)

Comics (S1 E15, 09:05)

Worldwide Genome Project (WGP) (S1 E15, 15:13) --used as Kraang base.

Sweet Dreams Ice Cream (S1 E17 00:27)

Madam Alahazam Fortune Teller (S1 E17 00:27)

Wam-Bam-Pow Comics (S1 E17 00:25)

D.W Yatt Apothecary Est.1875 (S1 E16)

Magic Middleton's Tricks and Costumes (S1 E21, 13:09)

Ziga's Transmission Allignment Collision Tune-Up Autobody (S1 E24, 11:46) --used as Kraang base.

Argosy Theatre (S2 E1, 01:19)

Newstand (S2 E4, 10:04)

Midtown Ice Rink (S2 E6, 06:29)

Barber Shop (S2 E8, 00:11)

Lox Schmear & Java (S2 E19, 17:21)

Bernie's General (S3 E5, 04:44)

Comet Cleaners (S3 E11, 03:29)

Play Pier (S3 E11, 09:03)

Auman Chemicals (S3 E14, 14:53)

Channel 6 (S4 E10, 07:40)

AMAS: Allied Martial Arts Supply (S4 E15, 13:24) -- Used to hold Shredder/Foot Clan's weapons.

Cowabunga Skates (S4 E17, 05:20)

Run Jump Kick (S4 E17, 05:20)

Dell Abate Ristorante (S4 E18, 06:25) -- Don Vizioso's restaurant.

Felipe's (S4 E18, 16:27)

Hicnight Hotel (S4 E18, 17:16) --Don Vizioso's base.

Mini Mart (S5 E3, 16:19)

Friendly Jack's Loans (S5 E3, 17:43)

Wan Dingo's House of Curiosities and Oddities (S5 E5, 13:28)

Shanghai Sternn's Stir Fry (S5 E10, 12:04)

.

Notes:

The episode timestamps might not be totally accurate since I was watching this on a... ahem... legal website.

The timestamps are from when you could clearly and obviously see the shop signs. Like, Ziga's is visible from like episode one but couldn't be clearly read.

Some of the comics were just in shop windows and not really associated with a character so be careful. That is not a list of every comic the turtles have read. Like the Timely Times has only been in the background, not read by a particular turtle.

There were LOADS of shops where the shop name was in Chinese (or Japanese, I don't know) and so I couldn't list. Most of the shops by the Chinatown arch weren't in english. That's why even Murakami's shop isn't listed here. Because the actual shop name wasn't in english.

Thanks for reading through this. Hopefully this was useful for... anyone out there.

[skyfallscotland]

Hiii me again! I, too, have questions for the ask game 🍓🦋🥤

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

I feel like it's redundant to keep saying the same ones, but *whispers* storm in the quiet @justallihere and Political Gain @sarahwyland

But also, in terms of underrated, I just read a little series by Ramzes called The Unseen One, furthering the Sloane/Bodhi agenda (🙏🏼 the lord’s work) and I've also enjoyed The Princess Gambit by JuliLyng so far as well, which is Xaden/OC. Not sure if they have tumblr, but if they're here, hi! 👋🏼

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

So I've always been a reader/writer, since as far back as I can remember (maybe three years old?), I'm pretty sure with the knowledge I have now that I'm hyperlexic.

I'm old enough to have been around for dial-up internet, but when I was a preteen, we got broadband (showing my age). This is to say, don't judge my parents too harshly because internet safety was not a thing back then, but...

I found fanfiction because back then, a lot of people either used livejournal or hosted their own sites, so a lot of fansites, had fanfiction. So while looking at Buffy fansites, I stumbled across Buffy fanfiction and realised I could actually read stories!!! so many stories!! where Buffy and Spike got together earlier or things didn't end tragically for them. So yeah, at 11 I was reading very explicit Spuffy smut on the internet 🫢 I had a system set up where I would play The Sims all day or do school project powerpoints, except I was really reading fanfic and I would flick between screens whenever my parents entered the room.

My mum now has KU and reads dark romance every day, so I guess she comes by it honestly (and yes, I did mean it that way around, I was here first!) 😂

Anyway, when I was 12 I started publishing my first few fanfics on ffnet - Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and a Harry Potter/X-Men Crossover. Each originally written on paper, they were all ridiculously bad, but the latter had people interested enough despite the writing, which encouraged me to try again later down the line with The Vampire Diaries and Jurassic World. I hadn't written for almost ten years and had never finished anything much until last year, by chance, I decided to finally get back into reading actual books and picked up ACOTAR. I finished the series within a week and I was left like?? That's it????

The archive had such a small number of works, I couldn't believe it, so I decided to write my own. I wrote Fury and Siren over the course of three months. I wasn't game to post anything in case I didn't finish it, because I'd never finished anything before. I also put off starting this little book I'd bought 'Fourth Wing' by three months, because I knew I'd be sucked in and would lose the hyperfixation I had, so I forced myself to finish Siren first. And now you all know my life story lol omg I'm so embarrassing to myself 🫠

TLDR: internet

🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately 

Honestly, this is kind of angsty, but this last week I’ve thought a lot about male-dominated fandom spaces and how we’re not welcome in them. We, meaning everyone who isn’t a straight, cis, white male. The Formula 1 community on here seems a little better, probably because it’s female-led, but everywhere else I can’t even look at the comments.

To be honest, I’m tired of being told I don’t belong, or that my opinion means nothing because I’m female. I grew up in a motorsport family, my earliest memories are at racetracks, but men on the internet would have you believe I’m only interested because of what the drivers look like. It’s just…tiring. Those fandom spaces have become a no-go zone for me now, because it just isn’t worth it. We live in a time where no matter what you say someone will attack you which is sad in itself, but it’s so much worse when you’re a woman commenting on a “man’s sport”, not to mention endlessly frustrating because they’re too stupid to tell the difference between equity and equality.

🦋 On a larger note, Palestine. I don’t think more than that needs saying. It hurts my heart.

[lesbiankakyoin]

i feel that online neurodivergent circles dont talk nearly enough about the experience of being people's charity project. i call it that for lack of a better term - it happens a lot including with other disabled people, and it's that thing where NT/able-bodied people around you hang out with you out of pity, or a sense of self-importance ("look how kind-hearted i am, hanging out with someone who has a disability/is seen as a weirdo by most people!")

as an autistic person who wasn't even *called* autistic for a good few years (my parents insisted on the term aspie and not autistic, and i had a bit of a late diagnosis), i had this happen to me all the time in middle school. and these pity-fueled relationships never lasted. they're not born from friendship, they're born from a need to be charitable. "that weird kid will be happy and i'll be looked favourably at for being so brave to hang out with them! win-win!"

since nothing ever lasted for me i started, naturally, to think i was the problem. i was 12, people told me i was weird and annoying before walking out on me, i thought i was fated to be alone. (for an example, once i missed a social cue pretty badly, and it weirded one of those charitable NT girls out so much she sent me a twitter message telling me to stop hanging out, apologised, and blocked me, planning to give me no closure before i went and asked what the hell happened)

it brought me a great deal of other problems but i'm already being too oversharey. the point is: because i was stuck in this cycle of NT kid pities me cuz i'm alone -> starts to hang out with me -> realises i'm a handful -> leaves, i was thinking woah. i kinda suck, right?

but of course i didn't suck! i found that out in high school - i found an actual friend group that took me in and invited me to parties. i remember once in 11th grade, at one of these parties, i asked the "leader" of that group, of sorts, why the hell i was still kept around. like, everyone had walked out on me before, what's the deal? haven't you gotten all your brownie points from hanging out with the autist? ain't you tired of how weird i am yet?

i got a simple answer.

"i keep you around because i like you, that's it."

that was a first for me!

looking back i realise i never was invited to any parties by the people who pitied me. i wasn't *that* kind of friend. maybe i wasn't even a friend. but these guys that took me in, they actually hung out with me! we went to parties, we bought trinkets at the mall, they sent me best wishes in my graduation, the mom of one of them gave me a recipe for her gingerbread cake because i'd loved it so much! i still talk to a good amount of them even though most of us are in college now, and the closest two attended my 20th birthday party :-)

i dunno what the bottom line is here, honestly, and this whole thing has been sitting in my drafts for a while. maybe i thought it was too personal. it is, but maybe i thought i'd give some insight to whatever NT people that access this blog (i do not expect there to be many, but hi) into what building a strong relationship with ND or otherwise disabled people entails. we don't want your pity. we've gotten enough of that for a lifetime, and it's dehumanising to a point we become little toys for people who know they can just stop hanging out if we're too off-putting.

when you treat someone like a person, they're happy... who knew?

[songforaname]

not so much a secret, more just something i've been wondering and never got the opportunity to ask:

what's your connection with lizards?

i've remarked that it's something we have in common and in my case it's having one as a pet, but i've just never brought it up out of, idk, fear that since he's of a species often just grabbed from the wild (which he wasn't, he's one of the first of his kind to be born in captivity in the nordics) that you'd think less of me?

Short answer:

Longer answer:

i've never put too much thought into it, but the earliest i can trace anything back to is reading a children's science book about lizards whenever i went to visit my great-grandma over in canada as a kid.

i specifically remember about it having separate sections for lizards and salamders and how to care for them a return them to the wild after you've caught one.

naturally, living in a place which would be covered in snow for like a third of the year meant i'd never have the chance to do that, and a house full of cats and the occasional dog meant there wasn't any place for a lizard to be put in a tank either. (the fish i had would occasionally disappear from the tank they were in too. except for the goldfish i won at a carnival game, which is a whole different story)

but then at some point after my sister was born, my mom ended up getting us into making crafts out of beads and string. One of the projects in the book we had was a lizard. Guess what i made a lot?

then in like fourth or fifth grade, at the little christmas gift market my school would throw every year so kids could buy presents and get them wrapped, i had bought presents for almost everyone i knew except for my sister and by pure chance the doll bed i had bought for my sister also came with an Iggy the Iguana beanie baby for like $5 extra instead of the other tables there selling the beanie babies for like $15-$20 on their own.

That exact beanie baby has been in my posession since then and is the one i take pictures of whenever i go places and i've taken him cross-country several times. if we assume i got him the same year as his listed birthday is - August 12, 1997 - that would make him 26, and almost a year older than my brother.

At some point, other people in my family would grab me stuffed lizards for christmas or birthday presents because the Iggy pictures on facebook were the main way they would know what i was up to.

however, while typing this out, i remembered that as a really young kid, i had a Barney the Dinosaur doll i would have by my side at all times for years, even forcing my mom to end up getting more eyedrops than necessary when i needed them because i wouldn't take them unless barney had to take them too. And she couldn't fake it because i would watch her put them in. i don't know whatever happened to him.

i also was obsessed with the american godzilla movie at one point, and all kinds of dinosaurs as a kid, but none of those lasted as long or as fiercely as Barney or Iggy. so as far as i can tell, you can tempt me into anything with a brightly colored, fuzzy reptile of some sort.

or, for a probably more accurate answer, plucked from a tumblr post:

(i also don't actually know much about lizards.)

