Abuse Is the New Black

What do these people, because I'm reluctant to call them men, have in common?
Well, I guess you'll have to read my thingy.
(Lucious pic from here, Jake pic from here, Christian Grey pic from here, and edit by me)

Trigger Warning: Abusive relationships.
(Nothing against the actors, BTW)

Guess who's back? No, not Backstreet. It's never Backstreet.

I've been watching television. Shocker, amiright? But lately I've noticed a trend amongst some of the male characters. If you've had eyeballs in the past few months, you probably know at least one of these suck merchants. If not, let me introduce you.

Empire's Lucious Lyon. Abusive. 
Mysteries of Laura's Jake Broderick. Abusive.
50 Shades' Christian Grey. Abusive.

Let's start from the top of the list.

Nobody is nominating Lucious Lyon for father of the year, but where are the repercussions for his abusive behavior? For his cheating, pitting his sons against each other, murder, and blatant homophobia? He put his kid in a trash can. Repeat: he put his sweet, defenseless little boy in a trash can. He shot a man in the face in cold blood. He lies, manipulates, and belittles the people around him to get what he wants. In what world is that any level of okay? Not this one. Yeah, he's a businessman, blah blah blah. But emotionally scaring the people you love is not justified just because you've built a successful empire. He's a flawed character, interesting to watch, but at least the writers and show are up front about his flaws and abusive nature. How he'll deal with the consequences of those actions remains to be seen.

Jake Broderick, on the other hand, is painted in a very endearing light for what he really is: narcissistic, manipulative, and a cheater. But the show is all about star crossed lovers Captain Jake and Detective Laura, their lost love, and the sparkly spark that yet shines betwixt them. You know why? Because he's the father of her children. That person is always going to hold a special place in your heart. But if you really watch what's going on, it's clear that Jake has no respect for Laura's boundaries, privacy, or her other relationships. Unfortunately the writers portray this as cute and charming, ignoring the fact that his behavior is abusive, particularly since he is in a position of power over her. Jake Broderick gets my vote as the worst abuser on this list because his abuse is written as "cute," and "acceptable" and is, consequently, more insidious. 

It's kinda established that Christian Grey is an abusive buttmonkey. And I'm not talking about the BDSM: I'm talking about his abuse of power in a his relationship with what's-her-face. Where's the education, the explanation of what "safe, sane and consensual" means? I wouldn't just stumble into my fancy-sexy-boss-man-person's room devoted to radioactive monkey science and just do it. You've got to know what you're getting yourself into before you start with the radioactive monkey sciences. He took a young, impressionable, naive girl and pushed her into the deep end of a world she had only ever heard of. Yeah, yeah, fantasy, blah, blah. Abuse is still abuse.

I'm not going to stop watching Empire or Mysteries of Laura. It's good television. So is Hannibal. That doesn't mean we should eat people, and it doesn't mean that abuse is okay. We just need to acknowledge that the things that they are doing are not good, acceptable, or by any means ideal.

Abuse is an ongoing issue in our world. It's a sad truth, but it's the way it is. And until we can get to a place where we stop romanticizing abuse and abusers, it's going to say that way.

10K+Cassandra=NOTP

(Pic from here, edit by me, white hot rage also by me)

As of late, I've been watching Z Nation. I like it. I'm not usually into the whole zombie thing, but this one is good. I started watching for DJ Qualls... But honestly? I'm staying for 10K.

He's my apocalypse boo.

KILL ME LIKE ONE OF YOUR FRENCH ZOMBIES.

The Facebook-a-sphere has been alluding to 10K+Cassandra=canon ship. This makes me the opposite of happy. And before you get all, "She just doesn't want him to be in a ship because that means that she can't have him"-y, I give unto you an example:

Dean and Jo. Before Cas came about, I was a Dean girl. And yet, I could look past my feels for Dean and wish him something better. Something blonde and Jo named. I want what is best for these people, even if it circumvents my own interests.

Now, I give unto you some of the reasons this 10K-Cassandra ship is a horrible idea.

1. Cassandra is a cannibal. She has eaten people bacon. People bacon.
2. Cassandra is a whore. She has had sex for money and the people bacon.
3. The age difference. We don't really know how old they are, but I'm assuming 10K is about 16-17, and Cassandra is at least 23. Any doing of the do would be a felony.
4. 10K is nice. Cassandra is not.
5. Cassandra is stoopid. No zombie is gonna try and fix your blanket. Idjit.
6. 10K can do better.
7. 10K deserves better than Cassandra von PeopleBacon.
8. Cassandra stayed in the cult. Yeah, she left eventually, but she should have left the second she found out what was going on.
9. Cassandra already has a taste for human flesh. Can you imagine how dangerous a Z that would make?
10. Cassandra is very closed off. No way you can be in an open and honest relationship like that.
11. What would the ship name even be? CassandK? #NOPE
12. I want a girl for 10K who could take him in a fight. And possibly win. Cassandra is wimpy.
13. Someone's dying next ep. My money is on People Bacon. For literary reasons, development of plot, and blah blah blah. Why ship the Titanic?

I really think Cassandra is gonna die. I do. They won't kill off Citizen Z, Mack or Addy; Murphy is kinda the point of the show; Charlie is the leader, and they came this close to killing off Roberta last ep. 10K would be really hard to kill, and they killed one dog already. That leaves Cassandra. Sorry, not sorry.
We'll see what happens Friday. *crosses fingers and hope she dies*

Shipping Wars: Stop It, Fandom

Based on a real conversation.
(Pic from here, edit by me)

Shipping fights irk me. They do.

