Author Archives: Sam

11 Questions

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It seemed rude to ignore the tag, plus there were some good questions so I figured I would answer. However, I’ve never really tagged anyone before, plus I have a great fear about being unintentionally irritating, so I’m going to answer but not pass it on for now. I will write 11 new questions at the bottom, and if anyone wants to join in then please do.

Oh and on my personal blog I always use a read more tag so that my posts aren’t mega long. I wasn’t bothering to do that here, as no-one else on my dash seemed to so I figured it wasn’t the done thing. Then I read a post someone saying it was impolite not to use the read more tag, on long posts, so I’m going to default back to using it again.

1) What name would appear on your dwarf axe?
Being realistic probably something like ‘Flighty’ given my focus levels these days. I mean I’m supposed to be working on my Rumbelle is Hope fic due tomorrow, saw this and swapped. I am that kinda hopeless. I would love something like ‘Author’ though, along with a gazillion other people I’m sure. Writing is what I love (procrastination aside) and so much like ‘Doc’ if anything was going to define me, I would like it to be that.

2) What are you looking forward to during the OUAT hiatus?
That the writers take a common sense pill and season six takes a massive upswing. I don’t want to say it can’t get any worse, because some weeks it seems like they are determined to prove me wrong. For a non-show answer, I have a number of projects that need to be completed by September. If I reach September and I have done everything, then I will be in a really good place. So I guess I’m looking forward to hopeful productivity, which given my focusing issues, well let’s just cross fingers and hope for the best on all counts.

3) What would you plant in your dream yard/garden?
I don’t really like the outdoors. I hate bugs, so all the outdoors is good for (in my opinion) is a place to put the barbecue. I wouldn’t really plant anything, if I had to plant something it would be like a cactus. I wouldn’t have to do anything with it, it wouldn’t flower and attract insects, so win win on most scores.

4) What would you like to see Bobby in as his next project after Once?
Wondering what Robert Carlyle would do after the show was a subject of a recent post. In it I hoped it would be a role like Gold/Dr Rush as they are my favourite. I would love him to do another TV show. A character who is sarcastic, brilliant, pragmatic, all around awesome. You know, it might even be fun if it was shown from his POV for once. He usually plays the ‘misunderstood’ character that the ‘heroes’ think is evil. The audience generally views through the lens of the hero, well what if he was the hero, (well anti-hero) and showed how reckless, stupid, prejudiced etc. the regular ‘heroes’ are.

5) A good autobiography you’ve read? (Or one you would like to read?)
I can safely say I’ve never read an autobiography and to be honest I have no desire to read one. I don’t know, nothing about it appeals to me, unless it was a fictional autobiography. So it would be written as if it wasn’t fiction (like a regular autobiography) but the subject would be a character, rather than a real person. I would read the hell out of one of those, for any character I had any interest in.

6) Recommend a TV show that you thought was really good but not that many people might know about.
I am still bitter about Almost Human being cancelled, so I’m tempted to say that one. If it was cancelled, then clearly not enough people knew how awesome it was. However, it’s like the pain that never ends, it was awesome and it only lasted for 14 episodes and they didn’t answer so many questions! For something that lasted a little longer, wow I don’t know, what don’t people know about? How about I just list a couple; Dark Matter, which is still airing (season two this summer), Flashpoint or Hustle (both long over). All quality shows in my opinion.

7) What crayon/s in the box did you always wear down first?
Blue, it’s my favourite colour.

8) Favourite thing hanging on the wall of your bedroom (or home)?
I really like my NaNo posters, I have three of them on the wall of my office. My favourite one is this one – Batyisms – because I need the motivational push more often than I like to admit. However, I think I’m going to have to go for the calendar my mum makes me every year. I send her photos and quotes and she personally handmakes it. Last year was Stargate themed, this year it’s Once Upon a Time. My Stargate calendar was very equitable, all characters were represented because I like them all, I don’t have a clear favourite. My Once calendar is entirely Rumbelle and Regina pretty much. I don’t dislike anyone but I do have real favourites. I think next year I’ll do Marvel films, there’s more than enough for one film per month now.

