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Good to know how much we don't know

I don't think I've ever known a time in Doctor Who fandom where so many assumptions were made so strongly and believed by so many. So here's a quick FAQ about the current state of the show:

Will Disney renew their deal to co-produce Doctor Who?

We don't know.

Disney usually wait until 1-3 months after a show has finished airing before confirming a renewal. They have renewed a few shows earlier - when they've been a massive hit, or in order to start production early to get a special ready for Christmas - but 1-3 months is the norm.

Were Disney happy with the Gatwa episodes?

We don't know.

We don't even know their metric for success. Number of viewers? Number of new subscribers? Critical acclaim?

Disney didn't renew Andor beyond its second season, even though the show's been hugely acclaimed. Indeed, Disney have pulled the plug on several shows - the streaming landscape has changed a lot since the original Doctor Who deal, with most streamers tightening their belts.

Did Ncuti Gatwa quit because of uncertainty about the show's future?

We don't know.

People quit their jobs for all sorts of reasons. Usually, there's more than one reason.

Would Ncuti Gatwa have stayed if Disney had renewed early?

We don't know.

It is possible. Gatwa's contract was with Bad Wolf, not Disney. The contract might have been for three years, as with other modern Doctors - in which case he'd have still been under contract if they'd started filming a third series in time.

But this is speculation, since we don't know what was in the contract.

Did Ncuti Gatwa fall out with Russell T Davies?

We don't know.

It's interesting to me that Davies was present on set for Gatwa's final shoot. He wasn't present for Eccleston's. But this may mean nothing. It's also - of course - none of our fucking business.

Did the final episode originally have a drastically different ending?

We don't know.

We do know a week of additional shooting was added in February.

This isn't unusual. Extra shooting also occurred for The Church on Ruby Road (the scene where the Doctor saves a baby from an inflatable snowman) and The Robot Revolution (the scene where we meet Belinda's housemates).

One possibility is that, counter-intuitively, filming more material might actually save money. There are tax breaks in the UK for episodes of television that cost a certain amount - so spending a little extra to meet the threshold might save a larger sum in tax.

We don't know what was in the final episode. Behind-the-scenes show Doctor Who Unleashed featured a scene that wasn't in the final episode - a party at UNIT HQ - but it's limited data.

Has the BBC cancelled Doctor Who?

No.

British TV has never worked like American network TV, so "cancellation" isn't the right word. The BBC haven't yet commissioned new Doctor Who - and can't do until Disney decide whether to co-produce. Whether it's a yes or no from Disney, nothing further can be commissioned until the answer comes.

Will a different streaming service co-fund Doctor Who?

We don't know.

If Disney turn it down, though, it seems like a safe bet. Disney Plus is a massive platform - Doctor Who is a drop in the ocean of their shows. A smaller streamer might see more value in Doctor Who.

If X people will subscribe to a service just for Doctor Who, it's a question of how much each service cares about the number X. Disney's one of the services that needs X subscribers the least.

Doctor Who has two advantages in 2025 that it didn't have in 2022, when the last deal was made:

Firstly, the rights to stream the Eccleston to Whittaker eras in the US are about to revert to the BBC from HBO Max. Streamers love catalogue shows (i.e. shows with loads of episodes, like Friends and Star Trek), so that's a great package to sweeten the deal of a co-production. Pay for 26 episodes, get 175 free.

Secondly, the BBC are developing a children's cartoon version of Doctor Who aimed at -year-olds - with exactly the same format as Bluey, one of the biggest ever successes on streaming. Bearing in mind the BBC co-produced Bluey, this seems like a very attractive show to offer any streaming service willing to fund the main show.

Indeed, this seems so good to me that even if Disney weren't originally going to renew, this might tempt them to change their minds.

Is Billie Piper playing the new Doctor?

We don't know.

It looks like she is! That's usually what it means when one Doctor regenerates into a different actor. But unlike with Tennant in 2022, Piper isn't credited as the Doctor, and neither has there been a press release confirming her as the Sixteenth Doctor.

