Fandom School (3rd period): Reaction GIFs

Hello and welcome back to Fandom School! The subject is feels and the topic is reaction GIFs, specifically GIFs about feels. As every fangirl (fanboy, fanperson) knows, feels are part of the package when you join a fandom. And since you're going to have feels, you might as well find GIFs to represent those feels, right?

There are a few main types of feels that one encounters within a fandom:

Sad/Nervous

Causes: character is in danger, character death, something goes wrong

Happy

Causes: you like a character/episode/plot point, things go right

Fangirling

Causes: your OTP is together, you meet your favorite actor, your favorite character comes on screen, you find a really good book/movie/tv show/fanwork, people like your fanworks

Tyler Oakley

Tyler Oakley is fabulous, so he gets his own section of reaction gifs

You Are Not Alone: The Search For The Other Time Lords (Doctor Who fanfiction) - Chapter 3

Chapters: 1 2 3

"Like I said," Jenny informed the Doctor, "I've no idea where we'll turn up."
"But you do know that there'll be a Time Lord," he pointed out.
"True."

After a slightly less turbulent flight, they reached their destination. Jenny stuck her head out the door, then turned back to look at the Doctor, surprised.
"What?"
"Well I could be wrong... but I think we're in the wizarding world!"
"The wizarding world?" the Doctor asked incredulously.
"Yeah, like from Harry Potter."
"I know what the wizarding world is," he said condescendingly.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is Diagon Alley," Jenny remarked as they stepped out of the TARDIS. The Doctor nodded.

Just then, a family of four walked by. The mother had bushy brown hair and was carrying a large stack of books. Jenny turned to the Doctor. "She's the one."
"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked somewhat nervously. Jenny nodded. They walked up to the mother. "You first," the Doctor hissed almost inaudibly.

"Hi, I'm Jenny and this is the Doctor... I mean Doctor Smith. He's my professor, and at his direction, I'm interviewing muggle-borns about the transition to the wizarding world. Are you a muggle-born, and would you be interested?" The Doctor tried to hide his look of impressed shock at Jenny's story.
The mother, too, seemed a little taken aback. "You know, you're the first person to ask me that. Are you going to write an article? I'm really glad this topic is being covered. Are you going to cover discrimination against muggle-borns? I think that's a really important issue. And what about..."
Her husband rolled his eyes. "You'll talk their ears off," he scolded her.
"Sorry, it's just a topic I'm really passionate about."
"No need to apologize," Jenny replied pleasantly. "So I take it that means you'd be interested?" The mother nodded vigorously. "Ron, can you help the kids get their school supplies? I'll join you again soon." Ron, her husband, nodded. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! Ron's a bad influence on me," she said, laughing. "I'm Hermione Granger." All of a sudden, Jenny realized she hadn't considered something. Thankfully, the Doctor had the same idea.

"Do you know any good places to conduct an interview? We don't know the area-"
"The university's in Scotland," Jenny explained.
"- right, and we were wondering if you had any good ideas? We also figured the people we interviewed would be more comfortable in a location of their own choosing."
Hermione nodded. "I know just the place."

They sat in a small room, discussing the contrast between muggle life and wizard life. After a while, the interview seemed to be almost over.
"Do you have any questions for us?" Jenny asked.
"Just one: why did you pick me? I mean, you weren't even sure I was a muggle-born."
Jenny looked at the Doctor, who looked right back at her. Jenny shook her head slightly and turned back to Hermione. "Well, you see, we have reason to believe you aren't just a muggle-born witch."
"Oh?" Hermione asked, feigning innocence.
"Have you ever time traveled?" Jenny asked.
"Well, I did use a time turner to take more classes at Hogwarts."
"We're looking for Time Lords," Jenny stated. Hermione stared at them in shock. "You do know what a Time Lord is?"
"Yes, but I thought they were just a legend. You're telling me they actually exist?" Jenny nodded. "And you think I'm one of them?" Jenny nodded again. "But... I can't be!" The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned Hermione.
"According to this, you are."
Hermione gasped in shock. "So what do you want with these Time Lords, then?"
"I just want to show him he's not alone," Jenny said.
"You're the Doctor!" Hermione exclaimed.
The Doctor simply nodded. "It seems like you're to busy to travel with me, but it's nice to have met you."
"Thank you for your time," Jenny said. "We really appreciate it."
"Excuse me, may I ask a question?"
"You just did," the Doctor pointed out.
"Doctor, be nice." Jenny turned to Hermione. "Go ahead."
"If it's not too much trouble, could you actually write that article?"
"No problem," Jenny answered, smiling.
"You can hand it to me when you're done; I know a few papers that might publish it."
"Great! We'll be back in a few minutes." Hermione gave them a quizzical look. "Time travel, remember?"

True to their word, Jenny and the Doctor were back 3 minutes later. Jenny handed the article over.
"Thank you," Hermione said.
"No, thank you."
***
"Got another crush?" the Doctor asked Jenny as they set their next destination.
"No." Jenny rolled her eyes. "I do think she's a lovely person, though. I wish we had a way to keep in touch."
"Oh, so you want her number?" the Doctor asked. "Or would you rather communicate via psychic paper?"
"That was one guy," Jenny said. She felt the psychic paper vibrate. She read the new message.