9) Favourite breakfast cereal?
Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. I eat it everyday, without fail pretty much. I’ve even been known to take a box with me when I go stay other places.

10) Share an interesting fact or story of your choice!
Urk, ok what defines interesting? Is this about me or just generally? Yeah I don’t really know so I’m going to leave this question, sorry.

11) Favourite myth from any culture; bonus points for what about it appeals to you.
This would require me to know myths. Unfortunately that’s not something I know terribly much about. Yeah I know, I’ve sucked at answering some of these questions. Man, I’m trying to think. Can I say the myth of Atlantis? I mean it’s been around for a really long time and I’ve seen variations of it used in many different TV shows/movies. I love how there can be so many different adaptations of the same source material. The same with Camelot arguably because I guess they are like original stories. I mean Arthurian legend, the basic story of King Arthur ‘the chosen one’, the trope of which, the ‘wise mentor’, raised in ‘obscurity’ etc. could apply to so many of the major franchises. I supposed it’s the evolution of story that fascinates me the most, and how it changes over time.

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A different set of 11 questions:
1) If you have seen Captain America: Civil War, then are you on the side of Cap or Iron Man? I just saw the movie yesterday and there was not an easy answer. If you haven’t seen it, then I don’t know, who’s your favourite avenger?
2) What video game did you last play?
3) Favourite TV show currently airing/favourite cancelled? If the answer is Once, then second favourite, I wonder what else you guys watch.
4) What do you like to listen to when writing/working/exercising? (pick whatever you do, I’m trying to make these questions work for everyone)
5) What was the first fandom you joined?
6) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?
7) Apple, Android or other?
8) Cat person, dog person or other?
9) Coffee, tea or other?
10) What is your dream job?
11) If you had a time turner, what would you spend the extra hours doing? e.g. more time for work, play, exercise, socialising etc. I think most people wish there were more hours in the day.

I hope those questions are ok.

Last Rites Plothole

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There were many but the one I kept thinking about last night, is why did Hades kill Arthur? Hades said he needed Arthur to do something for him but then he never gave him a task. I was expecting Arthur to do something to stop Hook from getting the pages, or some other sabotage but that never happened.

What if Hades wanted a backup plan and pulled a Peter Pan on Arthur? Pan swapped bodies with Henry, what if Hades just duplicated his consciousness into Arthur, so that no matter what happened next he would live on. It explains why at the end Arthur was saying that he was going to take over the Underworld. Although to be fair, with Arthur’s ambition, he would probably want to rule wherever he was regardless.

That’s the only thing I can think of which would make sense. With the writers love of Zelena, it would leave her a plotline open (as her ‘true love’ could return) and we know no-one on the show ever truly dies unless they are Neal or now Robin.

Still doesn’t explain Hook’s ‘miracle’ poofing back to life. Maybe, off screen Hook found an artifact that controls gods, and he used it on Zeus. Either that or Zeus is getting a big bag of popcorn and sitting back to watch the fireworks. Hook’s resurrection is so blatantly unfair, even without being contrasted directly with Robin’s death, that it has to cause trouble. Maybe screwing with regular people, is like god’s version of a soap opera.

Last Rites – Live Blog

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I wrote my comments down while watching. The episode was about what I expected but it still stung.

——-

I nearly killed myself laughing – Zelena is going to tell people not to worry, Hades has changed and is no longer a villain. Zelena! Erm when did she become trustworthy?

Wait when did Arthur get arrested? Those looked like handcuffs. I kinda don’t remember how that ended and what happened to him. It got forgotten with – Hook is a dark one. I’m confused.

Oh maybe Arthur’s arrest happened off screen. That makes sense but still they should show that kind of thing or at least explain it. I’m relatively good at remembering everything and forming a consistent timeline of events in my mind. The average viewer not so much. I used to watch this with mum and she quit as she got too confused.