As you know, I'm a Johnlocker. It's the ship I command, but that doesn't mean that it's the only ship in my fleet. I understand the whole "Sherlolly vs. Johnlock" thing. I get it. But the whole thing makes me mad. I mean really. That's not what the fandoms are about.

I believe in a land of equal opportunity shipping. A land where we can live in peace with our ships and maybe even squee over the ship that opposed us in this land.

I'm taking a moment for the sole purpose of asking the fandoms to stop the fighting. Fandoms fight, just like any family, but when we let the fights overcome the rest of the fandoming, we are no better than the people who hate fandom people just for being in the fandoms. Really though. It's crap like this that gives the fandoms a bad rep. And btw, this goes for all ships, not just Sherlolly and Johnlock.

So, in conclusion, stop the fighting. Stop the magic conch threats. Just stop. If not for the good of the fandom, for me. I can't stand the irking.

Doctor Who Headcanon, Involving Face Caterpillars

(11 pic from here, 12 pic from here, edit by me.)

I have a theory. A headcanon. A possible occurrence of events that may or may not have happened. A thing I thought up, basically.

After having such a young doctor, the writers chose an older, more mature, less bowtie-y doctor for the next regeneration. Twelve has the things that 11 didn't. In that same respect, 11 had things that 12 doesn't (so far).

Eleven was always kissing people. Twelve isn't even a hugger.

I found it very hard to take 11 seriously, as he was always the guy in the fez. Twelve demands we take him seriously from the start by asking us to figure out if the robot guy jumped or was pushed.

Twelve is clearly a man, while 11 always remained a goofy, little boy.

Twelve has some wicked eyebrows. Eleven has none. *see pic above*

(Source)

Yeah. I know you probably started reading this with the expectation of a brill headcanon, with some unseen connection between 11 and 12. But no. It's about the eyebrows, and what they represent. Twelve is being all the things 11 wasn't. And that's nothing against 11: it's just not who he is. And I think in a way that happens with all the doctors. I can't speak for the classic series, but...

Nine was very serious: Ten could let go.
Ten had his demons: Eleven was happy 99.9 % of the time.
Eleven was terminally joyful: Twelve seems to be more serious. 

The eyebrows are more than face caterpillars. They represent something larger: the fundamental change from doctor to doctor. The give and take from regeneration to regeneration. How they can be the same person, and oh so diffrent.

Also, face caterpillars. I want to pet them.

Ships: Why It Gotta Be Gay?

SHIPITSHIPITSHIPITSHIPIT
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So, I was talking with my mum about ships, and I was listing most of the ships I ship and she asked, "It seems like the majority of ships are gay. Why do you think that is?"
Well. I have several theories.
***********************

1.
The Fandoms don't care about little things like gender, sexuality, good/evil, different beliefs, and other things that classically keep couples apart.

Most ordinary people might say, "But, they're not gay," and then the fandoms be like:

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. WHEN HAS THAT STOPPED US BEFORE, MORTAL? GAY LOVE CAN PIERCE THROUGH THE VEIL OF DEATH AND SAVE THE DAY. FEAR OUR SHIPS!"

Any then they run away. Far, far, away.

2.
The Fandoms can look past it all. We can look past the whole #NotGay thing and see into the souls of the couple, and if they fit together from there, and not just on the surface level. I think that's also why there is such a potential for crossover ships: we see who's good together, and not just who could be together.

3.
There are a lot more men then women as main characters. So, we just have more M/M material to work with. *Superwholock example time*
Sherlock: 5 boys, 3 girls not counting Mary.
Supernatural: 6 boys not counting Kevin, 4 girls, and no girls that aren't dead right now.
Doctor Who: Crapton of both.

The only female+ show I could think of off the top of my head was BtVS, with 7 girls and 4 boys. But, Joss Whedon is just awesome.


***********************
So, yeah. Ship it,  little fanlings. Ship it ALL!

Jarsen, The Fandom Panda, and Friends

(Pic from here, edit by me, Jarsen by Jarsen)

**THIS POST IS NOT SPONSORED OR APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF BIRD REHABILITATION**

Jarsen is not allowed to leave the house (tune in next month for the 14 squirrels, pint of ice cream, and neon Volvo story), and he was spending too much of his time watching TV. And don't get me wrong: I support his fandom activities completely, but I thought he needed something to do besides watch TV and eat bamboo cheetos. (Also, I do not recommend eating bamboo cheetos unless you are a fandom panda, just so you know.)  So we had to go about finding him an appropriate form of entertainment. Which is harder to do than you might guess. All Jarsen wanted to do was sign up for GISHWHES teams, and write naughty, naughty, Lestrolly fan-fic. What really sealed the deal was his search history: flights to Cardiff and blatantly NSFP (Not Safe For Pandas) Captain Jack/Castiel Winchester Fan-art.

I've seen things...
That can never be unseen. 

A more safe for panda/Less Capt. Jack's naked arse activity had to be found. So after a good amount of searching, I found and enrolled Jarsen in the Department of Bird Rehabilitation (DBR) penpal program. Now that Jarsen is deeply in love with the program, he wanted me to take a little time to share his friends' stories as they have both been wrongly accused and convicted.

 Edmond's story

Edmond going off to school.
(Pic from here,
edit by me, Edmond by Edmond)

Edmond Terence Blankenship IV
Cell block H
Accused of: Murder 1

Edmond's father runs the Penguin mob. It's horrible really: from the time Edmond was just a hatching, his father tried to force him into the "family business." His family's business was not saving people and hunting things. No, his family is the leading supplier in the South Pole of Midnight Snow, the most notorious illegal drug abused by penguins (think Penguin meth). You can see from the picture here that Edmond's interests lay elsewhere and that he wasn't like all the other penguins. They marched soundlessly, mindlessly thru the snow, while Edmond frolicked. Hat on his head, scarf on his neck, and hope in his chest, Edmond wanted to be a poet, not a drug lord. So as soon as Edmond was old enough, he left the nest and the "family business" behind.