[lumiereandcogsworth]

tagged by @thavron thank you my dear :)

1. are you named after anyone? yes! my great-grandma lydia. we share a birthday AND she died on her birthday exactly one year before i was born. a very fun and slightly spooky anecdote

2. when was the last time you cried? last night, i got a very angsty fic idea and as usual i somehow manage to put myself into the character’s shoes so easily and i was crying a character’s tears. last time i cried my own tears was the night before i think, or something like that. idk, i cry a lot lmao.

3. do you have kids? no but my build-a-bear stitch IS my son

4. what sports do you play / have you played? i played basketball from ages 6-17 and it was basically my entire personality. haven’t done any sports since then and probably won’t, though i’m trying to find some kind of exercise that could actually be fun :/ i loved rock climbing in college but there’s no wall near where i live. but anyway i’ll figure it out

5. do you use sarcasm? noOooOoo i would Neverrrrrrrr

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people? i genuinely have no idea, i don’t really look at people. maybe their voice/the way they speak? or their shoes cuz that’s where i be looking lmao

7. what’s your eye color? i don’t knoowww. blue green grey. depends on what i’m wearing, sometimes the blue really pops. but sometimes it doesn’t look like my eyes are blue at all so. i think they’re mostly grey.

8. scary movies or happy endings? once again this question makes no sense because a lot of scary movies (most?? nearly all????) HAVE happy endings. but anyway to quote the fairy fauna from sleeping beauty, i just LOVE happy endings :”)

9. any talents? well i like to think i’m an alright writer! i actually Know i’m a good writer at least when it comes to school essays because that was always where i got the most praise. but i think my fics are pretty good too!! writing’s just always come naturally to me. other than that idk, i’m pretty good at memorizing stuff when i want to.

10. where were you born? pacific northwest babey!!!! (northwestern united states)

11. what are your hobbies? writing and day dreaming are like, my two staples. i’m striving to make 2024 the year i start being more crafty though. i have a couple projects brewing and i have a batb 2017 coloring book that i just bought some markers for to start coloring more. in the future i’d like to try crochet and embroidery but i don’t wanna overwhelm myself. one step at a time

12. do you have any pets? no :( i’m just an auntie to a lot of pets. the one i see most often is my brother’s shiba inu, mishka. he’s my little baby nephew and i wanna eat his face off. but anyway i’d like a cat or two some day! probably whenever i move out of my parents’ house. (which i’m not in a big rush to do, i like it here :3)

13. how tall are you? somewhere between 5’5 and 5’6. but with shoes definitely 5’6

14. favorite subject in school? elementary to high school it was probably english/creative writing, since i’ve always had a knack for it. in college it was my two majors, comparative ethnic studies and history. my favorite CES classes were “race and racism in pop culture” and “blackness in film.” my favorite history classes were “history of the late middle ages” (shout out to my girl joan of arc!) and “history of ancient greece” which was my absolute favorite course in all four years of university. it was actually one i happened to take in the quarantine year (my junior year of college) but it still slapped even despite being over zoom. that professor was awesome and i was so obsessed with the material, i kept most of the books and even asked him for more recommendations. (haven’t read them all yet, but i like seeing them on my bookshelf lol)

15. dream job? whatever ends up supporting my desires in life, and brings me at least some semblance of joy. the job i have right now is actually really awesome. it has a couple downsides but overall i’m extremely happy with my job and it feels great :)

tagging: @gayassbenaffleck @freakwiththeknifecollection @gavotteangel @roberrtphilip @ariiiloves @autumnrose11 @ginnyweatherby @enchanted-keys @romeoandjulietyouwish @japhan2024 @splendiferous-bitch + anyone else can say i tagged them :))

[divisionten]

Artemis Fowl Escape Room

Note: this was originally posted to Kotaku, but a number of my old articles there were destroyed after they purged whole sections of the site.

I’ve been very good friends with one of my former classmates for almost 20 years. He’s a massive Artemis Fowl fan (as am I, though I didn’t grow up with it like he did) so, when I found a signed copy of the book for his Christmas gift, I knew I couldn’t just give it to him. He’d have to be Artemis... and steal it.

NOTE: I paid for it. Please don’t steal books, and support your favorite artists. :D

Not just steal it, steal it from his own past self. Artemis Fowl follows the Doctor Who school of wibbly wobbly timey wimey... stuff.

BUDGET AND MATERIALS

First and foremost, I had just over a week to figure out

a) my budget and

b) how the puzzles would flow from one to another

Budget wise, I wanted to spend less than $50, which meant I needed to get creative with props. I own a Cricut, so I could make some very professional looking custom textiles, stickers and cards/paper items, and had a massive amount of sticker vinyl already on hand. I work for an electronics company, and do hobbyist Arduino, so I also already have lots of wire, batteries, some modules, and a few completed robots I could cannibalize. Lastly, I also have a large stock of cosplay items (wigs, costumes, fabric, foam) lying around. I know most people wouldn’t have this on hand, but if you’re planning on making an escape room, look at what YOU already have. Maybe you have power tools, or maybe you’re good at designing quick websites. You probably also have more than eight days to come up with an entire escape room game too, but the idea came to me AFTER I found his gift.

Lower Elements Police shirts for my friend’s wife, my friend, and myself of Wing Commander Vinyáya, Extremely Irritating Human Fowl, and Captain Short. Materials cost for all three was between $15 and $25- I have leftover heat vinyl i can use on another project, and a cool new shirt for myself to boot.

As far as things that lock, all I have is a locking mailbox, and a small key locker (like the kind used by some AirBnB to store a key outside a house). None of the doors within my house lock. So, I knew I’d definitely use the mailbox and key locker SOMEHOW, but I also needed something big and safe enough to hold the book.

Like... a safe. I bought an extremely cheap one on Amazon for $12.

I also spent another $8 on some concentric stacking boxes to start the hunt.

From there, my puzzle flow began writing itself. “Artemis” would need to do two things-

Find the location of the safe.

Discover the safe combo.

I’m already building a full jumpsuit out of scuba neoprene and copious amounts of cursing, but for now, this’ll do. Also, yes, I’m aware I wrote it in English and not Gnomish. Sue me.

Since things tend to go in threes, I split the puzzles into three quest lines, and started filling in the blanks with puzzles.

Lastly, to sweeten the deal, I decided to raid my cosplay drawers (and my heat transfer materials) to make an EXTREMELY low budget Holly Short cosplay (homemade shirt for me, plus my Kino goggles, Elena Fisher thigh pouch, my exercise armband, 13th doctor boots, Dipper/Hiccup wig, and some cheap elf ears), plus shirts for my friend and his wife, above.

The last thing I did was convince another very close friend (and actor) to call in as tactical support (aka the escape room hint helpline) as the Artemis Fowl books’ equivalent of Q, a very condescending centaur named Foaly. I sent him the full set of puzzles I’d written with solutions (and changed his name in my caller ID), so he could berate “Artemis” and offer hints or solutions should my friend get stuck.

START OF THE HUNT: Open concentric boxes, and get scolded by Artemis Fowl

I set up three boxes, each smaller than the other, with 3 codes (Gnomish, Centurian, and the Eternity Code) on the inside lid of of each box, nested in each other and wrapped.

The smallest box contains only an invitation to begin the game.

-To Myself:

It has come to my attention that there may be an issue. If you’ve gotten this, that means you’ve lost your memory- and, by extension, MY memory.

For safekeeping of my own mind, I’ve taken great pains to hide pieces of my own memories with friends and various acquaintances. Do yourself a favor and find the original document the People wrote on me those years ago. You’ll know it when you see it.

I hope.

You’re me, which means you’re too smart for me to wish you good luck. Just go and find the high school bags of three of our former friends. They should point you in the right direction.

- A. Fowl Jr.

There’s also a sheet of instructions.

Holly:

I hope this finds you in good health. I’m worried. I’ve had my mind wiped before, and it probably will again in the future. I don’t think you’ll be the ones who do it- you learned last time I’m a bit too smart for you.

In case someone more... unsavory, like that maniac pixie does something to me, I leave instructions on how to help jog my memory.

· In the residence with the People’s files, I’ll leave two clue trials. There will be three clues leading to the location of the People’s file. These will be tied with gold ribbon. And three more, with green, on the actual combination to said safe. Only I will be smart enough to put that information together, and I’ll need all six total to have enough to remember both the location and combination.

· Foaly and you will be indispensable. Please help where you can.

· If a door is closed or locked, unless a clue I’ve left behind specifically says to open it, it can stay closed. The same can be said for drawers and closets. You know me. I don’t like getting my hands dirty more than necessary.

· On that note, if a clue requires any sort of brute force, it’s wrong. I can’t assume Butler will be there to assist. You have my express permission to smack me upside the head of this and remind me I’m a planner; physical activity is hardly my strength.

· I may have seeded the internet (very well, I HAVE seeded it) with my own history lest I forget something like Butler’s first name or other personal information. Remind me to look up things online should I need to be reminded of family history.

· Everything needed to get my memory back is located on-site, but it may not all be indoors.

Thank you, Holly. I trust you to hold this until needed. I only hope that day never comes.

A.F. ii

The next three quests could be done in any order, and involve searching three bags I use for cosplay. I picked characters my friend was familiar with, so, while I do own a really nice Kaede backpack from Danganronpa v3, I didn’t use it, as my friend has only played the first game.

PERSONA 5 QUESTLINE: First combo lock clue/safe clue

The FIRST of THREE clues to the safe and lock starts with searching JOKER’s bag. A note from the Phantom Thieves is contained within, with the following text:

Hey, Dullahan (still your code name, right? Skull mentioned you might have had a change of heart). Been a while. You asked us to steal your heart for safekeeping, so we did. We only took a piece, though, so just follow the trail and you’ll be just fine; check the pillowcases; Mona’s always whining I need more sleep. Oh yeah, the first piece of it is in the Recon officer’s hands. Maybe they’re willing to TRADE for it? You might want to POKE them about it. Gotta GO- we’ve got more work to do. Sakurai invited me to some kind of tournament. -Joker

Trade Pokémon in Pokemon Go

I have a Pokémon to trade, an Unown. It’s an X, named MarksTheSpot.