In another boring council meeting. Miss you already. -Merlin
Jenny laughed.
Do they know you're talking to me? -Jenny
Sh. What they don't know won't hurt them. -Merlin
You are such a troublemaker! -Jenny
I'd rather be that than boring. -Merlin
Good point. -Jenny
Haha! I win! -Merlin
Whatever. I gotta go. -Jenny

"You done texting that boy?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes, Dad," Jenny sighed.
"Good. We've got places to be."
"You bet we do."

Fandom School (2nd period): Real-Life Shipping

Happy Wednesday, and welcome again to Fandom School! Sorry I haven't been blogging super often (those of you who know me on google+, tumblr, or irl, feel free to hold me accountable). Anyways, the subject is shipping, and today's topic is real-life shipping.

I don't know why I didn't think to cover it in my list of Fanfiction terms (I'll update the list now), but there exists such a thing as real-person fiction, RPF for short. The name, however, is a bit deceptive. RPF doesn't depict real people, well, not exactly. RPF takes people who exist in the real world and makes them into fictional characters, adding personality traits, backstory, etc. that is not true (but isn't ridiculously far from the truth) to suit the author's needs and/or desires. "But that's not true!" you say. "RPF doesn't make characters up, they're just like the real people!" One, I never said RPF makes characters up, I said that RPF uses characters based on real people. Two, I provide here an example that disproves your theory: a fanfic in which Bradley James has magic.

Shipping in RPF is the same as it is in regular fanfics - well, almost. While regular fanfiction can change a character easily, RPF writers have to be careful about how they portray the people in their stories. You can't depict a person in a way that would make them uncomfortable (well, you can, but you shouldn't).

But there's also shipping between real people who aren't famous. Enter my personal experience. Jake, my close friend who I know from band (Horn is way better than saxaphone!), apparently is friendly enough with me (or I'm friendly enough with him? Idk) that people ship us. It's all David's fault - he started the rumors (yes, I'm naming names). The shippers are pretty insistent, despite the fact that I have a boyfriend (I love you, Alex!). At first I was really mad (like, I wanted to punch David in the face), but now I'm just sort of used to it. I still find it really annoying, though. A lot of times real-life shipping is not okay, namely when the people who are being shipped have specifically told the shippers to stop.

In fairness, though, I can't complain too much about it. After all, it may have something to do with how Alex became my boyfriend. Emily, a mutual friend of ours, kept shipping us, certain that we were in love (we were). Eventually, after over 2 years of being best friends, we confessed our love for each other (she was there when we said it! Remember how weird that was? I was so worried I would chicken out and not tell you, Alex. Lol). He moved away shortly afterwards, so it's a long-distance relationship. I ship us, he ships us, and I don't care about the idiots who ship me with Jake.

So, if you want to ship real people, here are a few things to keep in mind.

• If you're writing RPF, remember that you are writing about a fictional character based on a real person, and be sure to distinguish fiction from reality
• No tinhatting. Tinhatting is when you try to convince people that your ship is real, saying that the people are in a secret relationship or some equally ridiculous theory. Tinhatting is incredibly disrespectful.
• Don't spread hate about a person who's "breaking up" your ship. If person A is dating person B, but you think person A belongs with person C, don't spread hate about person B or hope that A and B break up/get divorced.
• Don't be obnoxious about your ship. Talk about it with the people who ship it too - don't just shove your opinions in other people's faces
• Don't present a real person as having a very different sexuality from what they identify as
• Be kind to those who ship real people, even if you don't agree
• If you're shipping people you personally know, make sure they are okay with this. Don't ship people who don't want to be shipped.

Good day and happy shipping to you all.

Happy (Mellophone)

It's not fandom related, but I've been working on this for ages, so I thought I'd share it anyway. I recorded myself playing "Happy" on mellophone.

If you can't read it embedded, click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH_88cqmYrE

Fandom School (1st period): Fanon

Today is a snow day (even though there is no snow), so I am very happy. Anyway, here's Fandom School. The subject is canon and the topic is fanon.

So what exactly is fanon? Fanon is like canon, except that it's created by the fans and not the original creator. Sometimes fanon conflicts with canon, and sometimes they coincide. Fanon doesn't have to be agreed on by everybody, but it is accepted by the majority of the fandom.

What can be fanon? In many cases, ships are fanon. For example, Johnlock and Merthur are accepted by most fans, even though they are not canon (in fact, Johnlock has canon against it). Events can also be fanon. In the LoTR fandom, it's fanon that Legolas and Aragorn knew each other before The Fellowship of The Ring. The Big Bang Theory has the fanon that Sheldon has Asperger's Syndrome.

What's really exciting is when fanon becomes canon. For example, fans began calling Voldemort "Voldy", which became canon in The Deathly Hallows. And now we know that a Weeping Angel will turn to stone if it sees its own reflection. And in Dilbert, the cat character was unanimously named by fans as Catbert, and creator Scott Adams decided to confirm that.