Two years passed peacefully. Then one evening there was a loud banging at the door and the police swept in to arrest Edmond for his father's murder. He was convicted on the basis of very limited circumstantial evidence: a feather at the murder scene that came from a biological relative of Edmond's father. (Alas, the analysis of penguin DNA is still a fledgling science at the South Pole Police and Forensics Administration.) Knowing Edmond's disapproval of the family business, the police assumed Edmond was the murderer. And he has no alibi as he was at home alone at the time of the murder watching Doctor Who. Now Edmond sits in his cell, watching, waiting for justice to come. (Jarsen thinks the murderer was Edmond's oldest brother Tony, who took over the "family business" after their father died, and who had been very outspoken about that desire.) Edmond was recently moved to the DBR's Iceland facility. He has filed an appeal asking for a more thorough DNA analysis and hopes his appeal will be heard soon.

Steve's story

Steve on his 12th escape attempt.
(Pic from here, edit by me, Steve by Steve)

John Steven Berkowitz
Cell block A, solitary
Accused of: Bank Robbery

Steve is a birds' rights activist--the whole red paint in the chicken nugget boxes, "Never Say Fry," etc. His journey began when he fell off a chicken truck on its way to the KFC factory. He manged to wiggle his way out, but his brother was not so lucky. After a healthy amount of grieving, Steve decided to take action: he joined The Birds' Rights Activists of the Greater Brooklyn Area (BRAGBA), and began his life anew.

A radical group of geese tried to take over BRAGBA in late summer 2013 to no avail. But when those same geese robed a bank, they framed BRAGBA. After his conviction, Steve escaped on his way to the New York State Bird Prison. Then after being captured, he escaped again. And again. Every time he escapes they find him and throw him back in jail. That might have been because he'd stop for photo ops. After 18 different jails and a long talk with his lawyer, Steve found his way to the DBR's New Jersey facility at the first of this year. He has only tried to escape 8 times in the last 6 months, so that's a win. He's in for 5 more years, but is up for release if there's overcrowding.



So there you have Jarsen's pen pals. Isn't their situation just a shame? I've cleared it with Mum that  they can come live with us when they get out. It seems to me that the letter writing is helping both the birds and Jarsen. I can only hope that all birds in rehabilitation have friends as good as Jarsen. Sigh.

Fanning In The Real World: Stealth Fandoms

Me every. Single. Pancake-flipping. Day.
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Hello Fanlings! How are you? I can't hear you, and I don't care. JK.

After Fandom Beauty Day, I was talking to my mum about all the Fandoms I'm in, and how there are some I don't really talk about. Well dear reader, I don't talk about them because of you. Not you specifically, but my readers in general. This is a SuperWhoLock centered blog, and I want to make you happy. So here is a list of most all of the shows, movies, and books I fan over. Listed in no particular order.

T.V.:

The Strain
It's so weird. I love it.  

Murder in the First
Do I like this show? If by "like" you mean "love it so much it hurts my feelings," then yes, I like this show.

The Big Bang Theory
SHIP ALL THE SHAMY!!!

How I Met Your Mother
*tears*

Last Tango in Halafax
Old people in love. Do I need more reasons? Nope.

Star Trek: TNG
Make it so.

Blues Clues
Don't judge me.

Vicious
Sirs Ian and Derek make me want to be an old gay man. *Squee*

Miranda
One day I will meat Miranda Hart and I will be starstruck and short.

Grimm
Monroe. That is all.

The Following
The people in my kitting group think I'm a serial killer because of this show. Make one comment about killing that blonde girl being beneath Joe...

Perception
Daniel needs a hug. #HugsForDaniel2014

Mad Men
Betty Draper is a horrible person.

MythBusters
I reject your reality and substitute my own!!

(Source)

Movies:

Lord of the Rings
One fandom to rule them all...

The Hobbit
I'm fairly sure I'm just a really tall hobbit.

Harry Potter
One of my first fandoms.

Doctor Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog
This is my favorite movie. *happy dance* 

SharkBoy and LavaGirl
I liked Taylor Laughtner before he was cool.

The Hunger Games
They haven't messed these up. Yay.


Sharknado
Sue me.

Titanic
Jack + Rose. I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP. Oh, wait...

Book Series:

Graceling 
NEED. MORE. BOOKS.

Gregor The Overlander

The books that made me love reading.

Alcatraz Vs.
I wish I were a Smedrey.

The Hunger Games 
They didn't mess up the movies. Yay!

Percy Jackson
They messed up the movies. Boo.

Fablehaven 
I still haven't gotten over that series ending. I miss you.

Need

THAT is how you end a series!

The Mortal Instruments
*waits for next book*

You see my problem. If I did one post for each Fandom I'm in, I'd never have time to post about important things, like Benedict Cumberbatch's butt, and other important world issues. If you want a post about one of the listed, let me know. ALSO, I ask you guys to comment. And you never do! Grr. I know people are looking at my blog, but you ignore me. Why? I'm tempted to misspell something so I get a comment.

Here, Have Some Kool-Aid: Doctor Who

A picture is worth a thousand words.
(Source)

Welcome to "Here, Have Some Kool-Aid: A handy-dandy guide to convert your friends to the Fandom life." This week we do Who.