Crack Joker’s cipher

Inside the pillowcase is a dossier, with a puzzle:

xM fW qF xO zJ kO xN cC lR jK xA gR xC xA gH oO eE xS xE rF wV xD oR eE fR oO xT fV eE xH oO rF jG xE tB kE iN oW xH aA xO oM kK oO xU gU oD oR xS qA aV oF nE xE tT oR xW uG oD wE xA nU wE rD nU cC xY nE oF xT fV xO wI kE rD xO jE xE kR fV iN xA oT iF rT xS nV rS xY aE nE oE iF nE xT nG mE oW xO uN eD jR uT xL kX hT nB xO eE qA xO nN jU xT nR kE xW cX bB oS cD nE eF xH sV dE xO eB bR xM jW qN dE kX vY xA iW bE xK dD wB jE xE iW oW xS eW aH cR iF xT lE xH dS lW nO iS xE fF xI jE kR xR yY uR fG xH nE rR xA xL uB uG oK pQ bR xL xM jE bR xA sI aQ zX xS sS bJ iR yG xT wI bU qR xE uD kR xR xL aY zU iJ vR rH xO aN eT xC gW cO lW qI xK rD uG xK kE rD xE oN nF oL wC xY uH uE oG xC qE xO jR fF xM rU gG oN xB wN oF xO oB qJ yB xT iX eQ kW sO sS hE iS xH oK lE xR kR iE fF xE wR qI uH xE iD fS xZ mU sT yE xE uV hY xR jR kN xO gO aN dQ nE xE rD aD xS iG zZ oW nT sS iE xA rR kR xN dR oO xD yX fR oO xA wE oF nU vR xO sE vR xN kR kZ xE

Finding only the letters with an X before them [X “MarksTheSpot”, remember?] leaves:

M O N A C A S E D T H E H O U S E W A Y T O O E A S Y T O L O O T W H O M A K E S T H E I R H A L L M A S T E R L O C K K E Y C O M B O T H R E E Z E R O E S A N D A O N E

Or:

Mona cased the house. Way too easy to loot. Who makes their hall masterlock key combo three zeroes and a one?

The Hall Keypad

Putting 0001 into the hall keypad will slide open a small lock containing a key to the mailbox outside as well as a folded-up paper.

First Safe Combo Clue (in Gnomish):

The paper contains the following

THE LARGEST SAFE NUMBER IS EVEN

The Mailbox

The mailbox contains the first safe location clue:

TO FIND THE SAFE/ THAT YOU MUST CRACK/ ASSEMBLE TWO MORE PAPERS/ AND SEARCH THE LOWEST RACK

Joker’s puzzle line has been completed.

DANGANRONPA QUESTLINE: Second combo lock clue/safe clue

The SECOND of THREE clues to the safe and lock starts with searching MAKOTO’s bag. A note from him is contained within, with the following text:

I HOPE THIS BAG MADE IT OUT OKAY. I THINK STICKING IN A DEACTIVATED MONOKUMA HELPED… WELL, MOSTLY DEACTIVATED. YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK ITS INSIDES, JUST TO BE SURE. AND… UM… DON’T BLOW UP.

“Deactivate” Monokuma

I’m not that easy to get rid of, kiddo. You n’ me. One round. Who’s a better liar, do you think? I want to know… All About You.

A homemade plush Monokuma is in the bag (who also opens his mouth and talks, when squeezed), unzipping the rear compartment is a piece of paper punctured with a You Don’t Know Jack pin and the above message.

The Mysterious Fourth Player

There’s a Jackbox pin attached to the note, signaling to play the Jackbox game All About You.

The three of us log in, and it won’t be streamed on twitch. But a fourth player joins, named MONOKUMA (it’s my friend who is playing Foaly, as I discreetly gave him the room code). He answers as normal (or like Monokuma might), but when it comes to the one-truth-one-lie section he lists the following:

Truth: An alien left you a snack in the fridge.

Lie: Artemis will never regain his memory.

This will lead “Artemis” to search the refrigerator, where a Tardis confection will be waiting.

The Doctor’s Orders

Breaking open the candy TARDIS will have a hastily scrawled note by the Doctor.

I’ve done lots of travel in my day… lots. Grab my screwdriver off the bookshelf (the OLDER one), and go find my old friend Ford’s journal. I know it’s still there. And check out the inside of the back. It’s exposure to the Chameleon Circuit should translate language, but it won’t crack codes in your own. One’s translated then, and the other… well you wrote that code, so good luck.

Using the 10th doctor’s sonic screwdriver on the last page of Gravity Falls’ Journal 3 (two references my friend IMMEDIATELY groked) will reveal a black light message:

The Eternity Code

The Eternity Code (written by Artemis in the third novel) is blocks of lines to make letters. If its too hard to read with the sonic/invisible ink, “Artemis” can peel off the tape and find a printout underneath, which may be a little easier to navigate.

THE SAFE COMBINATION HAS NO DUPLICATE NUMBERS

And folded up with it is an “old newsprint article”

Root’s Obituary

IN MEMORY.

Today, thousands gathered to witness Commander Root’s recycling ceremony. The man, a maverick who knew exactly how to take risks, was well known for clanking through Police Plaza hallways, barking orders, louder than a crack of dynamite. From a humble beginning in Haven’s western suburbia all the way to L. E. P. chief commander, the man never did anything halfway, and has been put to rest, having taken in an incredibly lengthy list of most wanted criminals.

He will be sorely missed.

(The bolded words are all board games on my living room shelf rack).

Makoto’s puzzle line has been completed.

RATCHET AND CLANK QUESTLINE: Third combo lock clue/safe clue

The THIRD of THREE clues to the safe and lock starts with searching RATCHET’S bag. A note from him is contained within, with the following text:

Not much I can do from another galaxy, but Clank hacked your computer and left you a fairy hologram, you’ll need some infrared goggles to read it. There’s also some weird folder on your desktop, might be worth a look.

Sorry pal, but you’re on your own this time.

This will lead “Artemis” to check the computer.

Hacking Back

Two users on the computer, myself and... Artemis. There’s some notes taped to the monitor that might help.

“Give it up, Foaly. I know you know my password.” and “you can always click the hint, but it’s the family motto...”

The hint lists “Gold is Power”, and the password is Aurum Est Postas, the Fowl family motto and Artemis’s own computer password (until he later changes it to Centaur in Book 6).

There’s only two things of note when logging in as Artemis, and they lead into finding the final combo lock clue and safe location clue.

For Emergency Use Only

Not-so hidden among the wafers, wire, magnifying lenses, and sensors is a pair of ‘infrared’ goggles (Also other than the ‘infrared’ goggles, the rest of the items are all real tech, plus my magnification ring, as I’m legally blind and loathe to carry a larger magnifying glass)

The Final Safe Code Clue

Wearing the goggles, ‘Artemis’ will now be able to read the image, which is in Centurian.

THE NUMBERS ADD TO TEN AND ARE ORDERED FROM SMALLEST TO LARGEST.

The Mysterious Computer Folder

There was something else Ratchet said was on the computer, wasn’t there?

Leads on Finding..../the Safe seems a good place to start.

Opening the folder is five photographs of people in nón lá (leaf hat), otherwise known as Vietnamese conical straw hats.

I did a semester abroad in Sapa, Vietnam, so not only did I take the photos, I also just so happen to have my own nón lá hanging up in my bedroom (I lost my baseball cap the first week I moved there, and my host mother insisted I get one to protect myself from the sun).

If you’re at all familiar, the Artemis Fowl series begins with Artemis tracking down a fairy begging on the streets of Ho Chi Minh city, so the hat’s my little nod to that.

Searching the hat leads to a simple note...

Face where Man acquires sustenance and it is sinister.

Face where Fairy acquires sustenance and it is right.

It’s wrapped in a gold bow, like the other two safe location clues.

Ratchet’s (and Foaly’s :D) puzzle line has been completed.

All minor puzzles are complete; it’s now time to find and open the safe..

FIGURING OUT THE SAFE LOCATION:

Clue one tells you its on the bottom rack.

Clue two tells you a bunch of board games.

And clue three says its on the left (sinister) when looking at where humans get food, or on the right on where fairies get food.

Its inside that rightmost cube on the bottom, since we are facing the backyard from this view, with the kitchen behind.

FIGURING OUT THE COMBO

THE LARGEST SAFE NUMBER IS EVEN

THE SAFE COMBINATION HAS NO DUPLICATE NUMBERS

THE NUMBERS ADD TO TEN AND ARE ORDERED FROM SMALLEST TO LARGEST.

From here, we know the third digit must be even, as it’s the largest number. The dials only go from 0-9, so the third digit must be 2,4,6, or 8. The numbers must add to ten, with no duplicates, so the third number cannot be 8. It also can’t be 2 (1,1,2 is invalid).

So the third number must be 4 or 6.

But even the next largest numbers (2 and 3) only add to 9 with 4. (2, 3,4) so 4 cannot be the final digit.

The last digit must be 6.

If 6 is the last digit, the other two numbers must add to 4 to make 10. There are only two valid combinations to make this possible (without violating the no duplicate rule)

The combo is either 0, 4, 6

Or

1, 3, 6

(the combo is 1, 3, 6).

With this information, Artemis can find and open the safe.

When he does, a folded note saying STOP! is inside. It contains the following.

You’ve come quite close, me, congratulations are in order.

But there is one final test for you, my old friend. Through these trials, you might have jogged a hair of your-my-OUR memory. I hope you have, because if you’ve done this wrong, this box is set to blow.

Under your old L.E.P. contractor’s shirt are two identically sized items. One of them is the files the People wrote on you so many years ago. The other… is a block of C4. Don’t bother pulling at them, but touch the spines all you like so long as you don’t yank it out. They’re designed to be identical, but only one is meant for you.

Foaly, Captain Short, and Wing Commander Vinyáya can’t help you here.

Think on it, and, when you’re sure you know the answer, pull it out and rip it open.

Diffuse the Safe Bomb

WARNING! THIS WILL SPOIL THE FINAL PUZZLE.

I’ll wait.

Waiting.

Last chance to try and figure this one out yourself.

Good? Good.

And here is where I pull an Artemis Fowl myself, and I play the biggest con-slash-bluff of the hunt.

There are two books inside, both wrapped, with wires coming out of the paper (they don’t actually lead anywhere). No matter which one ��Artemis” takes, there is a signed copy of Artemis Fowl inside (the other copy is mine), plus the home-made shirt. Neither “Foaly” nor I will help him; he’s welcome to hem and haw at his old clues all he wishes. It’s entirely up to his gut on this one. There is no wrong answer.

Merry Christmas, old friend.

[rebelorder-official]

I am infinitely grateful for all the support you have shown me with the prologue! I hope you also enjoy the first chapter<3

Capter 1

Good Morning Arcadia Oaks

Haruki jerked awake in his bed. His heart was beating fast, sweat was sticking his shirt to his chest, and his breath was reduced to a gasp just like in the dream.

Something was sounding in the room, but it was definitely not the dream witch's chant--no, this something was more repetitive and annoying, like an alarm. It took the boy a few seconds to realize where he was: he was in his bed in his room, no longer in the Dark Lands, and what was sounding was not the fire alarm, but his alarm clock, set as it was every morning at 6:30 sharp.

Haruki then reached out his hand to turn off the alarm clock, and when his fingers touched the off button, a voice took the place of the sound, wishing as it did every morning good morning to all the citizens of the small town where he lived.

"Good morning Arcadia Oaks! It's 6:30 a.m. and time to get up. Today's weather forecast calls for sun in the morning and bad weather in the evening, let's hope the afternoon stays sunny or at least no rain!"

Haruki huffed dejectedly and sat at the edge of the bed massaging his temples. He stretched his legs and arms and dressed, grabbing the first things his closet presented in front of him: a white NASA T-shirt and a pair of dark jeans his aunt had bought him at that Saturday's flea market.