What examples of fanon do you know of?

"Strong Female" or Well-Written Female?

Gah! Enough with the "strong female"s already! When we say we want a strong female character, we mean we want a well-written, in-depth character who is independent and has lots of great personality traits but also weaknesses like any human (or non-human life-form, as the case may be) - NOT a physically strong "badass" character with no development beyond that! Seriously! So much frustration! But I have to get this rant out.

Unsurprisingly, I'm not the first person to get upset about this particular trend. +Emily Ecrivaine has also written a post about it. I recommend that you check it out, but as great as that post is, I also want to weigh in on the issue, hence this post.

I'm gonna say this right now: just because a character is strong and tough and smart and independent does not mean she is a good character (I'm talking about good/bad, not good/evil). It's like Hollywood has gone too far in the opposite direction from the weak, stupid, careless girls it's portrayed in the past (those are no good, either, just to be clear).

It's time to meet in the middle. A good character needs strengths and weaknesses; leaving one out is like drawing a person really beautiful and detailed - but leaving out an entire half. You need them both to complement each other, else you get a 2-dimensional character that leaves your readers/viewers upset (and writing rants like this).

Now that I've said 2-dimensional, the mathematician in me wants to make this analogy accurate. So what do I mean by 2-dimensional? Well, let's say the first dimension is appearance (and all the other stuff you notice at first glance/description). Thankfully, most writers (I say most, not all) are able to go a bit deeper than that. The second dimension is strengths, the third dimension is weaknesses, and the fourth dimension (yes, I'm adding a fourth dimension) is character development. Unlike physical dimensions (height, width, volume), character dimensions aren't in a specific order. If your character has an appearance and strengths, he/she is 2-dimensional. If your character has an appearance and weaknesses, he/she is also 2-dimensional. If your character has an appearance, strengths, weaknesses, and character development, he/she is 4-dimensional. (Note: I said there isn't any order, but it's kind of hard to have character development without strengths and weaknesses.)

Got that? You need several different elements to make a character. You can't just slap a vaguely defined personality and a story arc on them and call it good. I mean, think about it: you're creating a person. If people were as bad as some characters, we would have a very boring world. And if you're going to make a work of fiction, why would you make such bad characters? Why would you create a boring world when you could create an awesome one? Why put so little work into a character when you could make somebody amazing?

There's not much I can do about, say, Moffat's writing, but I can make sure that the characters I create are real (no, I don't mean they really exist; I mean realistic), and I can ask you to do the same. Let's make the world of fiction a better place.

------------------------------

Coming back to this, I realize I should have included some examples of 2-dimensional characters, so here you are:

Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)

(Check out +Emily Ecrivaine's post about her dislike of Rose.)

What she has: appearance, weaknesses

What I think of her: she just stands around and waits for the Doctor to help her. She's not that smart, and she's not particularly strong. I don't see any significant strengths in her (she has compassion, but so do pretty much all the companions). She whines too much, and she always wanders off and disobeys direct orders (not that she's the only one to do so). She's extremely selfish and jealous. And she's presented as the best companion, the Doctor's love... no. Just no. 

(I'll come back to this later, but someone else needs the computer. I will provide more examples, don't worry!)

Bookworm, Movie Buff, or TV Fanatic?

Actually, I'm all three. Which one(s) are you? Here are some identifying characteristics.

Bookworm:

• trying to find the perfect position to read in (spoiler alert: there is none)
• opening a new book, smelling the pages and stroking the cover (or is that just me?)
• watching the movie adaptation and realizing that it is awful compared to, or just vastly different from, the book
• realizing that you've exhausted your personal library
• going to the public library and being overwhelmed by the vast selection
• checking out lots of books and going on a book-reading craze
• staying up all night to finish a really good book
• waiting in line forever to get a book signed by the author

Movie buff:

• eagerly watching and re-watching the trailer of a movie
• getting excited about the knowledge that a movie is being filmed
• waiting in line for way too long to get a ticket that's way too expensive
• popcorn!
• sitting through all of the previews, fixing your eyes on the screen lest you miss the beginning of the movie
• stalking paying attention to information about a particular actor
• screaming in delight when you find your favorite actor on twitter, tumblr, etc.
• watching a movie at home so you are free to squeal in delight at the good parts and cry at the sad parts

TV fanatic:

• counting the days until the next episode
• getting really excited on the day your favorite show airs
• clearing your schedule to watch your favorite show right as it happens (interruptions will be exterminated)
• setting up your DVR to make sure you never miss an episode
• watching your favorite episodes over and over and over again
• binge-watching entire series (good luck binge-watching all episodes of Doctor Who!)
• going insane during hiatus
• feeling empty and lost when your show is over; demanding that your show needs to be brought back (I'm talking about you, Merlin)

And of course there are a few characteristics that apply to all three kinds of fans:

• covering your ears and being cautious on the internet because spoilers
• allowing your fandom(s) to consume you and take away all traces of school or social life
• complaining about plot points you don't like and praising those you do
• getting super excited when you find out about a new work (book/movie/episode)
• writing fanfiction and creating other fan works
• dreaming of the day when you will get to meet the creator of your favorite works
• falling in love with a character and/or actor
• doing cosplay/roleplay
• feeling awesome when you meet another fan
• obsessively talking about your fandom(s), even to people who don't care
• being awesome (yep, that's part of being a fanwarrior. We are the epitome of awesome.)