How come kids have unfinished business? That’s kinda sad. I mean I get they didn’t get to grow up but kids should be innocent enough not to have regrets.

Wait when did Zelena fall for Hades so hard? I mean one minute she’s saying she can’t trust him, she’s not sure whether she can believe in their love and boom now she’s a sycophant. I don’t get it.

Oh yes! Robin finally confronting Regina about this ridiculous Zelena insta-redemption. Oh no Regina 🙁 she looks shocked and a bit offended at his words. Don’t be like that Robin is right.

The Rumple scene. I confess I had seen a lot of gifs of this and there was obviously one made up gif. “I have good news and bad news. Belles pregnant and I’m the father” “what’s the good news?” I thought that was real but the actual scene was epic anyway. I loved Rumple going “and why should I help you? It’s your fault.” because it so is and about time the so called heroes get called on their hypocrisy.

At least everyone now seems to be realising how unstable Emma is.

Wait so Zelena has given up all plans? She just wants a house with a picket fence, her kid and her man.

Oh eeek Rumple and Hades phone convo! I freaking love how badass Rumple is right now.

Wait? What? Zelena is owed another chance? But then I suppose as much as I love Regina she was the evil queen and did Zelena really do anything much worse than what Regina did in the past? I guess we have to be even handed about this redemption thing but I haven’t seen Zelena even apologise or do anything really to warrant redemption. Regina had season two and three as a journey back to the light.

Seriously Hook you hesitated? There was no reason to at the time, it didn’t seem like the book was in danger.

Why is Zelena suddenly adverse to fighting for what she wants?

Seriously Hades didn’t look behind him? They were just against the wall.

Ok why didn’t Regina try and blast Hades with magic or something. They just stood there but oh wow Robin, he saved her, he jumped in front of it. He died for her that is just wow. What a guy. That was heartbreaking.

Regina’s glare at Hades reminds me of when Cora fell and she looks up at Snow. “You did this.” – Evil Queen activated.

That shard is a terrible prop. It looks like the plastic mold it is.

Regina’s speech on love. That was actually very good. Now why can’t the writers read their own words and realise CaptainSwan doesn’t have that, not anymore at least, if they ever did. Their love is toxic, poisoning everything it touches just like Zelena and Hades. Love is Rumbelle, is Snowing and hell though I’ve never shipped it before I think I’ve come round to OutlawQueen.

Wait I thought Zeus was Hades ‘older brother’. Also did I blink and I miss it? How was Hook responsible for what happened? Regina and Robin confronted Hades, Hades used the crystal on Robin, Zelena then chose to kill Hades and not Regina. The interlude with Emma outside, and the pages, told Zelena nothing that she didn’t already think – that the ‘heroes’ wanted to kill Hades. Really if anything it made it less likely that Zelena would side with Regina. The fact that she did has everything to do with Regina and nothing to do with Emma. Nothing Hook did had any effect on the outcome.

Awww the funeral. They are putting arrows on his coffin 🙁 I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Ugh they named her Robin. There are no words as to how wrong that is. Even if we are to accept Zelena’s ‘redemption’. Some things can’t be undone and pretending like it was something it wasn’t. No for true redemption you need to own your crimes.

Ok and the prize for the biggest lie goes to – Snow! You know that is the second time she has come out with a whopper like that. First time was saying everyone chose to make the trip to the underworld (conveniently forgetting about blackmailing Rumple) and now this. “I know what you are thinking and it’s not your fault” – well who’s fault is it then? There is a direct causal link between Emma’s actions and Robin’s death. I know Emma is your daughter Snow but taking responsibility for her actions is something you should teach her to do, not shield her from!

I do love how they get the same actors back. Little John for example.

They are literally making out at Robin’s grave. There are again no words.

It’s ok everyone crisis averted. Rumple’s sheer awesomeness coming straight after took my mind off the travesty to human decency. No wait I’m still pissed. Hook did nothing to help and gets rewarded by being returned to life? One of my biggest complaints about the underworld arc was “why should Hook get special treatment?”