He picked up from the floor the shoulder bag with his school books inside and watched as the clutter of his room gripped the desk covered with papers and junk. The computer on it was still on from the night before and the screen glowed a deep green, almost as if to call attention to itself.

Haruki moved only a moment closer, looking at the encrypted email in the center of the screen in a language unknown to human but very clear to him: trollish.

Just a few words: "Janus awaits socks."

Words that to a human, if he had ever managed to decipher them, would not have meant much, in fact they would probably have made him smile a little, but not Haruki.

He knew that email, which arrived at about 3 o'clock that very morning, could only mean one thing: Another hellish evening working for the Order of Janus.

I mean, come on! It was only Monday and already his fellow changelings had problems to solve. There was never a moment's peace.

But... He knew he had to answer the call. Deep down he knew that without his help, many changelings would feel at least lost in front of those new technologies like computers and telephones. Centuries of writing goose-feathered letters on handmade papyri only to find oneself catapulted into constant progress must have been exhausting to metabolize, so Haruki did not hold it against him.

Luckily for him, he had only been on earth for 18 years, so learning modern culture had not been all that difficult. He had found himself immersed in it since childhood, and when his aunt had given him his first computer at age 12 he had taken an immediate interest in technology and programming. Good thing in hindsight; thanks to his love of computers he had secured a secure place within the Order and now enjoyed a position of respect, but sometimes all that work weighed on him.

He turned off the computer and went downstairs. His aunt was still asleep, a luxury that those of us who are adults and go to work later can afford, while his younger sister, Yuko, would have woken up an hour later anyway, because the middle school where she went was definitely closer to the Ōta family home than Arcadia Oaks High School.

Haruki ate breakfast, composed her sister's packed lunch, and left the house at a brisk pace. He grabbed the blue bicycle Auntie Maemi had given him for his birthday and leapt into the saddle.

He pedaled down the driveway and through the woods, avoided the canal and crossed the large bridge that led to the innermost part of the small town of Arcadia Oaks.

The sky was a brilliant blue and the trees laden with green leaves reminded him that yes, summer was finally near. There wasn't long to go, just enough time to prepare for and take his final exams and then he would enjoy the summer before college; although to fully enjoy it he would actually have to pass at least his final Spanish tests so he wouldn't risk being deferred.

He arrived in front of the school just in time to hear the last bell. He hurried to get off his bike and tie it to the bike rack that the school provided for students. He entered the institution, handling his bag in search of his phone to put it on silent before some message, probably sent by the Order of Janus, could disturb him during Spanish class. It was precisely this distraction of his that caused him to collide with the one person he really hoped not to meet that morning.

"Mr. Ōta." Groaned the professor, backing away a few steps after being bumped.

"M-Mr. Strickler!" Haruki stammered, trying to compose himself in the most dignified manner possible.

Strickler's jade eyes met the younger boy's brown ones.

"I'm glad to see you're okay..." The history teacher added, aggravating his voice slightly. "I thought you were sick." He raised an eyebrow and Haruki felt a jolt of chills run down his spine.

And there it was, he would have bet. He knew that someone like Strickler would never let something like that out of his sight-but let me explain. You know how I told you that someone like Haruki certainly couldn't escape a call from the Order of Janus? There, I lied.

Haruki was perfectly capable of ignoring an order like that.

Just the night before, despite a fairly important e-mail request for help, Haruki had fallen asleep from an overdose of afternoon study in a desperate attempt to pass the Spanish assignment he would have that morning, and so at the Order a wi-fi malfunction during a conference with the base of operations in Tokyo had turned into sheer chaos and terror, later escalating into trollish profanity and an unpleasant brawl.

"I... fell asleep to be honest." Muttered Hideki, lowering his head as his cheeks tinged red.

Mr. Strickler's eyebrows rose comically, and a very unsurprised smile plastered on his face. "Don't tell me..." He teased him with that thick English accent of hers that used to drive the group of moms at parent-teacher class interviews so crazy.

"I'm sorry, I really am. It's just... I have this Spanish assignment today and..." Attempted the boy, but his teacher beat him to it:

"School is important Mr. Ōta, I understand that. After all, I'm a teacher myself. Don't worry, I know that this morning Mr. Uhl will give you a hard time with the new test, you did well to study."

Haruki almost managed to breathe a sigh of relief before Strickler was able to finish the sentence.

"However... Janus awaits his socks with great anxiety. There have been some um... problems."

Haruki sensed as he looked around that the professor's words were dosed so that no student passing by could understand them. He looked up and their eyes met; Strickler barely smiled, but Haruki noticed a purple bruise protruding behind the collar of the teacher's blue turtleneck.

A scuffle.

Bular.

His blood chilled again.

"Tonight I will be there professor, I promise. There is nothing more important to me than ... deliveries."

The professor's smile became more sincere and he waved a hand in the air disengagedly. "Very well then. Good assignment Mr. Ōta, I hope Mr. Uhl didn't really go as hard as he described to me this morning."

Strickler walked away at an elegant pace, and watching him leave Haruki could not help but pause to think about how capable the man was of blending in with the crowd of humans while still remaining integral to his identity. In short, he was not a totally anonymous man, he knew a lot of people through his role as a history teacher, and yet Haruki was certain that no one, ever in the history of Arcadia Oaks, could have suspected that he was a changeling.

It was Strickler himself in those years who had taught him that although it was important to blend in with the crowd better than anyone else, a changeling could aspire to great things.

There was only one constraint to adhere to: never tie oneself to anyone. The changelings were not meant to have friends, let alone a family. It was bad enough that they put up with their own kind and did not kill each other....

The right medium was to make humans trust themselves without really letting them into their lives or let them know the truth about their true nature, which was much more difficult than or could not seem to be...

When Mr. Strickler's footsteps were only a distant memory, the silence of the hallway managed to interrupt the flow of his thoughts.

Haruki took a quick glance at the clock on the wall and lost a beat in surprise; it was definitely late and the reason the hallway was now deserted was that all the students were already in their classes.

The boy ran almost to the point of crashing into the front door of the classroom and when he opened it all his classmates were already sitting in their seats.

Homework on their desks and pens in their hands.

Mr. Uhl, an Austrian man in his early twenties, was leaning against the desk with his arms folded. When his gaze crossed Haruki's, he smiled wickedly, waving a sheet full of questions on the front and back.

The damn paper in class.

The boy ran and picked it up and settled down at his desk, the one in the third row near the wall, to begin filling out the test he had studied so hard for.

As he read the questions, panic targeted his mind, making the evening spent studying completely useless.

"Shit." He muttered, as Mr. Uhl's clear eyes smiled wickedly at him, as if the man already knew that the boy's fate was sealed with a big red F on his report card.

[jlilycorbie]

12, 20, and 40!

Describe your perfect writing space

I'd say somewhere quiet, maybe outside? I like going out to parks, and I like writing long hand, but I bought a small blue tooth keyboard that connects to my phone so I could have portable writing space. I really like the idea of hanging out at a cafe or coffee shop to write, except plague. Maybe someday?

But if I'm really honest about where I get the majority of my writing done...long hand at my desk in my office when I'm caught up and need to look busy.

How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

I have absolutely no idea how to count these. Actual started WIPs? I'd say there's at least six active WIPs? The untitled fantasy WIP, the bad neighbors horror story, the near future cyberpunk story, the girl who escapes an anti-tech cult and goes to space, unionizing the asteroid belt, magic school dropouts...does The Cliffhanger count as a WIP? There's a lot of abandoned WIPs hanging around, too.

And ideas? I can't even keep track. I guess the doomsday prepper serial killer and his haunting is in the idea stage still. At least two cozy mystery series. Maybe three if the soup fairy ever turns into anything. As I think about it, more come back to me.

And I have a little cast iron cauldron filled with scraps of paper with ideas on them. I call it the plot pot. I'm not going near it to answer this question. And I'm going to call it answered enough, because if I think about it, I'm going to spend all night listing stuff.

It's probably good to pull them out to get a little air, though.

Share some backstory for one of your characters

I'm going to go with one of the characters for the story about unionizing the asteroid belt. I already wrote a story about her, and I think it's going to be the first chapter in the book when I get to it. You can check it out here if you want. I loathe the title. I've changed it many times. I'll probably keep changing it.

Anyway, Bryony was a super active kid, kind of a tomboy, and she loved tinkering with gadgets. She didn't do great in school, and could barely hold still most of the time. She was paralyzed in a hiking accident during a summer break while she was in high school, and she didn't handle it well.

One of her friends pointed her toward Project Hephaestus, an organization that ran independent communications in space that was run and staffed entirely be disabled people. If you join the project, they'll provide all the training you need and make any modifications and adaptations you need for your assigned location.

Bryony wasn't super into it, but she applied, and then she took her first training trip to the moon. She got an engineering degree with a linguistics minor, set off for space, and hasn't looked back.

She worked hard to get a chance manning a solo station, and she loves it.

Thank you for the ask!

[yeonchi]

Doctor Who 10 for 10 Part 7/10: Series 7

For me, 2012 and 2013 were some of the hardest years of high school for me. No, I wasn’t bullied, if that’s what you’re thinking. That first half of high school (from Year 7-9) is probably the most formative out of all the high school years, as that is where fundamental friendships are made, in my opinion. But instead of making friends, I was busy getting into the Doctor Who fandom, waiting for new episodes and ripping off old episodes to make stories while incorporating my original ideas into them, eventually forming and defining what would be known as my personal project.

Each series of Doctor Who in the modern era so far has remained confined to a single calendar year, but the Series 7 split saw it being spread over two years. While the Series 6 split was a creative decision on Moffat’s part, there are a few reasons why the Series 7 split happened; it was a creative decision on the BBC’s part, Steven Moffat wanted to leave as short a gap as possible between the end of the series and the 50th Anniversary, the BBC didn’t want Doctor Who’s coverage being overshadowed by the upcoming 2012 London Olympics (though if a series premiered in March/April it would have ended before the opening ceremony), the production team thought it would be nice to delay production on the series for a few months to allow the cast and crew some time to rest while also allowing Moffat (and Mark Gatiss) to focus on Sherlock, the list goes on.

Thanks to the 50th Anniversary, Series 7 and the 2013 Specials are another peak in the revived series history next to Series 4 and the 2013 Specials. To elaborate, let’s jump into the retrospective for Series 7.

1. Eleventh Doctor Sonic Screwdriver Review

Near the end of 2012, I bought an Eleventh Doctor Sonic Screwdriver toy from an ABC Shop (when those were still a thing) on a school shopping trip (believe it or not, in Years 7-9, the school took us out to a popular shopping centre for “Christmas shopping” but I think everyone else was just focused on hanging out and chilling - I don’t think they did it anymore when I got to Year 10). The intention was that I would bring it to swimming and athletics carnivals for a bit of fun on those days; even when the sonic screwdriver was changed in 2015 I did still get a final year of use out of it in Year 12 because I didn’t want to buy another sonic screwdriver for one year, not when I was just getting into Kamen Rider and tokusatsu.