Enjoy the fandom, whatever kind of fan you are.

You Are Not Alone: The Search For The Other Time Lords (Doctor Who fanfiction) - Chapter 2

Note: this chapter happens after my fic The Once And Future Time Lord, so you may want to read that if you haven't already (you don't have to read it to understand this chapter, but it does help).

Chapters: 1 2

"You're not the only one."
"Well, yeah, there's you and River..."
"No, I mean besides us."
The Doctor jumped up in shock. "What do you mean?!"
"I'm getting all sorts of readings, all over the universe," Jenny told him, pointing to her watch.
"Does that mean..." the Doctor hardly dared hope. "Does that mean we can find them?"
"We can certainly try," Jenny told him. "So," she said, smiling eagerly, "you ready?"
"You bet," said the Doctor, going to the console.
"Wait!" Jenny said, and the Doctor turned to face her. "Can I drive?"
"Do you even have a liscence?"
"Do you?"
The Doctor sighed. "Oh, all right, but if you get us lost or hurt or anything like that..."
"I won't," Jenny insisted, flipping switches.
"...it will be your fault."
"You don't need to worry about me, Daddy. I'm perfectly capable."

What ensued was a rather rough ride, but the Doctor restrained his chastisement, as they did reach their destination safely.
"So, where are we?" the Doctor asked, walking to the door.
"I don't know," Jenny admitted. "I just punched in the coordinates on the watch; I don't know what they mean. Why don't we find out?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and grinning.
"You first," the Doctor said.
***
Arthur honestly didn't know how he survived these council meetings. Oh, right - he had Merlin. They would always make faces at each other across the round table. In anyone else, such behavior would be frowned upon, but Arthur was the king, so nobody could stop him. And Merlin was the Court Warlock (Arthur had wanted to call him the Court Sorcerer, but Merlin had insisted on "Warlock" as it was the correct term), so he was an important person, too. Even with the incessant face-making, Arthur was getting bored out of his mind. But he didn't have to be. Not for long, anyway.

A whooshing sound got the attention of the council members. The man who had been speaking stopped midsentence. They all turned to find the source of the noise - and saw a strange blue box materialize.

"Sorcery!" a council member cried.
"You do remember that sorcery is legal now, I hope."
"Oh," the man said sheepishly. They could have gotten into an argument about the controversy of that decision (it was a rather frequent occurrence; Merlin wondered that Arthur didn't just fire all the magic-haters, but Arthur insisted that he couldn't just get rid of all who opposed him), but thankfully they were interrupted again.

Jenny stepped out tentatively, looking around. She gasped and her eyes went wide. All the things that she had meant to say disappeared with the realization that she was here with King Arthur, and Merlin!
"Greetings, fair maiden!" said Arthur, breaking the silence. "What brings you here, and how did you come? Camelot could make great use of such magic." Jenny opened her mouth, but was still too startled to speak. "Are you mute, milady? Can you perhaps write for us, that we may know what you desire to say?"
"Oh, she can speak just fine, she's just a little nervous," the Doctor said, stepping out of the TARDIS. After a few seconds, he realized who he was meeting, and wonder struck him.
"You seem surprised to see us. Have you not heard of Camelot?"
"Oh, give them a break, Arthur," Merlin broke in. Arthur glared at Merlin, but said nothing. "Sorry about him, he's still not used to visitors. I'm Merlin, by the way," he said, shaking the travelers' hands.

"But... you're so young!" Jenny said.
"Jenny, you've seen me; you can't honestly say..."
Jenny laughed. "Good point, Doctor." (she almost called him "Daddy", but thought better of it) Jenny shook Merlin's hand, then Arthur's. "I'm Jenny, and this is the Doctor. Sorry about uh... momentarily being unable to speak earlier. See, we have heard of Camelot... quite a lot, actually... and we were just surprised to actually get here." Jenny gave the Doctor a questioning look.
Picking up on the cue, the Doctor took over. "We are... travelers. We came from a long way. We are looking for someone, but we didn't know exactly who we were looking for, just that our... transportation would take us to them."
"What sort of person are you looking for?" asked Arthur suspiciously, gesturing for Gwaine and Percival to stand next to the "travelers" (just to be safe).
Jenny opened her mouth to speak, but the Doctor beat her to it. "I'm not sure you would know that of which we speak."
"Sorry, he's really condescending," Jenny whispered to Merlin.
"Trust me, I know the type," Merlin replied, looking at Arthur. Jenny giggled, until Arthur glared at the both of them.