There are two ways to start. You can start with the classic series,  S1 E1 Doctor1. Or you can start with the new series, S1 E1 Doctor9. The classic series is, well... classic. The new series is the only one I've watched, and can offer knowledge about. So we'll go with that.

Doctor Who is a very deep and wide Fandom. That can make it intimidating to start watching. So the best eps to start with are self-contained and have characters who are new to the world of The Doctor.

A perf example is "Blink, S3 E10." It's a one off, and the protagonist Sally Sparrow is new to the world of Who. "Blink" also has one of the scariest baddies in Who history: the weeping angels.

This is the ep I used to introduce my BFF to Who. It took 39 minutes before she became a die hard fangirl. In other words, success.

Another good episode is "The Runaway Bride, S3 E1." Donna is funny, sympathetic, and loveable. If your potential Whovain cares about the characters, they're more likely to want to watch more.

A lot of people skip the Ninth Doctor, and start with Ten. I do not recommend this. And by "do not recommend this," I mean I will come through the computer and smack you with a rolled up newspaper, and say "Bad Fanling! No post for you!" Even if you choose to start with "Blink" or "The Runaway Bride," go back and start with the new series featuring Nine; it's definitely worth it.

When choosing other eps, think about your potential Whovain. "Blink" was a good choice for my BBF because she likes horror. Horror = scary, scary = weeping angels. If your potential Whovain is a romantic comedy fan, something like "Love & Monsters, S2 E10" or "The Unicorn and the Wasp, S4 E7" might be a better choice.

Other than that, S1 E1 is always a good starting point. Just make sure you give a little back story before you do anything.

Gotta dash. Things happening. Well, four things. Well, four things and a lizard.

And Lo! A Fangirl Was Born: Sherlock

I love Shocking Blankets.
(Source)

Now, the completely unextraordinary story of my infatuation with Sherlock...

T.V. in summer is about as dead as Sherlock (too soon?), and Mum and I had just reached the end of it all. It was the summer of 2012, and Amazon had seasons 1 and 2 of Sherlock for free streaming on Prime. So, we decided to see what the all fuss was about.

Wow, that's lame.

I mean it really is. Even the word lame is kinda lame. For something so important I kinda blindly stumbled upon it.

BUT...

I did not blindly stumble into The Fandoms. I mean, I did. You can't prepare for that crap. 

I had followed some Doctor Who Pinterest boards, and after Mum and I watched The Reichenbach Fall, I said to my self, "Self? I wonder if BBC Sherlock has a lot of fans. And I wonder if they're on Pinterest..."

Well.

This was my first real Fandom experience. I had had a few close encounters of the Fandom kind, (Doctor Who, Buffy, HIMYM, ST: TNG, Star Wars, etc.) but I never got it. Not really. As you can imagine it was a little overwhelming, diving headfirst into one of the craziest, die-hard-iest Fandoms.

And it was awesome.

I never really fit in. Still don't. But The Fandoms are like a huge extended family that gets you. You don't have to explain your craziness, because they're right along with you. And like in any family, you argue. But you get over it.

How I love the Sherlock Fandom, let me count the ways...

1. It's crazy.
2. We've rioted in the past, and threaten to do so again from time to time.
3. CumberBum, CumberButtons, and CumberCurls are legit things.
4. We have a collective want to slap Moffat and Gatiss with a fish.
5. The ships. 'Nuff said.
6. The quotes. 'Nuff said, part 2.
7. Otters, umbrellas and hegehogs have a whole new meaning.
8. Do I need more reasons?

So yeah. That's less lame right? I hope so.

What do I ship, you ask? Well... all of them. As you may remember from BBC Sherlock: The Musical, Part 2, The Ships, if it's shipable, I ship it. Except Mylock/Shercroft. Just no.  

In case you where wondering, here be my Pinterest. Also our next Jarsen post is coming Wednesday, so yay.

Laterz Fanlings.

And Lo! A Fangirl Was Born: Doctor Who

Welcome to the first installment of "And Lo! A Fangirl Was Born!" Yay. Whoo.

Let's begin with a little back story...

My Dad was a die-hard classic fan (Four was his Doctor), so when the new series came out he started watching. I, on the other hand, was content to play on the computer and ignore him. At the time I was 6-ish, so DW was a bit complicated for me. It still is.

Then, when he was watching "The Empty Child," I was... frightened, panicky, alarmed, terrified.
Pick one.

My Doctor. *sigh*
(Source)

And Daddy decided I was just flipping my lid because I didn't understand what was happening. 

So, we started watching.  

Not long after Mum joined in, and it snowballed from there. 

I didn't really hit "The Fandoms" until I started watching BBC Sherlock. 

But that, my dear Fanlings, is a story for next week. 

During my Mum and Dad's separation and later my Dad's death, Doctor Who was there. Painful and heartbreaking, but there. 

And no matter what, I'll always have Sunday morning Doctor Who watching with my Dad.

Now that I've poured my feels out, let's move along.

I have 11 T-shirts with DW stuff on 'em, the perf  Tardis blue nail polish, cookie jar, and necklace. Ten is my Doctor, and Donna is my Companion. The Weeping Angels are what nightmares have bad dreams about.

And this is the part of the post where I summarize in a witty fashion. 

I like Doctor Who, and... oranges. Sorry, not very witty today. I'm so, so sorry.

Jarsen, The Fandom Panda: An Introduction

(Pic from here, Edit by me, Jarsen by Jarsen)

Someone (you know who you are *cough*Joy Holman *cough) asked for a post 'bout Pandas.

SooOOOooOooo.....

