Who-y things

[elisi]

Firstly, then I FINISHED my fic! \o/

All Breakages Must Be Paid For: Epilogue (Okay)

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Secondly, then I just came across the most AMAZING post on Tumblr, delving into 73 Yards, the latest Doctor Who episode. If you have seen it, you will know why you will want to read about what it all meant. (No really.) (I'm being very careful not to spoil anything, because it helps to go in blind! If you haven't watched yet, stay away from spoilers!)

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Council of Geeks loved the episode (without any of the insights offered by the post above!) and has a video review here.

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And in case anyone has ever wanted to watch the show in chronological order [of when the stories take place], then fandom has provided a google doc. :)

Comments

[ragnarok_08]

The chapter was just fantastic, and just wonderful!!

Well done!!

[elisi]

Awww, thank you so much! ♥ ♥ ♥

It feels very strange not to be working on it anymore...

[sea_thoughts]

That's a really good take on the episode. But "This is the first time I have ever seen a non-Welsh TV programme that was set in Wales and didn't patronise, insult or belittle it"? DW is literally made by BBC Wales in co-production with a WELSH production company (Bad Wolf), the BBC Orchestra of Wales is playing on the opening theme, I... don't know how much more Welsh you could get unless we had an episode take place IN Welsh (DO IT, RTD, DO IT).

I'm not going to say anything on the post because that would be a dickhead move but it's so obvious this was written/directed/produced by a Welsh crew!

[greenwoodside]

I... don't know how much more Welsh you could get unless we had an episode take place IN Welsh (DO IT, RTD, DO IT).

Yessss, RTD, hear my prayer. BLE MAE'R GYMRAEG???

The Tardis translation matrix isn't an excuse. It can glitch.

[sea_thoughts]

Or have an episode where everyone speaks in Latin but the translation matrix glitches and turns it to Welsh like a little nod to The Fires of Pompeii!

[greenwoodside]

Latin and Welsh in one episode sounds good to me!

[promethia_tenk]

As a thoroughly unqualified American, Welsh is the prettiest accent in the British isles, and I am deeply in favor of this plan.

[elisi]

But "This is the first time I have ever seen a non-Welsh TV programme that was set in Wales and didn't patronise, insult or belittle it"? DW is literally made by BBC Wales in co-production with a WELSH production company (Bad Wolf), the BBC Orchestra of Wales is playing on the opening theme, I... don't know how much more Welsh you could get unless we had an episode take place IN Welsh (DO IT, RTD, DO IT).
LOL. You have a point...

I'm not going to say anything on the post because that would be a dickhead move but it's so obvious this was written/directed/produced by a Welsh crew!
RTD is the MOST Welsh! Well him & Michael Sheen. *g*

[sea_thoughts]

Yeah, I'd very much like to see RTD's reaction to this claim that DW is a "non-Welsh TV programme"...

[elisi]

It's funny, but my main thought was 'Those people in the pub were absolute gits, why would anyone go to Wales if that's how they treat visitors...

So I was surprised to see the depiction praised. *g*

[sea_thoughts]

Honestly, that's a good point. I'm still not over the landlady mocking Ruby for 'only' buying a Coke when she'd just spent £65 on a room. And the whole pub laughing at her and mocking her for being scared of Mad Jack.

[elisi]

I'm still not over the landlady mocking Ruby for 'only' buying a Coke when she'd just spent £65 on a room.
And charging her £5! /o\

And the whole pub laughing at her and mocking her for being scared of Mad Jack.
I don't like it when people gang up on someone and bully them. :(

/however I appreciate that it was necessary for the plot. They still didn't come across well.

[promethia_tenk]

I was wildly effective at putting you on edge, but like . . . yeesh.

[elisi]

Having been to Wales several times, I can confirm that Welsh people are generally lovely.

[sea_thoughts]

Yeah, I appreciate it was necessary for the plot but still...

(It also reminded me of that exchange between Gwen and Jack back in Torchwood S1 when he said "That is so Welsh… I show you something fantastic. You find fault!")

Forgot to say that I loved the video where Ncuti and Millie had to choose between various DW things, especially how they both chose River. "My WIFE!" "She's my wife as well!" "... okay!"

[elisi]

Yeah, I appreciate it was necessary for the plot but still...
Yeah. But hey, they must have had a lot of fun with it.

(It also reminded me of that exchange between Gwen and Jack back in Torchwood S1 when he said "That is so Welsh… I show you something fantastic. You find fault!")
LOL.