The sonic screwdriver toy was the 2010 model from Character Options. It was able to extend itself with a touch of a button, though the spring-loaded action was a bit too strong, scaring people who were unfamiliar with the sonic screwdriver. The release button wasn’t that good either - it could extend itself if you flicked your wrist hard enough or sometimes when the red button is pressed, which can’t be good for it in the long run. When extended, the sound activation button wouldn’t work - you could press the red button under the flap on the bottom end of the screwdriver, or you could press the button in the space where the screwdriver extended, which despite looking a bit awkward, doesn’t seem to detract from the fun. There are two sonic noises at high and low pitches and there are two secret sounds that can be activated by pressing the button three or four times.

This model was rereleased in 2014 as the Twelfth Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver, with touch control or single-button versions available. Both versions improve the weaknesses of the previous model by either changing the activation button to a touch-based system or making it so that the sounds can be activated when fully extended, though the red button at the bottom is removed and replaced with a power core prop in the touch control version. I think the sonic screwdriver was only held like that once in Series 5 so it’s not that big of a loss. The touch control version doesn’t separate in two for the battery compartment, which has been moved to the white ceramic-like portion of the screwdriver. Some people may think it’s annoying but if you hold it with the release button facing up, you won’t notice it all that much.

Speaking of which, according to the comments of this video, the Eleventh Doctor has used his sonic screwdriver more than any other Doctor in the series. Also, considering how long this model was used (discounting times when it was replaced), the Eleventh Doctor’s sonic screwdriver design has lasted the longest in the modern era, at least by virtue of continuous appearances. Overall, the sonic screwdriver design used by the Third, Fourth and Fifth Doctors in the 70’s and early 80’s has lasted the longest, even with slight modifications here and there.

2. Radical changes

Series 7 saw radical changes over the course of the series as a result of changes in production. The major change saw the production move from Upper Boat Studios to the newly constructed studios in Roath Lock. Apparently there was no way to preserve the TARDIS set for the move, so a new one ended up being designed and constructed, moving away from the organic feel of the RTD era to enhance the machine aspects of it, harking back to the classic series.

The darker appearance of the TARDIS console room also brought with it a new darker look for the Doctor, changing from a tweed jacket with braces/suspenders to a more proper purple frock coat with a waistcoat underneath, maintaining the bowtie. Towards the end of Series 6, the Doctor wore a green greatcoat in place of his tweed jacket. After briefly wearing a pair of glasses similar to the Tenth Doctor’s brainy specs that Rory would use to allow the Doctor to see through from the TARDIS in The Girl Who Waited, the Doctor would keep Amy’s round reading glasses. To be honest, I must say that I’m not a big fan of the Series 7 Part 2 look because it makes him look too mature and proper, kind of like the Tenth Doctor. Same with the round glasses as they look absolutely outdated. Apparently, Matt Smith wanted a purple coat at some point and there was a scheme on Moffat’s part for the Eleventh Doctor’s attire to evolve over time. My favourite look for the Eleventh Doctor would have to be the tweed costume look from Series 5. The longer and messyish combed-back hair also accentuates his chaoticness, which gradually stops working when his hair was made shorter in Series 6.

Before the 2011 Christmas Special premiered, it was announced that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill would be leaving the series during Series 7, having discussed their desire to wind down their tenures on the show earlier that year. The upcoming split in the series was a great opportunity to create a closing reunion arc for the Doctor, Amy and Rory; Amy and Rory’s time on the TARDIS ended at the end of The God Complex, but the Doctor’s reunion with them resulted in them becoming part-time companions, something which I’m not really a big fan of. I wrote about my thoughts on “the companion commitment” in my review of Series 13’s The Halloween Apocalypse:

Looking at the companion side of things, I tend to prefer having full-time companions who don’t seem to have many significant attachments or anchors, whether it be in the form of employment, family or even education. This is because if you have someone who is already making a life for themselves, you have to remember to go back and address those things, otherwise you make them look as if they’re shirking commitments to be the Doctor’s companion. Also, I don’t like the idea of the Doctor having to pick up and drop off a companion multiple times during the series.

Moffat wanted to make Series 7 comprise standalone stories instead of the arc-driven nature of Series 6, so there were no two-parters in this series. There was a story arc threaded through this series which I’ll get into later. Every episode in this series was created to be like a movie, from the differing genres to the movie-like posters created for each episode. In Part 1, the title sequence for each episode was different, with the Time Vortex and logo designs changing between each episode. A couple of fundamental changes made as well was the font used for the lead actors and episode titles along with the way the logo transitioned into the TARDIS at the end, which really lessened the impact of the title sequence used since The Eleventh Hour.

For Part 2, an entirely different title sequence was created which was rather reminiscent to the title sequences of the classic series, most notably with the reintroduction of adding the Doctor’s face. It’s a more epic and bombastic sequence that kind of fits the darker tone the series was trying to portray. I only wish that the sequence was used a bit more.

Nightmare in Silver introduced a sleeker and evolved Cyberman variant and overcame weaknesses such as their vulnerability to gold and the inability to convert non-human beings. It also saw the debut of the Cybermites as an evolution of Cybermats and the reintroduction of the Cyber-Planner.

3. The overlapping Amy and Rory timeline

In The Power of Three, Amy mentions to the Doctor that she and Rory have travelled with him for ten years, on and off. But what does that mean for Earth’s timeline and the Ponds after their final parting from the Doctor? See, with Amy and Rory being part-time companions, I wonder what year it actually is on Earth because it isn’t elaborated, potentially leading to more complications in the timeline when we move to Clara’s time as the Doctor’s companion. Let’s do some estimates and solve this mystery.

Between the Doctor dropping the Ponds off at their new home at the end of The God Complex and revisiting them at the end of The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, two years would have passed for them, give or take a few months. The prequel mini-series Pond Life has the Doctor maintaining contact with the Ponds from April to August in what we’ll assume is the third year. Asylum of the Daleks needs to take place two years after Pond Life because before UK divorce law was changed in April 2022, a two-year separation period was required before applying for a divorce, so that would mean it would need to at least take place from August in the fifth year onwards. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship takes place 10 months after, so we’re looking at June in the sixth year. The Power of Three features The Year of the Slow Invasion, which starts and ends in July. The start of that episode is where Amy mentions “ten years”; whether she meant ten years since she met the Doctor or ten years since she and Rory were dropped off at their new home, though given what Amy tells the Doctor later in the episode about how she doesn’t know if she wants to continue travelling with the Doctor when they’ve already built a new life, I’m inclined to believe it was the latter.

So when does The Year of the Slow Invasion take place? Firstly, we can see that Amy and Rory were at the department store in Closing Time, so they would have had to have been dropped off at least before 19 April 2011. Considering the Doctor visited the Ponds at some point after April 2011 and when River told them how the Doctor survived, I think that their cameo scene would have to take place in either Christmas 2011 or 2012, but for simplicity’s sake, we’ll assume the latter, meaning that the Doctor dropped them off sometime in 2010 (probably the day after their wedding, 27 June). This would give Amy enough time to establish her career and still allow for the Doctor’s “death date” while shying away from the 2009 Dalek invasion of Earth. This would also explain why they weren’t dropped off in Leadworth because their past selves would presumably return there from time to time until Let’s Kill Hitler.

From there, Pond Life takes place from April to August 2013, Asylum of the Daleks would have to take place in August 2015, then Dinosaurs on a Spaceship should take place in June 2016. As such, the Year of the Slow Invasion could have started in any July from 2016 to 2020. Considering that Clara’s time on the TARDIS starts in 2013, I can safely say that she misses them enough in terms of location for there to be no paradoxes, but then The Day of the Doctor takes place in 2013, apparently, which takes Kate’s first meeting with the Doctor completely out of continuity.

A reference guide known as The Whoniverse puts The Year of the Slow Invasion from July 2012 to 2013 and the Doctor’s words in The Angels of Manhattan sets the present-day scenes of the episode in 2012, but that obviously doesn’t make sense given what we just learned. I mean, we could bring the timeline back four years (so that Amy and Rory were dropped off in 2006), but then they’d be living through the bulk of the RTD era’s stories. The latter could probably make sense if the Doctor travelled back in time though. I really wish Moffat kept track of the years instead of leaving everything ambiguous so that maybe we could have Clara’s time start five years later, but hey, that’s just me obsessing over little details.

Wait a minute, those episodes were written by Chris Chibnall? No matter the whole timeline is confusing. I suppose Moffat focusing on the 50th Anniversary meant that he didn’t have time to look over other writers’ scripts.

4. A Pond Farewell

The Angels of Manhattan marks the end of Amy and Rory’s time in the TARDIS, killing them off in the same story with no chance of survival through intervention. While having a picnic in 2012 New York, Rory is sent back in time to 1938 by baby Weeping Angels. Upon arriving, he encounters River Song, who had been pardoned from her crime of killing the Doctor due to him erasing or concealing every mention of himself (except on Earth) so that he essentially never existed.

Upon discovering what happened to Rory through the book Amy was reading that was actually written by River, the Doctor and Amy attempt to head to 1938, but they have difficulty landing without landing lights. After landing, River is grabbed by a Weeping Angel and is forced to break her arm in order to free herself. The Doctor discovers this and uses some of his regeneration energy to heal it. I’ll get back to it when we get to the Doctor’s regeneration.

Meanwhile, another baby Angel sends Rory to Winter Quay, an apartment building that the Angels are using as a battery farm. The Doctor, Amy and River follow him there and they discover an old Rory dying. They find the young Rory there as well and they inform him of what they just saw. Deciding to escape from the Angels, the group heads up to the roof. Rory decides to jump off the roof in an attempt to create a paradox and kill the Angels. Amy joins him as well and the ensuing paradox blows Winter Quay out of existence.

Amy and Rory end up in a graveyard with the Doctor and River. As they prepare to leave for the pub, Rory discovers his name on a gravestone and is immediately sent back to 1938 by a surviving Angel. With no way for the Doctor to retrieve Rory due to the paradoxes scrambling the timelines in New York, Amy allows herself to be sent back to the same time to be with Rory. River goes to write the book and send it to Amy to be published while also telling her to write an afterword for him. In the afterword, Amy tells the Doctor to tell her young self about the adventures awaiting her, which kind of ruins the story of her waiting for the Doctor that defined her whole arc but is still a beautiful ending nonetheless.

So how old were Amy and Rory when they were sent back to the past for good and what year did they pass away? Evidence from Series 5 and 6 shows that they were in the same year level at school, so they both would have had to have been born in 1989, making them around 21 years old when they got married. Rory says in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship that he is 31 years old, so if we take off six years to make him 25, that means that he and Amy would have been continuously travelling with the Doctor for four years until he dropped them off at their new home. Put on another year for The Year of the Slow Invasion and Amy and Rory would be 32 when they rejoined the Doctor.

The graves at the end of the episode state that Rory and Amy died at the ages of 82 and 87 respectively. Assuming that Rory and Amy were 32 when they were sent back, this means that they died in 1998 and 2003 respectively. Does that mean that they never got to greet their past selves in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood? Put the Year of the Slow Invasion in 2020-2021 (instead of 2016-17 at the earliest) and it could be a possible stretch without having to travel through time. This would make them 36 when they were sent back to 1938 and Amy would never get to experience the start of the 21st century for the second time, as Rory and her would die in 1992 and 1999.