"How can I know that of which you speak if you will not speak of it?" Arthur asked.
But before the Doctor could start with some lengthy circumlocution, Jenny spoke. "We're looking for a Time Lord." The room collectively gasped. "So you do know what a Time Lord is."
"Before we go any further," the Doctor interjected, "I should point out that we mean no harm. I am a Time Lord, and my daughter here is half-Time Lord, half-human." Jenny shot the Doctor a curious look.
"What do you want with this Time Lord?" Arthur asked, still suspicious."
"We are merely looking for our kin. Dad thought all his kind were gone, but I found otherwise. See, I got this sort of... locator thing... and it helps me find people with Time Lord DNA." She looked at their blank faces. "It helps me find other people like me and my dad." The confusion disappeared. The people of Camelot said nothing, unsure of what to do.

"Fine, I can do it this way, too," Jenny said, pressing a button on her watch. She walked around the room. She stopped when she reached Merlin. "Interesting reading, but not what we're looking for."
"I'm a warlock. I have magic," he said.
"Ah, that explains it," Jenny replied, smiling brightly.
"You... you don't hate me?" Merlin asked.
"Of course not! Why would I?" Jenny continued walking the room. She stopped again when she reached Arthur.
"Yes, it's me," Arthur acknowledged, standing up. "If you were looking for traveling companions, I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed."
Jenny shook her head. "That may be, but we are still delighted to have met you. Come, Daddy, we've got many more people to meet. He's not the only one giving off a signal, you know. We've got the whole universe!" She skipped towards the TARDIS, but she soon stopped. "Can I?" she asked the Doctor.
"Can you what?" Jenny leaned over and whispered in his ear. The Doctor's eyes widened and a smile crept onto his face. "Now why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you're all full of Time Lord pompousness with no human genius?"
"Careful, Jenny, I do believe they have stocks here, and I'm sure Arthur wouldn't mind if I wanted to put you in them for a little while," the Doctor said jokingly. Jenny just rolled her eyes and walked into the TARDIS.

"Isn't that a little small for the both of you?" Arthur asked.
"Oh, I'm sure they've got some sort of spell on it, Arthur," Merlin said. "It's probably bigger on the inside." The Doctor nodded, smiling.

Jenny returned a few minutes later with the psychic paper and a piece of parchment. She passed the parchment to Merlin. "Use this to communicate with us," she told him.
"What spell does it need?" he asked.
Jenny shook her head. "It's already got a magic on it. Just write on it, and it'll work. Try it now."
Merlin looked doubtful, but he dipped a quill in ink and wrote a message. Hello, Jenny. Nice to meet you. The ink disappeared from the parchment and the message appeared on the psychic paper. "And we can respond, too," Jenny said. "Nice to meet you, too, Merlin," she said, holding the psychic paper. (She said this only for effect; all she had to do was think it.) The message disappeared from the psychic paper and appeared on the parchment. "So if you ever need to get ahold of us - or just want to keep in touch - you know what to do." Merlin and Arthur nodded and smiled, and they waved as the Doctor and Jenny went into the TARDIS and disappeared.
***
"So, what do you think of Merlin?" Jenny asked.
The Doctor shrugged. "He seems like a decent man, I suppose. Why do you ask?" Jenny stared at him, as if the answer was obvious. "Oh! You're... you're in love with him?"
"Don't say that like it's shameful! Yes, I may possibly have a tiny bit of a crush. He's smart, gorgeous, magical (literally)..."
"Yes, I get the idea," the Doctor interrupted. "So who's next?"
"Isn't one love at a time enough?" Jenny asked. "Oh, you mean who's the next Time Lord?" She blushed.
"We're about to find out," Jenny said, turning dials.
"Can you try not to get us killed this time?" the Doctor asked.
"My driving was perfectly satisfactory," Jenny insisted.
"Yes, for a dead body!"
"Shut up!"
"Make me."
Jenny just rolled her eyes and kept working.

Fandom School (8th period): Fandom Abbreviations

Welcome to Fandom School! Before we dive into today's lesson, I'd like to point out that it's easy to catch up on previous Fandom School posts. Either go to the page labeled "Fandom School" (look on the top right) or click on the labels to the right. You can choose a specific subject, or you can just view all Fandom School posts. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, today's subject is fangirl language, and the topic is fandom abbreviations.

Do you see an abbreviation online and have no idea what it means? Some fandoms have shorter versions of their names so they are easy to refer to. Here are a few examples:

• AHS - American Horror Story
• DW - Doctor Who
• HIMYM - How I Met Your Mother
• LoTR - The Lord of the Rings trilogy (may include the Hobbit)
• OUAT - Once Upon A Time
• SPN - Supernatural

There are also general fandom abbreviations:

• AO3 - Archive of Our Own
• AU - Alternate Universe
• FF.net - fanfiction.net

This list was a lot shorter than I thought it would be... anyone have any suggestions to add?

Fandom Texts: Merlin Edition

So, I'm bringing back something I haven't done in a while, the Fandom Texts. These ones are from Merlin. Assume it to be Reincarnation era (i.e., Arthur has come back to the modern world as the Once and Future King). Arthur is clueless about the modern world, whereas Merlin has been living in it for ages.