Why hasn't the BBC confirmed Billie Piper's role?

We don't know.

Maybe they don't want the news to be overshadowed by negative press attention to the future of the show. Maybe production company Bad Wolf wants an air of mystery and intrigue around Piper's role. Maybe she isn't playing the Doctor in some way. Maybe there's a reason we haven't considered.

Will Russell T Davies be showrunner for the next series of Doctor Who?

We don't know.

We don't know anything - and it's possible nobody does. Davies has said that Bad Wolf has plans ("it's our job to have plans").

I do think it's likely the BBC will keep Bad Wolf and Davies if possible. If nothing else, there isn't a long list of companies who can make this show, or showrunners of Davies's experience and acclaim who want to make this show.

Why are people behaving as though they know all the answers to all these questions if we don't actually know them?

I don't know.

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Sam Wilson being a polyglot.

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The whole interview with 29-year-old-goofball Chris is at:

https://deadline.com/2025/07/rege-jean-page-funny-you-should-ask-apple-series-1236451517/ aside from the quality perspectives, a Chris fanfiction turned into a book making it on screen immediately develops into an Evanstan scenario for me: Sebastian being the journalist, having a crush on Chris, wearing glasses, chewing on his pen *my phone tried to type it as penis instead of pen, shhh, that's later!*, listening to Chris' every word during their interview sessions, etc🔥

First of all: holy shit. I wasn't even aware of this book, or the fact that it was inspired by That Interview, let alone the fact that it was going to be turned into a series (starring one of Chris's former co-stars, no less 😅) That's wild! I just found this Substack article about it from a couple of years back which was very enlightening, for anyone who's interested...

Second of all: I 1000% feel you, this is such a perfect Evanstan AU scenario. In fact, there actually is a great Evanstan AU based on that interview! But there can never be enough!!! And I love your ideas about journalist Sebastian with a crush, trying to stay professional but swooning (though hopefully not chewing on his penis 😂) It's such an appealing thought, I like it very much, thank you!!

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ALTERED CARBON 2.01 | "Phantom Lady"

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May 2009, 3 digits (I was just following my friends)

Just updated my Ao3 profile and realised it’s old enough to legally drive in the US. 😂

Got it in March 2010 and the user ID is four digits long.

Reblog with when you got your Ao3 account and how long your user ID is.

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Sebastian Stan para British GQ, 2021.

Fotografias por Daisy Edgar-Jones.

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Deprecating New XKit

Hi all, it's been a while!

tl;dr: You should use XKit Rewritten, it's new, shiny, and getting consistent updates. Get it from here: https://addons.tumblr.com/post/661324873572974592/xkit-rewritten. If you want to customize the appearance of Tumblr you should use the built-in settings or Palettes for Tumblr. You shouldn't rely on New XKit, it's old and busted.

Around four years ago, April, a core contributor to New XKit, started the XKit Rewritten and wider @addons projects to create a modern alternative to the already somewhat moldy New XKit. This was with our complete support, and many members of the New XKit team now also help out with XKit Rewritten and other addons.

Chrome and Firefox have both phased out support for older extensions, requiring challenging workarounds to install New XKit. It's become very clear that anyone who is still using New XKit would really have a better time using XKit Rewritten, Palettes and Outbox for Tumblr, and the couple XKit-inspired core Tumblr features.

If you continue to use New XKit for some key part of your Tumblr workflow be warned that it's past the end of its digital lifespan. Despite the name, New XKit is a crumbling old cathedral. You can still walk around in it if you really want to, but it has been fenced off for safety and a brick might fall on your head.

One key difference we'd like to highlight is that XKit Rewritten intentionally doesn't have a Blacklist feature, leaving it to Tumblr's native post filtering functionality. If you still need the specific functionality of New XKit's Blacklist, you can keep it installed alongside XKit Rewritten. Click here for a list of other frequently asked questions.