Welcome to the first ever "Jarsen, The Fandom Panda" monthly post!

Meet Jarsen. He is a Panda. And as you may have also gathered, he is crap-a-flapping adorable.

Let's get to know Jarsen on a deep, non-adorable-faceness level.

Jarsen loves hats, Billy Joel, bamboo, and binge watching Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock.

His birthday is the 27th of May, 2013, which means he's nearly one. 

His full name is Jarsen David Holmes. His names come from Supernatural, Doctor Who, and BBC Sherlock, in that order. Yes, SuperWhoLock. "Jarsen" is Jared Padalecki's and Jensen Ackles' names smoshed together. Jared and Jensen. Jarsen. "David" is for David Tennant, and you can probably figure out Holmes on your own.

On the first Wednesday of the month, I shall update my little fanlings on Jarsen, the fandom panda.

Thar be the Jarsen basics. He also has a fondness for pirates. Arghhhhhh.

Vatican Cameos!! (What It Means)

"Battle stations. Someone's going to die."
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FIRST ORDER OF FANLING-BUSINESS: The giveaway still has a few hours left, so if you haven't entered for the Sherlock poster, now's your last chance.

SECOND: The origin of “Vatican Cameos” is kinda confusing.

Some say that in WWII the phrase “Vatican Cameos” was used when a person who wasn't in the British Army came before a General or other high-ranking officer as a signal that the person in question was armed. It’s a code Sherlock knew John would know, being a soldier and all.

Others say that "Vatican Cameos" is a reference to an unknown case Sir Arthur Conan Doyle briefly mentioned during The Hound of the Baskervilles. The quote sayth:

"I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch with several interesting English cases."

Interestingly, it's also been said that those who used the phrase in WWII picked it up from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Either way, it's one of those things that Mofftiss (Moffat/Gatiss) put in for the hard-core fans.

And I know we're tripping over ourselves trying to figure it out and Mofftiss is just siting in their dungeon laughing. 

Kinda like this, yeah.
(Source)

THIRD: I need to know what you want me to write about. I could write the best post in the world about... Pandas. But if you don't care 'bout Pandas, it doesn't matter. So make like the "Spice Girls" and tell me what you want, what you really, really want. (Also people who comment "Zig a-Zig ah" will be high-5ed and slapped.)

Everything You Need To Know About: BBC Sherlock

L-R
John Watson/Martin Freeman
Sherlock Holmes/Benedict Cumberbatch
Mycroft Holmes/Mark Gatiss
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Something you need to understand before we dive into the deep recesses of the Sherlock fandom: Sherlock fans have always been crazy. Always. When Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes in his beloved books, there were riots in the streets. Riots in the streets. Any fandom willing to riot is a winner in my book. So if I--or any other Sherlock Fan-person--gets a little crazy, passionate or just weird, we're just carrying on the tradition.

Enter Sherlock Holmes (surprise, surprise).  Sherlock is a recovering drug addict, high functioning sociopath, more than a little bit mad himself, incredibly brilliant, and (more times than not) an arse. He works as the first Consulting Detective in the whole wide world. "Whole wide world" is a strong claim. He said,  "I invented the job," but... What was I saying? Oh yeah, Sherlock works with New Scotland Yard along side Detective Greg Lestrade, Molly Hooper, Sgt. Sally Donovan (whom we hate) and Anderson (whom we hate even more).

Sherlock's brother Mycroft is the British government, "when he's not too busy being the British Secret Services or the CIA on a freelance basis." He may not be as mad as his brother, but he is as intelligent. Which is a little scary.

Sherlock's assistant/companion/only friend is John Watson, a former British Army officer/doctor. Watson served in Afghanistan, where he was shot in the left shoulder, then returned home suffering from PTSD. One day he went out for tea. Tea. And his life changed. He ran into a friend who introduced him to Sherlock. Through circumstances I won't spoil for you, Sherlock and Watson became co-workers and flat-mates, and they're taking London by storm.

Now in this storm, there's one little cloud that's not happy. 

You are not allowed to be this cute AND evil.
(Soruce)

And his name is Moriarty. Played brilliantly by Andrew Scott, Moriarty is definitely the Big Bad. And cute. And evil. He made me question my morals. He makes me question my morals. Stupid morals.

If you want an insanely well put together guide to Sherlock (and who doesn't?), you can find it here.

BBC has so far produced three series of Sherlock, each three episodes long. There was a terrible cliff-hanger at the end of series 2, and there was much wailing and gnashing of fan teeth during the hiatus. (Stupid successful actors and their other brilliant projects.) Two additional series have been ordered and Gatiss and Moffat report to have the story lines already developed. Hopefully we won't have another interminable hiatus before series 4 begins, either Christmas 2014 or sometime in 2016, depending on which account you read.  

Popular ships: 

Johnlock (John Watson/Sherlock Holmes), Sherlolly (Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper), Sheriarty (Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty), Mylock (Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes), Mystrade (Mycroft Holmes/DI Greg Lestrade), and Grolly ( DI Greg Lestrade/Molly Hooper). What's a ship, you ask? Let me 'splain. 

There's a lot more to say about Sherlock, and I will, but this is the end of the "Everything You Need To Know About" blog series as a regular thing. There will be "Everything You Need To Know About"s in the future, but starting next Monday, we launch "SuperWhoLock: The Musical"! A song for every main character and ship! If you have a suggestion, comment below. Until Wednesday, dear reader, I bid thee adieu.  

Everything You Need To Know About: Doctor Who Part 2

A lovely diagram of the Companions and Doctors
(Source)

Hello world! Welcome to Everything You Need To Know About: Doctor Who, part 2! Duh Duh Duuuuhhhhh!