Channel 5 (Merlin fanfiction): Chapter 18

This is the last chapter! If you're starting here, go back to chapter 1.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Destined2Bqueenofcamelot has entered the room
Fortheloveofcamelot has entered the room
Imthegreatestwarlock has entered the room
Lady_of_the_Lake has entered the room
Entertainment_at_Ealdor has entered the room
Destined2Bqueenofcamelot: Good news guys!
Imthegreatestwarlock: What is it?
Entertainment_at_Ealdor: Can I say it?
Destined2Bqueenofcamelot: No.
Lady_of_the_Lake: Go on then, don't leave them hanging!
Destined2Bqueenofcamelot: We've reached 1 million views!
Fortheloveofcamelot: YES!!!!!!!!!!!
Imthegreatestwarlock: Wait, does that mean...
Imthegreatestwarlock has left the room
Fortheloveofcamelot has left the room

Merlin, Arthur, and the rest of the cast were suddenly teleported into Morgana's office. It was rather small, so they were all squished together. Arthur and Merlin didn't seem to mind, though.
"We did it!" Arthur exclaimed, raising a fist into the air, accidentally punching Gwaine (who glared at Arthur and punched him back). Impulsively, Arthur grabbed Merlin and swooped him up into a kiss.
"So it wasn't an act, then," Gwen said, as if she had known all along (which she probably had).
"Oh, um... Arthur?"
"Yes, Morgana?"
"You should probably talk to Uther. He seems pretty angry. Oh, and bring Merlin."

"He's not a homophobe, is he?" Merlin asked as they walked to Uther's office.
"He used to be, but not anymore. I don't know what this could be about," Arthur said, confused. They held hands as they walked, and when they passed Vivian, she glared at him. "Good thing we finished filming that movie," Arthur said to Merlin.

Finally, they arrived at Uther's office. Arthur knocked on the door, and it swung open instantly.
"Sit down, both of you," Uther said. He looked a lot like the Uther in the TV programme. Arthur wondered if that was what this was about. Uther turned to Merlin. "Now then, your name is Merlin Emrys, correct?" Merlin nodded, trying not to show how terrified he was. "Why the hell are you not working for us?!"
"Well, um..."
"How much are they paying you?" Uther demanded.
"Actually, sir, with all due respect, that was just a special circumstance. I'm not actually an actor."
"You aren't?!" Uther asked incredulously.
"No, sir, I'm a computer programmer."
"Hm... I'm not sure if this is in your line of work, but do you know how to do special effects?"
"Sure."
"And you can do IT stuff?"
"That is kind of my job..."
"How would you like to work for me?"
"Um... I'm not sure..." Merlin shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"As a technician. If you come work for me, I'll pay you whatever your previous employer did, plus extra for any acting job you'd like to do. You're a fine actor, and we could use more like you. Of course, if you still want to do your regular computer stuff, you can work here part time."
Merlin's eyes widened. "Wow. I'll um... need some time to consider your offer, but I think I'll accept. It would be an honor to work here."
"Good. Now then, Arthur, may I speak with you alone?" Arthur nodded as Merlin walked out the door.

"You work very well with Merlin," Uther said. Arthur nodded. "And you do much better acting gay than acting straight."
"Well, that's because I am gay," Arthur pointed out.
"I know," Uther replied. "I'd like to put you in more gay films and programmes."
"I could also play a bisexual person."
"I'll take that into consideration. Now, about Merlin..."
"Yes?"
"Do you have... feelings for him?" Arthur nodded. "As I thought. I've noticed your chemistry with him on screen. You're good, but not that good." Arthur nodded again, wondering where this was going. "I've been thinking about putting you two in more programmes or films together, that is, if he accepts."
"I'd love that!"
"Arthur and Merlin. Yes, it certainly does have a nice ring to it. And by the way, to what 'special circumstance' do I owe this success? Your programme was exceptional."
Arthur thought for a moment. "Call it channel 5," he said at last.
Uther raised his coffee cup. "To channel 5."
Arthur nodded, raising his mug of tea. "To channel 5."

Channel 5 (Merlin fanfiction): Chapter 17

So, I kind of left you guys hanging with this one, since I posted the most recent chapter on December 19 and I still haven't finished it yet. Well, here's the penultimate chapter, and the last part of the story-within-a-story. If you're just reading this now, I recommend you go back to chapter 1 so you understand what's going on.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Arthur was in his flat, talking on the phone. "Hello, Father... yes, I know I don't call often, sorry... fine, fine, but can you let me get to what I called you about?... thank you. I'll take you up on your offer of lunch... yes, I know it's about time, now let me continue... and I'd like to bring someone with me... no, not a colleague... no, not a friend... yes, a date... right, I'm sure "she" will be glad to meet you... see you then." Arthur put down the phone and sighed in frustration. After a moment's thought, he picked it up again.

"Hi, Merlin!... yes, it's great to talk to you, too... yep, I know, that's what I'm calling about... he said yes... oh, and there's one thing... no, of course you don't like where this is going because he, well, he thinks you're a girl... no, of course I didn't tell him that! He just assumed, and I didn't dare correct him... yeah, so just be prepared for him to be a bit shocked... okay, more than a bit... if it gets too nasty, we can always just leave... yeah, I would, it's about time I stood up to him... okay, great. Love you, bye!"