In the online extra P.S., written by Chris Chibnall, Rory’s father, Brian, would receive a letter from an old man, who was revealed to be Anthony Brian Williams, Amy and Rory’s son that they adopted in 1946. A week after Amy and Rory left, Anthony met with Brian on his parents’ instructions to give him a letter explaining what happened to them. The scene was meant to be filmed as an DVD extra, but Mark Walliams, Brian’s actor, was unavailable, so the short was only released as a storyboard with narration from Arthur Darvill. It gives some closure to Brian’s involvement in the series and wraps Amy and Rory’s arc in a bow.

5. Your Impossible Girl, My Mystery Girl Part 1

Imagine having a crush on someone. Imagine having a crush on someone so hard that you write them into a story with a deeply established character. Imagine having a crush on someone so hard that you write them into a story with a deeply established character, then retcon that character’s history so that the person you’re having a crush on is involved with the character in times where it wouldn’t have been realistically possible for them to have met. Through recent reflection, this is the kind of vibe I got from Clara and the Impossible Girl arc. And why did I get this vibe from that arc? Because I did something like that in my personal project for Hiroki and Akari.

In Asylum of the Daleks, the Doctor, Amy and Rory are brought to the Parliament of the Daleks, where they are asked to save the Daleks by having them deactivate the shield of their Asylum so they can destroy it. During this, they are guided by someone named Oswin Oswald, who had been hiding out on the crashed starship Alaska for a year making souffles. Oswin refused to deactivate the shield until they came to rescue her. The Doctor proceeded to find Oswin, at which point he discovers that she had been fully converted into a Dalek instead of becoming their puppet. After the Doctor helps Oswin regain control of herself following her realisation, she lowers the shields and the Doctor leaves with Amy and Rory.

After losing Amy and Rory, the Doctor eventually decides to retire to Victorian London, where Madame Vastra, Jenny and a resurrected Strax, now known as the Paternoster Gang, tried to convince the Doctor to begin adventuring again. In the 2012 Christmas Special The Snowmen, the Doctor becomes intrigued when a barmaid named Clara brings attention to some sentient snow that makes snowmen by itself. As the Doctor continues to be indifferent to the situation, Clara manages to sneak onto his carriage, but when he fails to wipe Clara’s mind of their encounter using the memory worm thanks to Strax’s mishandling of it, Clara manages to get away and follow him to his TARDIS.

The next day, on Christmas Eve, Clara, acting as a governess, learns from Francesca Latimer that her family’s previous governess, who died a year prior from drowning in the garden pond. Clara goes to find the Doctor, but is taken to see Vastra, who gives her the one-word test and manages to convince the Doctor to investigate further. That night, after briefly confronting the snow form of the Great Intelligence in Simeon’s lab, the Doctor goes to the Latimer house and so does Simeon. The previous governess becomes animated in ice form and begins pursuing Clara and the Latimer children, but the Paternoster Gang arrives to back up the Doctor while he takes Clara up to the TARDIS in an attempt to get the Ice Governess away from Simeon. The Doctor shows Clara to the TARDIS and offers her a chance to become his companion, but the Ice Governess manages to follow them, dragging Clara out of the TARDIS and to her death.

Together with Vastra, the Doctor confronts Simeon one last time, revealing that the Great Intelligence is a reflection of Simeon since he was a child. Simeon is tricked into being bitten by the memory worm in an attempt to leave the Intelligence with nothing to mirror, but the Intelligence had evolved enough to be able to possess Simeon instead. The Intelligence attempts to freeze the Doctor, but then it is suddenly defeated thanks to the snow mirroring the Latimer family’s tears from Clara’s death as it approaches Christmas Day.

The Doctor, Vastra and Jenny went to Clara’s grave some time after. The Doctor notes that he never learnt Clara’s full name, Clara Oswin Oswald, but when he learns it and recognises Oswin’s name from the Dalek Asylum, he is inspired to end his retirement and find Clara again.

Apparently, during the development of this series in 2011, it was decided that the Victorian-era Clara would be the Doctor’s new companion (who was named Beryl at the time), but by late-January 2012, it was decided that Clara should come from modern-day Britain. Given the circumstances surrounding the loss of Amy and Rory (even stretching back to Donna maybe), the Impossible Girl arc was developed to inspire the Doctor to seek Clara out as his new companion, which we’ll cover next due to length.

6. Your Impossible Girl, My Mystery Girl Part 2

Kicking off Series 7 Part 2 with The Bells of Saint John, while the Doctor was at a monastery in 1207, Clara was given a phone number by a woman in a shop and she ended up calling the Doctor, who immediately goes to find her. After having the door shut on him, the Doctor goes to change, but when he goes back, he finds Clara being uploaded to a cloud by a Spoonhead and interrupts it because she can be fully integrated. The Doctor decides to protect Clara from whoever tried to upload her, but when a plane attempts to do a Twin Falling Towers on them, they escape to the plane and the Doctor manages to save everyone on it.

The Doctor takes Clara to the next morning where the Doctor tries to track down the location but fails due to the security being too good, though Clara manages to do it after being partially uploaded to the cloud and being bestowed with genius computer skills. While doing so, a Spoonhead impersonating the Doctor manages to fully upload Clara. The Doctor heads to the Shard to confront the people responsible for the Spoonheads and get them to download Clara back into her body. The leader, Kizlet, says that they can’t because Clara has been fully integrated, but the Doctor reveals that he is on Clara’s computer, taking control of the Spoonhead impersonating him and using it to upload Kizlet. The Doctor gets the people to download the entire cloud before UNIT is called in to take control. Kizlet reports her failure to her benefactor, the Great Intelligence, and parts with her by having her restore the factory settings, wiping everyone’s minds of being under its influence.

The Doctor learns from Clara that she is acting as a nanny for the Maitland kids because their mother died a year ago while she was staying with them and she decided to return the favour by staying with them instead of leaving to travel. Clara decides to begin travelling with the Doctor, but on a part-time basis. The Series 7 Part 2 opener wasn’t bad, but I think it felt a bit rushed due to the length. If it was done as a New Year’s Special to compliment The Snowmen, it would have been a bit better in my opinion. The episode also introduced a new mystery of “the woman in the shop” which wouldn’t be addressed until the following series the year after, though even I thought Rose Tyler would have had something to do with it.

In The Name of the Doctor, Clara is called into a conference call by Vastra, who informs her, Jenny, Strax and River’s data ghost about the Doctor’s greatest secret being revealed. When they are attacked by Whispermen created by the Great Intelligence, River makes the Paternoster Gang wake up before they find themselves taken. Clara wakes up as well and she tells the Doctor what happened, which leads him to head to Trenzalore, the location of his grave, to save his friends.

As they make their way to Vastra, Jenny and Strax, the Doctor and Clara (guided by River) go through the secret entrance to the Doctor’s tomb, which is actually the dying TARDIS. As they walk through, Clara begins to remember the Doctor asking her about her apparent previous lives in the Dalek Asylum and Victorian London, but the Doctor gets her to run when the Whispermen close in on them. The Doctor and Clara meet with the Paternoster Gang to confront the Great Intelligence and they go into the Doctor’s tomb, which is the console room with a column of light instead of the usual time rotor and console. The column of light is the scar tissue of the Doctor’s eleven lives.

The Great Intelligence goes into the light, scattering himself across the Doctor’s timeline and rewriting his victories into defeats. With the Doctor in pain, the stars disappearing and Jenny and Strax disappearing as well, Clara decides to follow the Great Intelligence into the Doctor’s timeline, splitting herself into a million echoes to help save the Doctor across his eleven lives, including in the Dalek Asylum and Victorian London, and undoing the damage caused by the Great Intelligence.

With the Doctor recovered and Jenny and Strax restored, the Doctor goes into his own timeline to rescue Clara, but not before farewelling his invisible wife which he could somehow sense the presence of. He sends Clara her leaf in order to guide her to him so that he can leave with her, but as they do so, they encounter a previously unknown incarnation and it is there that we are told that we missed the point of “the Doctor’s name”, which is actually like a promise rather than his actual name. The unknown incarnation justifies his actions as being “without choice, in the name of peace and sanity”, but the Eleventh Doctor states that they were not “in the name of the Doctor.”

So how did the Impossible Girl arc vibes relate to my personal project? Long story short, I met this girl at the start of Year 7 and forgot to ask who her name was, fell in love with her at first sight and then after I learned who she was I got the brilliant idea to write her into my stories, then because those stories were also an outline of my personal life, I retconned my own past in them so that we would meet in the times before we would actually meet in real life. She was my Mystery Girl to Moffat’s Impossible Girl and that’s why I’m creeped out by this story arc in reflection, but I stand by my stories because of creative integrity.

The Series 7 Part 2 finale was pretty good, but considering what would come after, I’m disappointed Moffat never addressed the Valeyard’s origin or the Doctor’s actual name. People can say that “not knowing the Doctor’s name gives him a bit of mystery”, but the series has gone on for so long that I don’t care about the mystery and neither should you. Just enjoy the epicness of it like everyone else. Besides, anyone who follows my personal project knows that his name is Hiroki Ichigo (because he was born from him).

7. Chaos in Cardiff 7: Dolphins

There was Chaos in Cardiff before Series 12. Before we move onto the 2013 Specials, here’s a brief look at some production chaos during Series 7.

Caroline Skinner worked alongside Steven Moffat for the 2012 Christmas Special and the entirety of Series 7, but stepped down in March 2013. Bleeding Cool apparently reported that Skinner and Moffat had a “very public row” at a BBC event the month before, Moffat telling Skinner that she was “erased” from Doctor Who, but there’s nothing much apart from that.

Steven Berkoff, who played the Shakri hologram on The Power of Three, was apparently difficult to work with during production, refusing to do what he was told, deliberately ruining takes or throwing temper tantrums. Virtually all the footage shot with Berkoff was unusable, so what was in the episode was all they could cobble together along with some shots allegedly taken between takes. Apparently even filmed footage of Berkoff walking across the floor couldn’t be used either and at this point one has to wonder if his pants were down in those shots. Also, he was apparently supposed to be stabbed to death by Amy and Rory with syringes, but the BBC rejected it and they resorted to having the Doctor save the day with his sonic screwdriver once again.

In the US, the Series 7 Part 2 Blu-ray was shipped early to people who had pre-ordered it, which led the BBC to ask fans to keep the spoilers of the finale secret until the episode actually aired. Needless to say, they did and the BBC released this video of Matt Smith and David Tennant as thanks.

Moffat had a difficult time getting started with scripting The Day of the Doctor because of the complicated contract process. Initially, Jenna Coleman was the only actress contracted for it so Moffat potentially had to draft a version of the special with different actors playing the Doctors after the Doctor erased his own existence by walking into his own time stream. Luckily, however, Moffat managed to secure Matt Smith and David Tennant eventually. He did attempt to negotiate with Christopher Eccleston, but given his previous bad blood with the BBC and his stance on multi-Doctor stories, he naturally declined.