Let's dive right in then.


After reading my last expertly written post, you might be asking yourself,  "Self? Doesn't the Doctor get lonely in all of time by himself?"


Well he does. And that's where the Companions come in.


Companions are more than just side-kicks. They are his Time-Buddies, if you will. A Companion and extra pair of eyes to keep the Doctor from blowing up planets when McDonald's forgets his fries. They also keep him grounded and in touch with the human side of his nature when the enormity of his role in the universe becomes too much.


Over the years, his companions have been family members, friends, mechanical (see K-9), alien, and even love interests. Some have been there for only an episode, while others have traveled from one doctor to the next.  My mother has a theory that the relationship between your favorite companion and doctor may just mirror your own feelings about and relationship with him. But then she's weird.

(Source)

The Doctor's mode of transportation in time and space is the Tardis, which stands for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space." The Tardis looks like a blue police box from Britain in the 1960s. She, because ships are always she, has a chameleon circuit that allows her to change her appearance, but alas, it is broken. Although the Tardis' appearance changes internally and incrementally externally from Time Lord to Time Lord, she remains the blue box we all love and know so well.

Another perk of being a Whovian--that's what DW fans are called BTW--is the spin offs! The Sarah Jane Adventures starred the late Elisabeth Sladen, a former companion, and Torchwood (fun fact: Torchwood is a anagram for Doctor Who) which stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness (#TeamIanto). While "The Sarah Jane Adventures" are targeted for a tween-teen audience, "Torchwood" is much more adult let's just say. How Adult? F-Bombs and naked Barrowman butt adult. Mom won't let me watch unsupervised adult. Just saying.

So now you've got enough basic Who knowledge to dive right in and binge watch several seasons or at least some episodes. Which episodes? Well, we'll talk about that soon enough.


Next stop on the "Everything You Need To Know About" train? Hide yo dead bodies, hide yo sanity:  it's BBC SHERLOCK TIME.

Everything You Need To Know About: The Doctor, or Doctor Who Part 1

(Source)

It is my task to explain Doctor Who (DW) in this post. Oy vey. Crapaflap, 50 years of TV in one post; I repeat, oy vey.

(Some time passes wherein I pull out my hair.)

Do you know how hard it is to explain Doctor Who in one post? There are encyclopedias, literally encyclopedias, explaining Doctor Who.

There's too much to explain within the current temporal parameters. Let me sum up. Starting with The Doctor. (As always, I'll never spoil you for anything that matters without warning you.)

The Doctor is, naturally, the main character, our flawed yet much loved hero whose adventures through time and space form the basis of the show. "The Doctor" is his title, self-chosen, rather than his name, which is never revealed to us, even in the episode titled "The Name of the Doctor." For all we know, his name could be Bruce. Or something that sounds like dolphins crying in space ("So long and thanks for all the feels!").

Although he struggles with conflicts and challenges that are all too human, the Doctor himself is not human. He is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. Are there other Time Lords from Gallifrey running around? Kind of, but to explain that would involve spoilers, sweetie.

What does a Time Lord do, you ask? He has a really big brain, capable of seeing all of time at once. And he's a kind of guardian, making sure nobody mucks about in the time stream, changing things. Except Time Lords, of course. But even then there are certain fixed points in time, things that HAVE to happen, that can't be changed.

Beyond that, Time Lords have a particular fondness for London and its home planet, saving us from complete and total destruction over and over again. Including one memorable episode where he prevented the Titanic from falling from the sky and crashing into Buckingham Palace, which would have really interrupted the Queen's tea. (He has a whole thing with the Queen, which you'll discover later, you lucky Anglophile.)

The Doctor is old. How old? Hella. <---SPOILER-ish. He's a Time Lord though and when Time Lords get mortally wounded they regenerate into a new form/actor. So he doesn't have to iron his face in the morning. 

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You must admit the whole regeneration idea is fantastic, to borrow a word from the 9th Doctor. It allows one character to exist throughout the whole of the series while being played by different actors, each bringing their own brilliant flavor to the job. How many doctors have there been? Depends on who you ask. Let's go with 12 for now, although there are two others you'll meet and consider at some point in your descent into Whovianism.

Each Doctor has his own unique outfit, some that should probably have landed on "What Not to Wear: Time and Space Edition." Celery? Enough said.

Is there a limit to the number of regenerations the doctor can have? That number was 12, but there were some....occurrences, shall we say, in the episode "The Time of the Doctor," which was the 800th episode. 800 episodes. The mind boggles. So could there be more than 12 doctors eventually? The BBC locked Moffat in a box until he fixed the problem the first time--rather brilliantly, I might add--and I'm sure they'd do it again in a double heart beat. Did I mention the Doctor has two hearts?



Here's a list of the Doctors, along with the actors who had the honor of playing him, as well as the years they were on. Doctors 1 through 7 are part of the classic series. The 7th Doctor also had a cameo in the Doctor Who movie produced in 1996, which featured the 8th Doctor. The 8th Doctor appears chiefly in the movie, some webisodes that led up to something special, and well, that something special.

The new series of Doctor Who began in 2005 with the 9th Doctor. The new series does not pick up where the classic series left off. What happened between the two series is alluded to, hinted at, and explained later in the new series.

One thing you'll soon discover is that everyone is passionate about "their" doctor. It might be the doctor from the first episode you saw, or the first one that you watched arrive on the scene through regeneration. But whoever it is, like the t-shirt says, you never forget your first doctor.