Some time later, Merlin and Arthur appeared at Uther's doorstep. Merlin rang the doorbell, then ran to hide behind Arthur.
"It's not going to be that bad," Arthur said, rolling his eyes.
"Better safe than sorry," Merlin replied. Just then, Uther opened the door.
"Hello, Arthur, good to see you again. It's been so long since the last time," Uther said with a frosty demeanor thinly veiled by a false smile.
"Yes, the last time, when you all but disowned me for coming out as gay," Arthur muttered under his breath.
"So, where is she? Or did you invent a girlfriend again?" Uther asked in a disapproving tone, the smile disappearing.
"Oh no, my date's just a little shy." Arthur gently nudged Merlin, and when Merlin didn't respond, all but pushed him out into the open.
"Hi," Merlin said with a nervousness Arthur had never seen before. But then again, Uther was a rather formidable person.
"Arthur," Uther said, looking back and forth between the two of them, "unless I am very much mistaken, this is not a girl."
"No, father. I was going to correct you on the phone, but I didn't think you would listen."
"And what makes you think I'll listen now?" Uther asked, glaring. Merlin tried to hide again, but Arthur grabbed Merlin's hand and gave him a pleading look. "I have told you before that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated."
"What, being myself? I'm an adult, Uther, I'm allowed to do what I want. And I will always choose to be myself rather than fit the perfect cookie-cutter mold you've set out for me. Got it?"
"I'm a very reasonable person," Uther said, tension rising in his voice, "but this is one thing I will not accept. If you want to remain in my good graces, get rid of him." Uther pointed at Merlin in disgust.

"I have a name, you know!" Merlin said, finally speaking up. "My name is Merlin, and I am not some sort of "phase" or "toy" Arthur has, I'm a human being. But honestly, I don't care how you treat me. You're just some old-fashioned man who insists on being hostile to those around you. What I care about is how you treat Arthur. This is your own son! You raised him, and now you're telling him he doesn't have the right to make his own choices, that your desires matter more than his. You're talking to him like he's nothing, and nobody deserves that, especially someone who is your job to love and take care of. But guess what? He's an adult now. He doesn't need you. And I don't need you, either. We'll make it just fine on our own. It really doesn't matter what you think of us because we have each other, and that's what matters. But if you ever want your son to love and respect you, and if you ever want me to think of you as a decent human being, you will accept our choices. And in the meantime, we will spend our time with those who accept us as we are." Still holding Arthur's hand, Merlin turned and started walking away, leaving Uther speechless.

"I didn't know you had that in you," Arthur said, surprised.
"I didn't, either, I just got so angry!" Suddenly, Merlin was fighting to hold back tears.
"Sh, it's okay, like you said, he doesn't matter." Merlin nodded, but his eyes were still watering. "Just let it out. You'll feel better."
Merlin shook his head. "We're going to my mum's, right? If she sees me like this, she'll think you made me cry, and trust me, you don't want to see her get angry. Uther was bad enough."
"I thought you said she's nice?"
"Oh, she is," Merlin nodded, "but she can be very menacing when she gets all protective. Especially after... well, I guess I may as well tell you." Arthur nodded encouragingly. "My last boyfriend, Cenred... was very abusive. It was nasty."
"Oh," Arthur replied, not sure what to say.
"Anyway," Merlin said, quickly changing the subject, "I should call Mum so she knows we're coming."

Merlin pulled out his phone. "Hi, Mum!... yes, I am coming over, you know how I love your cooking... yes, yes, and your company, too - I thought that was a given... haha okay. Oh, and I have some exciting news for you... I have a new boyfriend... what? Oh, I nearly forgot about that... yeah, we'll do that first, and then we'll come over... don't be silly, Mum, of course he'll pass... yes, I'll call you back. Love you, bye!"
"Test?" Arthur asked. Now it was his turn to be nervous.
"Oh, um... after Cenred, my mate Will said that anybody I dated would have to pass his test. He just wants to make sure I won't get hurt again. You should be fine."
"Oh, okay," Arthur said, relaxing.

After lots of missed turns and confusing directions ("I knew I should have been the one to drive!" Merlin complained. "Well, we wouldn't have a problem if it weren't for your rubbish direction-giving skills!" Arthur insisted.), they finally arrived at Will's house. Will invited them in, eyeing Arthur warily. He was short (well, shorter than Merlin and Arthur, anyway), but he was still intimidating. Will looked at Arthur a while longer, sizing him up, then began with the questions.