To summarize: Get XKit Rewritten here: https://addons.tumblr.com/post/661324873572974592/xkit-rewritten. It's like New XKit but designed for modern Tumblr and consistently updated. New XKit will still be around for anyone who really needs it but is a much buggier experience.

Thank you all very much for using New XKit! On behalf of the whole team it's been a great time with all of you here on [tumblr].

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Dangers of working on a set.

That’s what I said.

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Our Flag Means Death Season 2 - one gif per episode (with the first gif from their first scene and the last gif from their last scene) | Zheng Yi Sao

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All civil rights and liberation movements everywhere made even their allies uncomfortable, embarrassed, defensive and angry. Many of them damaged property and even hurt people. Not nearly as much as the oppressed people suffered.

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Both beautiful and fun to watch!

KIKI LAYNE as NILE FREEMAN The Old Guard 2 (2025) dir. Victoria Mahoney

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Cutaway of a Spanish Galleon, 16th century, by Stephen Biesty

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Archiving Services Offered!

Do you want to make order out of chaos beyond tags? Maybe move certain posts to a blog, or organize them for an ebook? Or maybe just have a redundancy in place in case this hell site shits the bed or gets acquired?

I will do that thing!

Posts, media, comments, etc. - whatever you want to preserve, I will do it, and I can work with almost any budget.

Organizing information has been a large part of my life, and I'd like to offer my services to preserve the things that are important to you.

This is a paid service, starting at $25 USD for a small project.

Drop me a line if you are interested.

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Unexpected history of successful regulation yay!

The undisputed best group bar none from Pride in London -- the Rail Safety and Standards Board.

They were right after the Furries.

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Okay. This is going to sound hopeless at first but it really isn't. I want people to protect themselves, and in doing so, defy fascism and Christian nationalists and complicit Republicans. And then, once they are protected, they will be able to help protect others.

It has been clear for a while that Republicans have stopped even pretending to care about us. So first of all, I want you to turn your back on them like they have turned their backs on us.

Change parties if you are registered to vote as Republican. Even if you hate Dems. Go Independent (unless you are in a state that requires you to be Dem or Rep to vote in a primary. Primaries especially matter right now). Do not ask them for anything. Do not watch their press conferences etc. Ditto for the president. You can get news about him elsewhere. Don't give him direct attention or ratings. He hates low ratings.

Look into any opposition they have in your area. Be it a direct opponent in a race or a Dem governor up for election or a state seat or whatever, and start campaigning for them. (This can mean even just following them on social media and liking or sharing their posts.) If your Dem rep is also awful, quite frankly, do the same to them. If you have a Dem rep you like and support, then also follow them and campaign for them.

MEANWHILE, a lot of provisions of this horrible bill (if it passes.......) take a while to kick in. So here is the preparation part. Act as if the worst version of it will pass and make all plans accordingly.

1) go see your doctor for every preventative care measure you can. Dentist and eye doctor too if possible. Start using mouthwash with fluoride and flossing regularly if you don't. Genuinely. They are removing health care *and* fluoridated water in some places. Protect yourselves. Remember that they want you sick or dead, and fuck them for that. You are gonna live, bitch. Get all the vaccinations you can while they are still covered. Get new glasses this or next year if you need them. Get the mammograms and colonoscopies and pap smears. All of it.

2) follow the American Medical Association on youtube if you want updates about outbreaks or food contamination or vaccines.

3) start some sort of exercise program if you can. Not to lose weight. Because it is genuinely good for you. Even just stretches are good!

4) stop vaping or smoking. It will save you money. But also it's killing you.

Other stuff to protect yourself and others:

Get your finances in order. Yes. Even the broke people.

You can do this in a series of steps, the first of which is STOP USING BUY NOW PAY LATER. Only spend money you actually have.