The 1st Doctor: William Hartnell (1963–66)
The 2nd Doctor: Patrick Troughton (1966–69)
The 3rd Doctor: Jon Pertwee (1970–74)
The 4th Doctor: Tom Baker (1974–81)
The 5th Doctor: Peter Davison (1981–84)
The 6th Doctor: Colin Baker (1984–86)
The 7th Doctor: Sylvester McCoy (1987–89, 1996)
The 8th Doctor: Paul McGann (1996, 2013)
The 9th Doctor: Christopher Eccleston (2005)
The 10th Doctor: David Tennant (2005–10)
The 11th Doctor: Matt Smith (2010–13)
The 12th Doctor: Peter Capaldi (2013–)


Anxious for more Who? Don't worry. We haven't even scratched the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey surface. 

Everything You Need To Know About: Supernatural

From L-R
Sam/Jared Padalecki,
Dean/Jensen Ackles,
Castiel/Misha Collins/The reason faces were invented

Slip into your flannel shirt and grab a piece of pie: it's time to talk Supernatural. 

Supernatural is a TV show on The CW and is what the "Super" in "SuperWhoLock" stands for.

So here's your Spoiler-free introduction to Supernatural. At the heart of the show are the two brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, respectively. Recurring characters include the angel Castiel, played by Misha Collins; hunter and father figure Bobby Singer, played by Jim Beaver; the demon Crowley aka the King of Hell, played by Mark A. Shepard; and the prophet Kevin Tran, played by Osric Chau. And we cannot forget Eric Kripke, who is to Supernatural what Moffat is to Doctor Who, e.g. brilliant writer and wrencher of emotions.

When Sam is only six months old, his mother dies under mysterious, tragic, violent and, we later learn, demonic circumstances. The boys' father John Winchester, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, sets out to seek revenge on the demon responsible for her death, dragging his young sons in his wake.

As a young college grad, Sam has left behind "the family business," leaving Dean and his father to hunt alone while he pursues a "normal" life. Dean shows up unannounced and tells Sam that their dad is overdue to return from a "hunting" trip. Reluctantly, Sam joins Dean in a search for their father. Enter one of my favorite uncredited characters: Baby, aka Metallicar, aka the '67 Chevy Impala that Dean drives/lives in/loves.

As you might have guessed, there's no happy family reunion with dad. Instead, we get more evil, sibling rivalry and dysfunction, and more flaming blondes. (First episode hankie alert: grab your tissues when you see the cookies, 'cause tears are imminent.)

The ongoing strained relationship between Sam and Dean is a central theme of the show. The first season has a "monster of the week" kind of vibe, although a "big bad" does appear. Later seasons have season-long big bad story arcs with some supporting evil thrown in for good measure. Fairly quickly the show settles in to what it does best: the battle between good vs. evil with nothing less than the world at stake, with warriors on both sides who are all too human, even when they're not.

L-R Crowley/Mark A. Shepard
Bobby Singer/Jim Beaver

Supernatural is currently in season 9, with season 10 already on order. There's even serious spinoff talk. So there's more than enough of the Winchester brothers for more than one weekend watching binge.

There's a handy Supernatural Wiki if you're dying to know more. It's exactly what it sounds like, and can be found here.

Popular ships include:  Destiel (Dean/Castiel), Sabriel (Sam/Gabriel), Samifer (Sam/Lucifer), Wincest (Sam/Dean), Samstiel (Sam/Castiel), Cabriel (Castiel/Gabriel), Crobby (Crowley/Bobby). What's a ship, you ask? Let me 'splain.


Next week? Who, Who.

Everything You Need To Know About: Shipping

Nope.
(Made by me)

Shipping! Whoo!

Shipping has nothing to do with actual watercraft. Or canoes or "Boats, boats boats!" I felt the need to clear that up. Shipping is derived from the word relationship. Some people (namely my OBF(Other Best Friend) K) thinks shipping is called shipping because you'd put two people on a boat and ship them off to a desert island where they could enjoy their love in solitude. Shipping is the belief that two people (sometimes three) are made for each other.


SHIPPING TERMINOLOGY: 

OTP: "One True Pairing." By deeming a Ship your OTP, you are declaring really strong emotions for it, perhaps to the extent that you feel the characters involved are meant for each other above all other relationships they could have. We're talking soulmates here. For example, I ship Sherlolly (Molly Hooper/Sherlock Holmes, BBC Sherlock), but my OTP is JohnLock (Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, BBC Sherlock). **Please don't hate me because I'm a Johnlocker, oh Sherlolly-pops.**

Ghost Ship: A Ship that went down in the ocean, drowning all on board. Kaplooie. Ain't happen'. Mostly because a member of the Ship has died, likely for good. So essentially, a Ghost Ship is a hopeless Ship. You may still Ship a Ghost Ship, but you have reallized that it is no longer in the metaphorical fleet. Like Tarow (Tara/Willow, Buffy), for example.

Sailed Ship: A ship that is canonically true, like Mahn (Mary/John Watson, BBC Sherlock).

BROTP: OTP bromance edition.

NOTP: A Ship you will not ship. Not to be confused with "No TP," which is a desperate cry you hope never to utter while in the loo.

Shark: A person who is against a particular ship. For example, I am a Wincest (Sam/Dean Winchester) and Mylock (Mycroft/Sherlock Holmes) Shark. Why? Because they're brothers, ya idjits! Ew.


So, boys and girls, now that you've got a basic working fandom vocabulary, we're ready to start tackling "Everything You Need to Know About" each of the various shows. Don't worry: here there be no spoilers. (Bonus points to you if you read that last word in River's voice.) First up? Grab your salt and iron, and we'll look at "The Road So Far."