"Name?"
"Arthur Pendragon."
"Pendragon? As in the huge law firm?"
"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Watch your tongue, Pendragon, or I'll fail you right now," Will warned Arthur. Arthur sighed. "If you're a Pendragon, that means you must be very rich."
"Yes."
"What are you doing with Merlin? Is he your boy toy?"
"Absolutely not!" Arthur was incredulous.
"Calm down, I'm just trying to look out for my friend." Merlin gave Arthur a sympathetic glance. "As you are in the public eye, I happen to know your previous dating experience. Arthur is your first boyfriend, correct?"
"Yes," Arthur said, now bored.
"Are you experimenting?" Arthur glared at Will and shook his head. "Very defensive... interesting..."
"You would be, too, if people kept assuming you of the worst possible motives!"
"I suppose. I'll just get straight to the point, then: have you ever hurt Merlin in any way?"
"No."
"Do you ever intend to hurt him?"
"Of course not!"
"Calm down, we're almost done. You really do need to watch your temper if you ever want to have a chance with Merlin. Last question: do you love Merlin?"
"Yes," Arthur said, full of conviction.
"And Merlin, do you love Arthur?" Merlin nodded and smiled. "Then I wish you both luck. And Arthur, if you ever hurt Merlin, you will have to answer to me. Understand?"
"Of course. Come on, Merlin, let's go to your mum's."

Having learned from their last fiasco, Merlin drove Arthur to his mother's house. They arrived in good time, and she opened the door and gave them a big smile.
"Hello, Merlin, good to see you as always. And you've brought your new boyfriend, I see. He passed the test?" Merlin nodded. "Lovely. Now then, why don't you two come in? I'm sure Merlin's told you of my legendary cooking skills."
Arthur laughed. "Yes, but we have yet to see if they hold up to his high praise."
"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself! I'm Merlin's mum, but you can call me Hunith."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hunith. My name is Arthur," he said, firmly shaking her hand. Merlin and Arthur went over to the table and Hunith started towards the kitchen. "So, is that it?" Arthur asked.
"Sorry, what?" Hunith replied, confused and slightly insulted.
"No criticism of my sexuality, no lengthy interrogation?"
"Oh, no," Hunith said, smiling. "If Merlin's happy with you, that's good enough for me. Well, and you passed Will's test. If he hadn't interrogated you, I likely would have, but there's no need to interrogate you twice." Arthur nodded, relaxing.
"See? I told you you'd like her!" Merlin said.
Arthur sighed. "I'm going to have to do a lot of admitting you're right, aren't I?"
"Of course!" Merlin answered smugly.
"Speaking of telling people they were right..."
"Oh my God, Gwaine and Gwen are going to gloat about this for ages!"
Arthur sighed. "Yeah, well anytime they talk too much, I'll just drown it out with thoughts about you."
"Or we could be sickeningly sweet."
"Or both," Arthur said, kissing Merlin.
"Both is good," Merlin agreed.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! One of the traditions for the new year is making resolutions. Most people don't keep those resolutions, but at least they try. With that in mind, here are my New Year's Resolutions.

• Spend less time on tumblr and more time on this blog. Specifically, I want to spend twice as much time on my blog as I do on tumblr. I found a google chrome extension that tracks how much time I spend on websites (leaving a tab open while you're on another website doesn't count), so I can hold myself accountable.
• When I am on tumblr, spend less time liking/reblogging and more time creating original content.
• Spend 30 minutes each day writing my story. Yes, I recently started writing an original story (i.e., not fanfiction). I'm not giving details right now because 1) I don't want my idea to get stolen and 2) I'm not very far in, so details may change significantly. (If you really want details, you can message me in a private post on Google+.)
• Practice my French Horn more. In each practice session, I'll spend 10 minutes on scales, 30 minutes on concert music, 5 minutes on sight reading, 5 minutes on technical stuff, and 10 minutes on music for fun. (I'll also spend time on SmartMusic, if I have any to do, which will vary depending on the difficulty of the music.) I will have at least 3 practice sessions a week.
• Do what I can to decrease prejudice (racism, sexism, etc.) in myself and others. This may include keeping up to date with news about social issues, writing about social issues (on tumblr, twitter, etc.), engaging in discussions with others, and donating time or money to organizations that will decrease prejudice.
• Be more cheerful. This one is going to be really hard, but I'll try.
• Save up money to go see Les Misérables live (this may take more than a year). I'll need to save up a lot because tickets are expensive and it will also cost money to get to a place that shows Les Misérables.
• In order to achieve the previous goal, I resolve to get a job (my first job. How exciting!).
• Walk 2 miles a day. My sister resolved to walk 4 miles a day, so I just have to walk with her half the way.
• Write more letters. Yes, letters. On pencil and paper. They're much more personal and also more exciting for the person receiving them.
• Write more poetry. Especially for other people.
• Compliment people more.

So, that's what I've got for now. What are your resolutions?

UPDATE: It is now June. Let's see how I've done.

• Haha no. I still spend too much time on tumblr.
• Yeah also no.
• No, but I have made progress on my story. I write as inspiration strikes.
• Haha that definitely didn't happen.
• I do that every day.
• Maybe a little, but probably no.
• GOAL ACHIEVED! I have more than enough money.
• GOAL ACHIEVED! I work at a pizza place.
• Yeah no I'm still a couch potato.
• Eh not really.
• Didn't happen.
• Also didn't happen.

Conclusion: I'm pretty bad at fulfilling New Year's resolutions.