Moffat also attempted to get Paul McGann back as the Eighth Doctor, but it was probably vetoed by the BBC for some reason. Either that or Moffat actually couldn’t see Eight taking part in the Time War, which is a bullshit excuse when Big Finish (and the extended universe) is a thing. Although Moffat created the War Doctor and cast John Hurt in the role while negotiating contracts with Smith and Tennant, getting everything together six weeks before filming was due to start, the BBC somehow allowed Paul McGann to come back for a minisode that would see the Eighth Doctor regenerate into the War Doctor.

It is speculated that as a result, Steven Moffat was burned out from the experience and wanted to quit alongside Matt Smith when decided to leave after Series 7 instead of staying for another series, but the prospect of Peter Capaldi apparently renewed his enthusiasm and he ended up staying. Some people say that’s why the quality of the Capaldi era dropped as it went, but who really knows at this point?

8. The 50th Anniversary

The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor, was the thing that I was waiting all 2013 for. I, like many other fans, had to endure the six-month wait following The Name of the Doctor, but at least I had my personal project to pass the time. They screened a trailer at Comic Con 2013 in July, but it was never released to the public with even Steven Moffat requesting that it not be leaked online, so we didn’t actually get a teaser or a trailer until late in October. Then I had to go on a shitty school camp, but the good thing about it was that the night I came back (or the morning after), we got The Night of the Doctor, which featured the surprise return of Paul McGann. After failing to save a pilot named Cass, the Eighth Doctor’s body is recovered by the Sisterhood of Karn and thanks to Ohila’s elixir (the novelisation says that it was just lemonade and dry ice which kind of ruins the impact of the scene, thank you Moffat) he regenerates into the War Doctor, deciding to abandon his name and the promise it represented.

The special itself was broadcast simultaneously around the world with a worldwide 3D premiere in cinemas as well because 3D was very much a thing back then, but after the special was filmed, the BBC announced that they were putting 3D programming “on hold” indefinitely. I remember getting up early on the Sunday morning to watch the episode live when it aired on ABC1 at 6:50 AM.

The main premise of the story has the War Doctor preparing to activate the Moment to destroy Gallifrey, though due to the interface developing a conscience, it appeared to him in the form of Rose Tyler (as the Bad Wolf) and showed him to his Tenth and Eleventh incarnations, the men he would become if he destroyed Gallifrey. During this, the three Doctors (and Clara) are embroiled in a Zygon conspiracy spanning 451 years, eventually ending in them making UNIT and the Zygons broker a peace treaty in the Black Archive.

Soon after, the War Doctor heads back and prepares to activate the Moment, but the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors arrive as well, ready to help him because for 400 years (frankly, it should have been 100 years shorter or the Doctor should be 100 years older given how old the Ninth and Tenth Doctors claimed to be when the revived series began), he resented that incarnation when he was the Doctor more than anyone else. The Moment shows the Doctors a vision of the last day of the Time War before showing them a vision of everyone coming out from the rubble the next morning.

This leads the Eleventh Doctor to get the idea to change his personal history by freezing Gallifrey into a pocket universe instead of destroying it. Together with all twelve previous incarnations and an early cameo from Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, the Doctor successfully saves Gallifrey and destroys the Daleks in their own crossfire, though due to the nature of this being a multi-Doctor adventure, the War and Tenth Doctors wouldn’t remember it until he eventually comes around to the Eleventh Doctor, meaning that Nine and Ten were free to continue believing that he destroyed Gallifrey and was the last of the Time Lords.

As some people have pointed out, The Day of the Doctor felt more like a celebration of the revived era rather than the classic era, but in all honesty, who cares? We’ve got David Tennant back, we’re finally addressing the Time War, we’ve got the Zygons and UNIT back, we’ve got archive footage of previous Doctors (along with surprise appearances from Peter Capaldi and Tom Baker) and we’ve finally addressed the source of the Tenth Doctor’s animosity towards Queen Elizabeth I. Besides, the classic era would get a decent celebration nine years later with the BBC Centenary Special, The Power of the Doctor. Well, not really, Peter Davison and Georgia Moffett created The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot featuring Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, John Barrowman and even RTD among those who didn’t appear in the special itself.

The End of Time showed that the Time Lords were just as bad as the Daleks during the Time War, but The Day of the Doctor showed the innocents caught in the crossfire and gave them hope when they needed it the most. The special broke records, with it being the most-watched episode of the series since the 2008 Christmas Special, The Next Doctor, and earned a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest ever simulcast of a TV drama, though BBC Entertainment carried it for most of the world because by that point, very few TV stations were willing to buy rights to air the series.

9. Back to the Pilot (and other specials)

In addition to The Day of the Doctor, another special, An Adventure in Space and Time, was produced and broadcast on BBC Two a couple of days before the anniversary. Written by Mark Gatiss and featuring David Bradley playing William Hartnell as the First Doctor during a time when Doctor Who began to make its mark on British culture. It covers the production of the first episodes, the creation of the Daleks as the first of the show’s iconic monsters and Hartnell’s reluctant decision to leave the series due to his failing health. The ending also features a surprise cameo from Matt Smith, beautifully signifying the future that the series would continue to experience in the 21st century.

Early in his career, Gatiss was interested in developing a TV movie chronicling the early days of the series that was well-documented in Doctor Who Magazine and other publications. He originally hoped that it could be made for the 40th Anniversary in 2003, but the BBC saw little potential in it. He revived the idea in 2010 to help bridge the transition between David Tennant and Matt Smith, however it was ultimately decided that it would be better as part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations, so the special ended up being commissioned in early 2012.

David Bradley, who had previously played Solomon in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, was later invited back to play the First Doctor in Twice Upon a Time and The Power of the Doctor while also reprising his role in Big Finish audios.

In addition to An Adventure in Space and Time, two other documentary specials were also produced and broadcast in the lead-up to the 50th Anniversary, namely The Science of Doctor Who, a lecture hosted by Brian Cox about the nature of space and time in relation to the series, and The Ultimate Guide, yet another similarly-named retrospective documentary, but about the series as a whole. Both specials contained skits featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor.

10. The Tenth Day, the Eleventh Hour and the Twelfth Night

With the Eleventh Doctor’s final episode looming, there were still some threads, particularly from Series 5 and 6, left to be resolved and as such, the 2013 Christmas Special, The Time of the Doctor, finally addresses the Siege of Trenzalore, the First Question and the Silence. The Doctor investigates a message being broadcast from a planet which is causing thousands of ships to approach it. Picking up Clara to help him, the Doctor meets with Tasha Lem of the Church of Papal Mainframe, who sends them both down to the planet to investigate.

The Doctor finds where the message is coming from; a remnant crack in the wall where someone is trying to break back in, the one thing he feared from The God Complex. Noting that the message was identified to be of Gallifreyan origin, the Doctor uses the Seal of the High Council (that he stole from the Master in The Five Doctors, thank God I somehow had the foresight to adapt this episode in my personal project) on Handles, his Cyberhead companion and he discovers that the message is a question being sent through all of space and time along with a truth field so that anyone within it wouldn’t be able to lie. The question is translated and the translation is immediately available to everyone orbiting the planet; “Doctor who?”

The Doctor tricks Clara into going home while Tasha speaks with the Doctor. The Doctor learns that the planet he is on is called Trenzalore and that if he gives his name, the Time Lords will return and the Time War will begin anew, so the Doctor decides to stay on Trenzalore and become its protector while Tasha dedicates the Church to ensure that the Doctor will not speak his name to the Time Lords, thereby making silence fall upon Trenzalore.

Over the course of the special we get answers to the remaining plot threads from Series 5 and 6; the Silents are actually genetically engineered confessional priests that allow people to forget what they said once they look away from them, the Kovarian Chapter broke away and orchestrated the events of Series 5 and 6, and the Doctor is actually in his final incarnation thanks to the War Doctor and the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor. Somehow, River using up all her regenerations to revive the Doctor in Let’s Kill Hitler didn’t give them to him, but I suppose doing so would have made things more confusing.

Eventually, we get to the point where the Doctor has been on Trenzalore for 900 years, with only the Daleks continuing the siege where others had retreated or burned. Tasha picks up Clara and takes her to him before the Daleks demand the Doctor’s surrender. As the Doctor resigns himself to his fate, Clara pleads with the Time Lords to help him, telling them that his name is the Doctor and that is all the name he needs. This leads them to close the crack and grant the Doctor a new regeneration cycle, allowing him to regenerate and destroy the last of the Daleks. The Doctor is restored to his youthful self again and says goodbye to Clara (with a cameo from Amy) before the regeneration finishes and the Twelfth Doctor makes his debut.

Some people say that The Time of the Doctor was rushed because of everything that happened during Series 7 plus Steven Moffat burning out, but I actually thought the episode was pretty good considering what we got. Apparently Trenzalore was meant to be explored in Series 8 but Matt Smith deciding to leave after Series 7 meant that Moffat had to wrap the story arc up quickly. I’ve already pitched the two-parter Festive Special for The Snowmen/The Bells of Saint John, so I’m happy with leaving The Time of the Doctor as a one-parter.

And so we come to the end of the Matt Smith era, the era that catapulted me deep into fanfiction writing and my personal project. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are probably the Takeru Satoh and Masaki Suda of Doctor Who due to them being featured in Hollywood films following their time on the series.

Series 7 was kind of a mixed bag for me particularly because of the split series format, but the series shows a stage of the show’s evolution thanks to all the changes happening during the production of this series. It started off as being a continuation of Series 6, then by the end it became a celebration of the show and its fans from not only eight years of the series’ revival, but fifty years of the show’s history.

This instalment took longer for me to write than I expected. Stay tuned for Part 8 as we enter the Capaldi era with my 10 takes on Series 8.

[rawr-frog]

Bully story

This is a story I found and would like to share with y'all:

My name is Stephanie, I’m 16 and I have a bullying experience I would like to share as I would love to inspire and help young people through traumatic times. I was bullied for 3 years by five boys. In my opinion, bullying is disgusting but it continues to be in life hoping to destroy people’s lives when in fact it makes them stronger. So, here is my story…

I was only 12 years old when the bullying first started, however, I did not reach out and tell someone until I was 13 years old. In Year 7 it was mostly verbal bullying. I was called ‘fat’ constantly and had jokes made about me. By this time, I thought it was the worst it could have been, but I was wrong.

 I was then physically bullied, the leader of the bullies punched me on my left arm, he left a bruise and he kicked my leg and left a bruise as he “wanted to” because it was “a joke”. I kept this to myself as I thought it won’t happen again. My mum had noticed the bruises but I had claimed that I “walked into a door” and I had “hit my leg on the table”. I finally found the courage to tell my mum about the bruises. My mum and grandmother took me down to the school into the LSC (Learning Support Centre). I then became intimidated, as his friends called me a snake and a grass. The boy was isolated for one day to see if his behaviour had changed. However, the next day him and his friends lined up to push me on the floor. I have never felt so embarrassed in my life.