Everyone has lost someone. Why is Hook worthy of being brought back? Why not Daniel (you know Regina’s first love that she spent years trying to find a way to bring back), or Belle’s mum, or Charming’s mum, either of Snow’s parents, Neal for crying out loud – but “magic can do much but not that. Dead is dead.” – at least right up until it’s Hook.

I would have thought Neal’s act was far more helpful and heroic than Hook’s.

Seriously writers I get the real life reasons. You want to keep Hook on the show – then it was really not a good plan to kill him off! Seriously who thought that was a good plan?You want to keep Zelena on the show and not in jail hence the personality transplant, instant redemption nonsense. The actress who plays Belle needed maternity leave hence the sleeping curse. You wanted to write Robin out hence his heartbreaking pointless death. I understand why but there are other ways, it all could have been handled differently and so much better.

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That’s the live blog done. You know it wasn’t the worst episode of the season by a long stretch. Rumple was epic, Robin was heartbreaking and said some sensible stuff.

Double bill finale next week. I’ve seen the promo pics 🙂 I’m trying not to get my hopes up but Regina and Rumple! On screen together! Not fighting! Please let them be teaming up. Now that would be a finale worth watching.

Out of curiosity, how many people are going to stop watching Once Upon A Time after this season?

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ripperblackstaff:

noora7:

standbyyourmantis:

emospritelet:

I’m ashamed to say that as long as Bobby and Lana are there, so am I 🙁

Eh, I’ll probably keep doing what I’ve been doing this half season and just watch the Rumbelle scenes on YouTube and check out the centrics on Hulu.

Yeah I’ll probably do what I did this season and skip any episode that has zero Rumple. It comes out here in the UK on the Wednesday after it airs in America so I always watch it there and just skip all the bits I don’t care about. I will always buy the bluray though. I’m a sucker for BTS stuff.

My rule is no Rumple, no Belle, no interest.
Then I’ll check their scenes on youtube.
No need to bother with the rest of the fuckfest because it’s all a bunch of ooc crap.

Watching the show lately feels a bit like slipping into an alternate reality. I’m watching the characters and nothing makes sense. Like did Regina just say that? Wow and with a straight face too. How does that even work?

I still care. I’m not ready to say goodbye. When I stop caring, is when I’ll walk away. Until then I guess I’ll watch with my jaw dropping at “and I thought it couldn’t get any worse, but it did” type moments.

Plus Rumple, and sometimes Regina, can make the episodes worth watching. The other week Rumple wasn’t in it much, came at the end to kidnap Zelena and boom, made the other 38 minutes worthwhile.

I’m not ready to let go. I do still love this show, I just wish that I could go shake the writers and ask them (and get a honest answer) about why on earth they thought recent episodes were a good idea. I just can’t fathom the logic.

what would your favorite ending be for rumple? villain, hero, with or without magic?

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thestraggletag:

Personally my favourite Rumple is morally!grey!Rumple. I like Rumple as the DO, I like his darkness just as much as his capacity to do great things for the people he loves. I want him to be… an anti-hero. Best case scenario Gold ends up still the DO, but he’s shown the ability to use his powers for good (mainly when it’s for the good of those he loves). Sometimes he’s cooperative with the heroes, sometimes not and he always calls them out on their bullshit (mainly how they run to him for help and yet treat him like the plague).

He and Belle reconcile, which takes hard work and a lot of soul-searching. He develops an actual relationship with Henry. He remains frenemies with Regina (after hashing some things out) and grows close to Maleficent (I liked how they bonded over lost children, I thought it was crazy that after Rumple gave her the answers she wanted she turned against him to help Regina, who did nothing for her).

When Belle reaches fifty Gold has made a decision: he’s found a way to sever his immortality. He wants to grow old with her, does not want to live to see his children die, and then their children. That way he gets to keep his powers AND destroy the darkness at the same time (thus he proves he does not love power more than Belle or his family and sort of fulfils Merlin’s prophecy, becoming a man capable of wield the darkness instead of being controlled by it). It involves a complicated spell and TLK.