Everything You Need To Know About: Fan Terms

Hello Fangirls and Fanboy! ('cause there's just the one)

Consider this post the Fandom equivalent of the Rosetta Stone. Let's begin.

Feels: Feels is a shorted version of the word "Feeling." Feels are what you feel, in the deep down dark shadowy corners and recesses of your heart of hearts. The ache when someone dies or cries or lies. An intense emotional response, such as sadness, excitement, or awe. When your favorite characters make a bad choice. Or basically anything written by Moffat.

GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. Little moving picture-y things, to illustrate feelings, thoughts and general Fangirling or Fanboying.

Pinkie can't capitalize.
(By TexasUberAlles)

Canon: Canon is things that the writers, director, actors, etc. have said and have been confirmed as true. Official stuff that is accepted in the Fandoms as real, actual stuff. Like when BBC approved Pantone 2955C as "TARDIS" blue. That is canon.

Head-Canon:  Interpretations of a fictional universe accepted by an individual fan, but not found within or supported by the official canon. Like this. Often followed by "Head-Canon accepted," which means "I find this valid and believe this makes perfect sense." Back in the olden days, the term "fanon" meant stuff the fans made up and pretty much all agreed on, which is similar to head-canon.

There many more Fan-terms. Many many. Many many many.

This is an ongoing project and soon will be a separate page on this blog for you to click over to at will. If you are a newbie and want something explained, let me know in the comments. If you are a veteran Fanperson, please feel free to pontificate in the comments with your expertise or suggestions for future fan term posts. 

That bring us to next week's post... Shipping!!! Scary huh? BWAHAHAHA! Your fear makes me happy.

Everything You Need To Know About: The Fandoms

credit 3chicgeeks.com

Welcome to the second post in the "Everything You Need To Know About" Blog Series! I have been informed that tens of people read last weeks posts, and that fills me with such joy. This week we start the never-ending journey down the rabbit hole of insanity that is the Fandoms. One of the basic things you MUST learn is that Fandom is an ever-changing, moving and living being.One day something can be huge, and the next POOF gone. No one cares anymore.

What is a Fandom? Any thing can have a Fandom--books, movies, actors and actresses, TV shows--if some one can love can it, it can have a Fandom. (And no, that does not apply to your boyfriend Brad. Unless Brad's last name is Pitt, then yeah. And also ANGELINA JOLIE IS READING MY BLOG! EEP!) Fandoms often spring up among groups of friends who like the same thing, then grow from there. Some fans contribute to their Fandoms through Fan-Fic, Fan-Art and Meme making. All though not mandatory, the above are appreciated and applauded. And remember, there are no Fan-Fic, Fan-Art or Meme police. Just trolls.

Because a lot of fans are alone in their towns, school, family, etc., you may be wondering, "Where can I find fellow fans?"

A good place is to start is the Internet, a favorite for homebodies and those who fall down easily. So perfect for me. Tumbler, FaceBook and Pinterest are good places to look. And blogs, of course **wink wink**.  Below I've listed some places on the interweb (mostly Facebook pages and Pinterest Boards) I like to frequent (sorted by Fandom).

Supernatural: 

Supernatural
 
Misha Collins

Supernatural Lifestyle

Jensen Ackles

Cruising in the Impala

Misha Collins Addicts

Supernatural Insider

Madly in love with Sam, Dean and everything Supernatural

Supernatural Monster

Misha Collins stole my heart.

Team free will

Supernatural my life my world

Oh, Misha.

Pudding - All Things Supernaturally Awesome

Jared Padafandom

Doctor Who:

Doctor Who 

Fantastic! Allons-y! Geronimo! Brilliant! Jelly baby?

The Daily Dalek

Alex Kingston

Catherine Tate

Sherlock (Because not everyone has seen Sherlock s3 just know, SPOILERS):

Mrs. Hudson took my skull.

 

SHERLOCK SEASON 3 BOARD SPOILERSSSSS

 

Consulting Fandom

Harry Potter:

Harry Potter Madness

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Harry Potter

General Fandom:

BuzzFeed

Anglophenia

BBC (and other stuffs)

I'm a geek... on days off...

Fandominium

Wayward Sons, A Consulting Detective & Other Geekiness

That is a LOT of stuff. I didn't know I like to frequent that many places.

Next week on the "Everything You Need To Know About" blog series: fan terms!! Because when I say, " I can't even... My feels over my OTS... brb DYING," you'll need to know what I mean.

Everything You Need To Know About: The Everything You Need To Know About Blog Series.

     Hi, my name is Molly Winchester (not really, just go with it). Next week I'm starting an "Everything You Need To Know About" blog series. On Mondays I shall post a new riveting installment, and we'll cover everything from:
Shipping to SuperWhoLock
Head Cannon to Cannon
Feels to Emotions
And why The Padafandom (fans of Jared Padalecki) hates Justin Bieber (besides the obvious)
I am a SuperWhoLock fangirl.
What is SuperWhoLock you say?
Well, short answer: Insanity.

Long answer...

  

L-R: Moriarty/Andrew Scott (Sherlock), The Tenth Doctor/David Tennant (Doctor Who),
The Ninth Doctor/Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Castiel/Misha Collins (Supernatural),
Sherlock/Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Dean Winchester/Jensen Ackles (Supernatural),
Sam Winchester/Jared Padalecki (Supernatural), John Watson/Martin Freeman (Sherlock),
Captain Jack Harkness/John Barrowman (Doctor Who and Torchwood),
The Eleventh Doctor/Matt Smith (Doctor Who).

Yep, I'm probably crazy but,