Republicans even before this murder bill relaxed a bunch of consumer protections, especially for banks and credit cards. Because they hate you. So you are not going to let them play in your face like that.

Again. Do not spend money you do not have.

Credit cards are sometimes necessary but they now frequently offer low APRs at first and then a year or two in, start charging insanely high interest. Watch your card. Use it sparingly. Pay it off every month. Credit scores dip because of this, because banks hate it. But fuck 'em. Your credit score will be good still, just not "perfect." Good credit scores, dumb as the concept is, help you get approved for loans or renting.

Get overdraft protection on your accounts, including alerts. Get theft alerts as well.

Get a savings account if you don't have one.

If your bank charges you for that, look into a local reputable credit union. They will often let you have multiple accounts for no extra charge as long as you have a minimum balance in one of them. My credit union only asks for 100$ in my checking account.

Credit unions also have other benefits, sometimes including car loans at better rates than from a dealership, or minimal life insurance for members, or access to better interest rates in savings than many large banks offer.

--large banks have decent ish rates for people with lots of $ in their accounts. That is not most of us.

Start regularly putting money into your savings account. Then, when it has funds in it, look into a High Yield Savings Account or a Money Market Account. Again, most likely through the credit union, which usually have lower minimums to open such accounts compared to the large banks.

Find what works for you, but these sorts of accounts are ways to grow your money into an emergency fund. Like if you say, had a medical emergency, or needed to move states for work or your safety.

If you don't have an emergency, you are still saving money. Yay! Money will help protect you and those around you. Boo capitalism but yay some financial security!

You can invest, but for that, talk to someone knowledgeable and do not fall for speculations. (If someone says you will get rich quick, odds are, you won't. It is possible. But usually for smaller investors, no, you won't. But there are slower investments that work for some people if you are willing to wait. But any investment still holds the possibility of loss. Remember that.)

Get an accountant if you can afford one. Do not pay any more in federal taxes than you need to. Because fuck these people.

These suggestions are just things for people to look into for some financial security. Do research before you do anything. But definitely try to save money. Even 5 dollars a month will eventually add up.

Get a Health Savings Account. Again, check out a credit union for this. HSAs are accounts you put money into--which is a tax write-off. You then spend that $ on medical purchases (which can include co-pays, canes, meds, period panties, glasses and the like.) This is also a tax benefit. If you have a high deductible health insurance plan (like most poors), you should be eligible.

Even if you just save money for a while--take a few months of no streaming services or no food delivery-- if you put that into a savings account, it will start to make you money. This is part of what rich people do (though on a smaller scale). You take money and you turn it into more money. The more money, the more interest you get. Which is more money.

Next up. Register to vote. Now, if you haven't before. And start getting your Real ID if you haven't yet. And a passport if you can afford it.

Start cutting back spending now if you haven't already. Still have fun. Still live your life. But learn to budget.

If you live with family or chill roommates, get a Costco card if you live near one. The basic one is 65$ a year, but it is good for two people in the same household. You get cheaper bulk food, cheaper meds (for you and for pets), and Costco glasses are so far the cheapest (but good quality) that I have found. Better than Walmart. Costco also sells Plan B. Woop!

And, if you are LGBTQ and married or have an awful family, look into your legal rights distinct from the marriage license. Get a will. (Fees and requirements vary from state to state. But you can legally leave your estate to anyone you fucking want to.) Take care of an Advance Care Directive through your medical provider (who do you want making medical decisions for you if you can't). Look into Medical Power of Attorney forms if you want to be even more secure.

Get ready. No panicking. Stay strong. Do not let the bastards grind you down.

(And please stop vaping. We didn't work all through the 80s and 90s to get tobacco companies to pay just for you all to start handing them your money and lives again.)

(And get a library card!!)

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Isaiah went from "why is this kid even here" to spending time with Joaquin willingly. Joaquin wasn't wrong when he said "he's gonna love me, bro".

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SIMU LIU Photographed by Emmanuel Giraud for Man About Town China