People still don’t like him but kids think he’s super cool. When people try to warn them to stay away they start up with nosey questions like “But didn’t he save the town from Pan?” and “Didn’t he pull Excalibur out of the rock?” “I heard he once defeated a bear. With no magic.”

I’m also kinda in favour of a super!dark!Rumple conquers all but that’s something I’d rather read about in fic.

Oh wow this is just how I see Rumple! You have put words to the picture in my head. Can this be canon please? This is what I have hoped for all along and thus far been disappointed in the show.

I have said a few times that I think Rumple is a bit like Professor X in the X-Men movies. Prof X always had to get taken out early before the battle because he was too powerful and could have just frozen everybody – instant win – if he was around. I mean he froze a whole museum at the start of X2.

Well every time stuff happens I think Rumple’s going to be awesome, like when he went off alone in Neverland, or declared to Emma that “none of the heroes were him” and then boom nothing happens. I reckon that is because Rumple could just take care of the crisis and then it would be done in an episode, so they have to drag it out.

Also, he’s not the ‘hero’ so he can’t save the day, even though he’s capable. Rather than come up with a reasonable explanation they just make Rumple disappear, like wandering around Neverland for no reason (he is not that dumb). I mean this is the guy that manipulated the whole Enchanted Forest to put everything into motion years in advance. He knows how to take care of business. Can they let him? Nope because he’s not a Charming.

I’ve always said villains make the best heroes, because they are pragmatic and they are willing to do what it takes. About the one thing I found awesome in 5B (aside from just Rumple generally) were his lines about dark and light and morality. I really wish that they would show that as fact in actions, and not just with Rumple talking.

Spin-off for the spinner

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Quoting Emospritelet earlier made me think of Marvel’s Most Wanted, the ‘maybe’ spin-off from Agents of Shield. That takes two of my favourite characters (Hunter and Bobbi) and gives them their own show. I’m not exactly wild about the premise, I thought the whole disavowed thing didn’t make sense but ignoring that, it’s going to be the Hunter and Bobbi show – that’s cool!

Which made me think that I would watch the hell out of the Rumple and Belle show. Not going to lie I would seriously miss Regina, or at least old Regina who straddled the line between villain and hero in the best possible way, much like Gold when he decided to do something good.

So how could a spin-off work? I’m not going to lie, imagine a prequel show set around the Dark Castle, with the plot of the week being Rumple’s deals. I mean it’s not like prequel shows are unheard of, how popular was Smallville? So it could totally work.

Anyone else got any ideas?

#i can dream right#spin-off#wishful thinking

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It was the 5th anniversary yesterday of the last ever episode of Stargate – SGU’s Gauntlet – and with all the Once Upon a Time madness I kind of forgot.

I am always late to the party. I didn’t discover Once Upon a Time until last summer when I got netflix. I watched all four seasons (ok I binged all four seasons) and I got really obsessive, as I always do when I really love a show. Then season five started and I’ve watched that on a weekly basis as it aired.

This is a Stargate post but I have a point and my point is this – I didn’t start watching Stargate until February 23rd 2013 – almost two years after the very last episode aired! In all honesty I suppose part of it, is that I was just too young. I was seven when SG1 started airing and Sci-Fi wasn’t really allowed in my house, my mum didn’t like anything that wasn’t reality based so I grew up on crime shows instead.

Yeah I’m getting to my real point I promise. When I reached the Season Seven finale – The Lost City – where Hammond gets replaced by Dr Elizabeth Weir, I really wanted to hate her. I love Hammond, he is like the worlds best boss and it’s his principles that made the SGC what it was. He literally created the foundation for how our world treated the rest of the galaxy. His contribution was every bit as important as SG1′s heroics but I digress – he got replaced! Dr Weir came in and I just could not hate her. I respected her, I liked her even and this was thoroughly in despite of myself. She had replaced Hammond, she should be the devil but nope she was awesome.