The comments about being fat also hadn’t stopped. Due to the verbal comments I developed an eating disorder which again no one had acknowledged as I was scared incase the bullies called me a snake for speaking up.. As I felt the bullying was becoming worse I told my teacher how I had an eating disorder and she replied “next time I won’t call my friends fat as they might have anorexia”. I became so resistant to food that when I had bought something from the canteen I would throw it in the bin. I remember having a film day in school as a treat and the boys persuading me to see who could eat the most and if I won they would leave me alone therefore I decided to go ahead with the idea.. Obviously, I had anorexia so never ate anything and they had noticed that and continued to bully me.

 Two police officers had arrived at my home to speak to me whilst taking a detailed descriptive report of incidents to dates. By this time, I was frightened of how the bullies may react. The next day the boy and I were taken into an office in the school to give a statement. It had gotten to this point as my head of year had not put a punishment in place. Therefore, I began to lose trust in most adults in my school. The boy didn’t care about the police as within that week he began to kick my chair constantly.

All of the physical, verbal and mental bullying became too much as I decided to take a blade in school from a sharpener and self-harm on my arm. At this point I was so depressed that the matter of life and death didn’t occur to me. After I put my school shirt on for school my mother noticed the cuts and finally that’s when I opened up to her about everything.

When it came to GCSE options I wanted to pick drama however the bully did so I never took the opportunity. However, I became aware of a group called Raised Voices which was an Arc Theatre project. I was scared of how it would be because by this time I lost all my confidence.  I was able to be in films whether it was a minor or major part and talk about issues including bullying. We vote for a young female in the group every other term to be able to win a Jack Petchey award titled outstanding achiever. This year I won the majority of the votes and was given the award. This to me is an absolute achievement which I believe is because of my efforts in the group. I was given challenges and remained strong throughout and that’s why the award makes me realise how proud I should be.

With the support from my family and Arc Theatre I built up the courage to express my thoughts on my bullying experience. The only way I could begin to help myself through the pain was by writing poems with meaningful words. Now I can do more than write poems, I can find my voice within me and tell people how much I have overcome and tell them how strong I am.

Bullies never win when you stand up and say no. I proved that theory right. With the help of my supportive network of friends and family, I am proud to say I am stronger than I ever knew I could be!

(Credit to the Jack Petchey Foundation... I dont know who exactly posted this on it but I found it there)

See ya rawr frogs!

[tunawithsoysauce]

Date: 12/5/24

Hiya to nobody in particular! Today was kind of normal. I'm getting ahead of my self.

I woke up like six, and I drank tea. Chamomille. It was quite lovely, actually. It costed like 6€, which isn't that much. Anyways. I ate a sandwich for breakfast. My mum forced me. I didn't really want to. I wasn't really hungry. She sounded mad. I might have cried a bit because I got upset when I thought she was. She became nicer after that.

I took the bus (ofcourse) to school, and bought a monster. It tasted like mango. It wasn't amazing, and I got anxious becus of it. But it wasn’t that much, and I added the can to my collection. Anyways.

I had history first. It was fun, I think? I mostly just fiddled with Leija's hands and kicked my feet.

Then we had P.E. It sucked. I almost had a panic attack through half of it, and I left. I really hope my mum didn't get a notif about that.

I sat in the restroom and read "The graveyard book" (Neil gaiman). I only have a swedish copy. I don't remember who gave it to me. I think Anna did? She's a swedish teacher. And I wouldn't be despicable enough to buy a translated book.

It was nice, anyway. A character is called Jack. It made me think about my girlfriend. And Jack harkness. Mostly my gf, though.

I kept re-reading a chapter. I didn't get it into my head.

I don't think I payed much attention.

Then I had swedish. I mostly just watched Torchwood with Leija. I read some stuff for the project im doing. Writing about a country. I picked Finland. Leija said Mämmi looked like it tasted yucky. I pretended to be offended.

I wasn't really.

Then I ate lunch. Well, I didn't really. I tasted the weird school food, gagged, and then talked with my friends.

I had some spare time. Me and Leija sat in the empty corridor and yelled The smiths together. It was fun.

I had french, after. I think my teacher saw my cut scars. The ones I made, I mean.

I cheated off of my friend on the test thingie. She offered to help me, since I haven't been in class the last four french lessons.

My friend suggested we go hang out after school. I reminded her I had an extra hour music afterwards. She said she'd wait for me. I hugged her so hard she almost fell over.

We played piano. It was fun. My parents taught me the basics a year ago or so. I didn't complain.

I talked to my music teacher about music theory.

Leija had waited for me.

We stayed in the music block for a bit. As always.

Then we walked around a mall. I stole two monsters. I gave one to my friend. She said i was cool.

I don't even like energy drinks.

Then I took a buss home. I talked with Otto for a bit. He said he was dissapointed in me.

I said sorry.

I told my sister about it. She said I wasn't allowed.

I said sorry.

I dont think she believed me.

I promised I wouldn't steal anything more. She knows best. She’s my sister, after all.

Now im home.

[messeduploser]

I just need to read fic where 72 absolutely destroys Oncelers cunt.

I am fucking cry7ngs bro.

I had needed to make a globe for my science project. And I was in group where I shockingly decided to the leader since the usual leader that would get chooses for girls (There were few girls so the girls and boys were together and the guys has the 12 years old mindset of girls Vs bois) And well, she's a smart gal but not that good of a leader (not like i am any better) so I said ill be it. And so they came to my apartment (since all of them had siblings I am the only one that didn't) ..from the start it was bad feelings... sigh, I suck at making friends and I half thought maybe I'll be somewhat friends with them now? but well that didn't happen since those three would just among themselves and act as if I didn't exist either ways, I told them to cut a map and so they did but later.. The plastic that 'I' spray painted we tried to put the maps pieces on it amd it was such a bad effing failure. And so after basically failing they just left, My mom cooked foods for them by they just left.

I bought another plastic ball, fcking painted the ball by myself, did the work by myself. I skipped my damn school because I felt like crying when the first one failed but it was fine. I didn't feel that sad. I did the globe AND TODAY! TONIGHT!? WHEN MY MOM TRYING TO PUT THE GLOBE IN A MAKESHIFT STAND IT FUCKING DEFLATED!? I.. started to straight up cry. I had worked so had for the fucking globe. Did it all by myself and the moment I asked for help it became a failure again. HOW FUCKING FRUSTRATING IS THAT!? AND MY PARENTS WERE MAD AT ME FOR CRYING!? DUDE, WHAT ELSE WOULD I DO!?

But now, my mom had cleaned off the first ball, and then first me to 2nd her painting the ball cuz I just feel so defeated. She told to colour the map by myself since I am better at it but I just feel so damn defeated. So, IG she told me to take a break and sigh drink my milk. And. yeah.. just a rant. I am tired. Just watching some trash taste, will drink my milk now and then go back to work.

[characters-at-the-library]

I saw your poll about what people do with books they don't like or DNF and I'd like to run my situation by you in case you (or someone else from bookblr) can help. My friend Alice is the kind of person that impulsively buys books, whether it's because of a pretty cover, online buzz o an interesting blurb (no shade to people that pick their books like that, this system is simply not working for my friend). However, Alice is also the kind of person that loves returning books. When she doesn't like a book (either after finishing it or DNFing it), she decides it's "not worthy of her bookshelves", and tries to get rid of it ASAP. Her go-to method is to return them if it's possible. The occasional return would be fine, but it's the norm with her. I recently started keeping a secret spreadsheet, and the numbers are harrowing. This year she's bought (that I was able to track) 12 books. Out of those 12, she returned 8, sold 2 to a second hand bookshop, and kept the remaining 2. Sometimes she can buy a book in the morning before school and then have a change of heart over the day and return it during the evening before going home. To top it all off, she buys most of her books in an indie bookshop, which makes her return streak more assholish than if she were doing it to Barnes and Nobles. She visits that bookshop at least once a week. The clerks definitely know her. We've had conversations about the topic a couple times, and Alice is aware that she returns a lot of books. Whenever Alice brings up the topic we suggest that instead of buying and returning so many books she could do a bit of research at home and buy them the next time, or get them from the library, or we could lend them to her since often someone in our friendgroup, class, or bookclub has them. We've also suggested that she could diversify her purchases and buy from other places besides that indie bookshop, since her return streak is not doing them any favors, but while she acknowledges her problem and our suggestions, she dismisses them instantly and goes back to business as usual. My personal opinion aside that making an habit of returning every book you buy that you don't like is rude, I'm also aware that her habit is a source of conflict in her family. Her parents are both bookworms, so they share a love for books, but also think she should buy less books and save up for some of her future projects that could use that money. Alice herself is aware of the money thing. Sometimes, on our way to school, or in the groupchat, she'll say that she should buy less books, and that next time we're in a bookshop we shouldn't let her buy any, but then 30 mins later we can be in a bookshop and she'll buy one if not two books, and I feel so powerless and like such a bad friend whenever that happens, because if I bring up that just half an hour ago she said we shouldn't let her buy any books, Alice always replies that well yeah but obviously this book must be an exception because it's by an author she loves, or it has such a pretty cover, or it looks sooo good (and less that a week later she'll be returning it). Once skipped bowling plans citing she needed to save money and then spent 25 pounds in books the very next day and another 25 pounds in books the next week. I want to help my friend, but I don't know what to do. Her mental health is not the best (well, neither is mine, but this is not about that), so I don't want to breach the subject unless she does first to avoid burdening her with what I think of her habit (not that talking it out when she brings it up has ever helped), but I do believe that she has an impulsive buying problem that is not only hurting her and her family but also an innocent bookshop. I want to help my friend, but I don't know how. This is an very complex situation to dump on someone and you didn't sign up for this so I'm sorry for this ask, but I've been bottling this for years and your poll made it surface. I'm going to hit send before I regret it, but don't feel bad if you decide to ignore this ask? If you've read this far, thank you.

Thank you for sending this and trusting me with your situation. I agree that it is a problem, constantly returning books, a couple I could understand, there could be content that is disturbing and she doesn’t want to keep it around, I’ve stopped mid book because of that, but it was a library book on Libby, so I just returned it right away. However, she has formed a habit of this, and seems to be dependent on being able to return books, making her more impulsive, thus, losing money.

As a librarian, my first instinct is to always encourage people to use their local library, which you have encouraged her to do. Possibly, next time y’all talk about going to your local bookstore, you go to the library instead. Then, if she finishes a book and really likes it, she can buy it without worrying about returning it later. From the way you are talking about school, I’m guessing you’re in high school, or were ’re at the time, and most libraries, at least all the ones in my system, have private teen rooms where y’all can hang out and enjoy the YA books.

Also, depending on the size of the indie bookstore and how extroverted you are, you could possibly contact them, even over email if they have one, and express your concerns, because they probably have similar concerns from a business perspective. Recommend capping the amount of books patrons are allowed to return. Customers can only return x amount of books a month or a year. I’m not sure how hard it would be for them to track on their end, but if she is such a regular, it could at least dissuade her from mindlessly buying books from there, and screwing over the store.

If anyone else has recommendations or comments, please share