Forgot to say that I loved the video where Ncuti and Millie had to choose between various DW things, especially how they both chose River. "My WIFE!" "She's my wife as well!" "... okay!"
I'm sure Alex Kingston wouldn't mind. ^_^

[sea_thoughts]

As my friend said, "timey wimey shenanigans may prove her correct" XD

[elisi]

Very true!!

[greenwoodside]

That's one epic spreadsheet. It's even colour-coded by Doctor! Though I feel that shade of blue suits 10 more than 12. Twelve is surely more of a jade or obsidian kind of Timelord. Or scarlet given the lining of his evening wear.

[elisi]

That's one epic spreadsheet. It's even colour-coded by Doctor!
Isn't it amazing? I am in awe of people. (It's the sort of thing I might do tbh, if I was inspired... *glances at insane Good Omens posts*)

Though I feel that shade of blue suits 10 more than 12. Twelve is surely more of a jade or obsidian kind of Timelord. Or scarlet given the lining of his evening wear.
I always associate blue with Eleven, because he was all about water... You're right, it's not a Twelve-ish sort of colour, however they were clearly just going through the rainbow.

[greenwoodside]

Good Omens could lend itself to a database of characters; pre-s2 Gabriel would love (instructing someone else) to write it full of Boolean good/bad values. And it would suffer an immediate ++?????++ Out of Cheese Error failure state if Crowley got anywhere near it.

[elisi]

A database of characters? A bit like Santa's List? Hmm. And yes, perfect Crowley material for interfering. ^_^

Wrt my endless lists, then this is the Master Post linking to all the other posts. The most crazy ones being the Tumblr links. (In case you want to glance at my level of ridiculous organising.)

[greenwoodside]

'Tis a good list, that list!

[elisi]

Apparently when I really love something I become a curator.

[trepkos]

Thank you for that link to the brilliant explanation of 73 Yards.

[elisi]

You're welcome. It made me so happy, because it felt like proper, old-fashioned fairy tale stuff, the weird dark stories that make no sense, but to know that that is actually the case is great! ^_^

[kazzy_cee]

That comment about the Welsh folklore is fascinating. It’s a shame some of it couldn’t be explained during the episode.

[elisi]

Well, there is a case to be made for just letting it be what it is: Weird and unsettling.

Maybe they could have put something in the Unleashed, but hey ho. It is what it is. And Council of Geeks liked it because it's weird & unexplained - which is why I included that link. :)

[shadowkat]

Weirdly I can't find anyone outside of that Tumblr post that delves that deep into it or figures out the Welsh Legend end of it. Also can't get much on the lore. But I adored that post which trepkos found for me. It's a good episode - with the necessary flaw of not explaining anything to the viewer, nor should it. The psychological horror is because of the lack of explanation. The viewer does it on their own.

[elisi]

Weirdly I can't find anyone outside of that Tumblr post that delves that deep into it or figures out the Welsh Legend end of it.
Well Tumblr is the fannish hivemind. Nowhere else cares that much, or bothers to delve as deep.

But I adored that post which trepkos found for me.
Which she found from me, which I found from someone reblogging it on Tumblr... I love the fannish hivemind. <3

It's a good episode - with the necessary flaw of not explaining anything to the viewer, nor should it. The psychological horror is because of the lack of explanation. The viewer does it on their own.
Exactly. And it's clearly a (dark) fairy tale, rather than sci-fi. You don't want techno-babble to explain it, that would ruin the whole thing.

[shadowkat]

No, I think she found it from tumblr. It was before your post.

[elisi]

I just went off the fact of her thanking me for it - but if she's on Tumblr too she might very well have found it herself. :)

[shadowkat]

Probably true. I just assumed she got it off Tumblr directly - since she sent me the link and didn't reference anyone else. Doesn't matter. I do that too - reference the site it's from, not always the person who sent me there.

[elisi]

Yeah, as long as the original creator is the one getting the credit, that's the main thing. ^_^

[promethia_tenk]

Firstly, then I FINISHED my fic! \o/



Congratulations <3 I know I haven't been, like, reading it, but getting the weekly notification that you'd uploaded another chapter has truthfully been one of my more consistent markers of time recently and comforting in its own right. 'Ahhh, everything is insane, and yet elisi is uploading another chapter, like clockwork.'

[elisi]

Congratulations <3
<3

'Ahhh, everything is insane, and yet elisi is uploading another chapter, like clockwork.'
🥹 Also you don't want to know how much of a BITCH this fic has been for YEARS. As I wrote in the notes: "Looking back at the nightmare of writing this fic, the main problem was simply working out what the story was about. And I could only do that by writing it... Which was difficult because I didn't know what it was about."

Worst. fic. ever. However I am glad that it helped you to mark time. <3