Now despite the show having been out ages I was pretty much spoiler free. I didn’t know what was going to happen, each episode was a surprise. I followed the recommended viewing order for SG1, interleaving with Atlantis and when I got to New Order and Torri Higginson appeared on screen – as Dr Elizabeth Weir – I hit the roof! Literally I thought I was going to blow a blood vessel, we’re talking major ranting and then a ton of googling as to why Jessica Steen hadn’t got the part for the spin-off (I still don’t know, I don’t think we’ll ever know) and while I came to accept the new Weir, I remain bitter to this day about the casting change. Jessica Steen had done the impossible, in getting me to instantly like a character that I wanted to hate. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to see what she would have done with the part moving forward.

My point? I did promise I had one. I got mad, ranted on twitter etc. about a casting change that had been made for a show, which had been cancelled over four years earlier. Cancelled! four years earlier. That casting change had been made probably close to a decade earlier.

Some shows live on and they still have ripple effects years later. In just over a year SG1 will have it’s 20th anniversary since it’s first episode aired. All these years on and the show still has the capability to amaze, entertain and indeed infuriate. Just because the show ended a long time ago, doesn’t mean that it’s not still new to somebody. It was new to me when I discovered it and I reacted to each episode, as anyone else would have when watching it for the first time. The show lives on.

Watching season five of Once Upon a Time at the moment, it makes me think about people in the future, perhaps doing what I did and binging on netflix. The choices the writers are making affect more than just the current crop of fans, they affect everyone forever, they affect the shows immortality.

It’s all cause and effect I guess because we’ll never know what the road not traveled would have looked like. I have no idea how it would have changed Stargate Atlantis if Jessica Steen had played Dr Weir, or what knock on effects that would have had elsewhere. I was a big Flashpoint fan, and Steen had a recurring role in that as Donna Sabine, which she might not have had if she’d been a regular on Atlantis.

That’s the same truth that says that Stargate Universe had to be cancelled, otherwise Robert Carlyle couldn’t have given us the gift of Rumplestiltskin/Mr Gold, Ming-Na Wen couldn’t have gone on to play the kick-ass Agent May in Agents of Shield, Jennifer Spence wouldn’t have been Betty on Continuum etc.

That doesn’t stop me from wondering though, about what might have been.

Quote

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They should just give CS their own spin-off. Then CSers would get endless dull pretty people sucking face and the rest of us could get our show back.

Emospritelet

#comment worth quoting#do the writers even watch their show#I agree#what on earth made them think the recent episodes were a good idea

Thinking about the future

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For the first time today I actually properly contemplated Once Upon a Time ending. I know all things come to an end eventually but I’d not really thought about it much until now.

You want to know what my immediate thought was?

It wasn’t “I hope they wrap things up and don’t leave a cliffhanger.” and it wasn’t “I hope there’s a happy ending for my fave characters” either. Nope.

My immediate thought was “what will Robert Carlyle’s next project be?” so I can watch him in that. I then wondered if he would take some time off, go back to movies, do more directing. I mean there’s season six of Once first but what next?

I hope it’s a character like Rush or Rumple/Gold to be honest. His recent movie (The Legend of Barney Thomson) was a bit weird for me. So I can’t guarantee I would watch whatever it was if I didn’t like it.

This is my random thought for the day I guess. I think it says something about him as an actor that I can watch him in other stuff and not snigger and mutter one characters name to myself.

Like I’ve been watching House lately and I actually saw that years before Once but I quit early on and Jennifer Morrison was a brunette at the beginning, well in season five she’s blonde and I see her on the screen and “Emma Swan!” breaking into a patients apartment (all in the tumblers), giving medicine (I can spell spell) you get the picture.

Usually whatever I see an actor in first gets imprinted. Very few successfully manage to be multiple chars for me. Robert Downey Jr has done it (Sherlock and Iron Man) and Robert Carlyle obviously but not many others.

Two more days until I can watch Last Rites. To be honest at this point I’m more worried I won’t finish my fanfic on time for the 15th. I kinda seen all the spoilers possible (yeah my self control failed).