#Doctors got reunited with companions

[expectiations]

No, because imagine this.

The 70th anniversary rolls around.

We get a Tales of the TARDIS season (series?) 2.

We get Christopher, David, Matt, Peter, and Jodie.

They get closure or 'therapy' or something.

[mimiteyy]

HI AGAIN DAVID

[freuleinanna]

wake up honey dropping a doctor who theory here. bear with me, i'm not just crying over 14 and donna, i think it actually holds!!

so, bi-generation. okay. 15 popping out in his therapized glory. so basically, i don't think he just pushed all trauma to 14 and moved on. 15 is actually post-14. meaning, he has lived that life at the same time as he continued living his own life.

remember 13 looked into Time and got split into three? yeah, that. she was in three places simultaneously. her consciousness was, at least. what can't 14, what that recent knowledge, subconsciously do the same? he's just experienced that, and he's still running on regeneration jiuce. worth mentioning, the dude (gender neutral) had a piss with Time his whole life. looking into Vortex, diving into Time itself... the doctor is not disintegrating per se, but can, as proven, survive being split. why not let one part of him live longer?

so he does. he finds home in donna and her family. he's doing whatever the hell. squinting over sci fi books, getting whupped for accidentally buying non-vegan milk for rose ("you said the orange cartbox with stripes!!!" "A STRIPE! WITH A STRIPE! CAN'T TIME LORDS COUNT, YOU DUMBO?!").

having the most difficult heart-to-hearts with his best friend, finally telling her about his companions, the master, the flux. crying, grieving, healing.

looking up at a spaceship torpedoing into the ground and saying "that's a future me problem", dealing cards to donna because it's poker night. and donna is a bit surprised, how easily he let that go, and he just smiles, and holds her hand, and kisses her knuckles gently. and it's alright. "there'll be time for that," he says.

and then they both grow old. and 14 ages. and i don't know if donna dies first or not, it's unimportant. maybe the night she dies it happens. 14 grieves, and cries some more, and says goodbyes. he calls his favorite niece, and when all is said and done, he's ready.

only he isn't about to die, because his essence has to reunite. this part of him has been away for a very long time, and it was the happiest time ever, but he has to be restored. just like 13 had to collect shards of herself back into one, so does 14.

the very particles of his being are reuniting, and it feels like spreading, or travelling, and his silly poetic mind is pleased with the sensation... only to feel regeneration coming full tide, and suddenly he's back on the roof, looking at himself.

"no way!" "will somebody tell me what the hell is going on?!"

but the thing is, he didn't get split at that moment like we think. he got back together. bi-generation. two regenerations happened at the same time, looped one into another. 14 regenerated twice.

and now, now he watches himself exhausted and broken, and he can let himself go. he can sincerely say that it's going to be alright, because he knows it is. donna is right there. she'll take him home.

and he can continue on his way.

[biggestsimp12]

Let me show you how much i've missed you.

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

(this has been sitting in my drafts for a week now =w=)

! HUGE SPOILERS (sumeru quest)!

(angst with fluff at the end)

(Wanted to do this in 2 parts but scratch that)

---------------————————

You were finally free. You finally escaped that cursed place once and forever.

You ran as screams of terror and agony could be heard behind you, slowly fading away.

Flashbacks from previous minutes floaded your mind, ringing in your brain over and over again.

--

You were captured and selled by some mora-thirst people to a psychopatic inazumian scientist. They kept experimenting your powers, trying to create changes wich caused you extreme pain, yet little to no change. The scientist took advantage of your immortality to insert all sorts of chemicals in your blood. While he was preparing another dose for one of his endless experiments on you, he accidentally dropped one of his glass tube, causing a big explosion to occur. Creating a sheild around you, you covered your eyes, loud noises echoing through the room. Smoke started to fill your senses, taking your hands off your eyes, watching in horror the sight in front of you. The whole lab was on fire, quickly devouring every inch of the building. Your eyes landed on the trapped figure in front of you. The scientist was being crushed almost to death by thick metal bar. Seeing you staring at him, he ordered you to help. Receiving no answer, he repeated once more, his command turning to pleading to desperately begging you to help him as fire quickly made its way to him. You looked at him almost in a pity full way, heading to the exit, the key word being almost. You started running out hearing your torturers cries for you not to.

--

You stopped at the only place you knew by heart. Or at least, used to. The chinju forest.

You sat down by a tree trying to catch your breath. You looked down at your freshly cut feet, all covered in blood. You must have cut yourself on the tons of broken glass left in the lab due to the explosion.

You slowly made your way to the small river, sitting down at its edge. You gently washed your feet wincing in pain when touching a deeper cut.

Your only goul now was to reunite with him once more.

-----------———————

Present day (before Nahida ereased everyones memories)

————————-----------

You don't know how much it passed. One century? Maybe 2, 3, 4? You had no idea. Your worst fear was statring to become true. What if you'll never see him again? What if he was dead? Even if not, did he still love you as much as you did? What if he wasn't the same? (even if he wasn't, you'll still accept him either way) Your thoughts were interrupted by bumping into something. Wait no. Someone.

Hey, watch where you're going! A high pitched fairy said, staring at you as you were some kind of criminal.

I'm deeply sorry little floating gi-

Oh no! *I think they look like some fatui! Yikes, not again!* Wait.. Did you just call me floating little girl!? The blonde girl/boy beside her started laughing at her little floating companions change of attitude. The blonde one looked at you, analyzing you as well.

Paimon, i don't fatuis have such type of masks. Besides they don't look like they did it on purpose.

What are fatuis?

They both stared at you in shock as if you just said that you got a bomb and its about to explode.

How could you not know what fatuis are?! Have you been living under a rock!?

Uhm could you stop yelling? I'm right beside you.

Sorry for her. She can over react some times. I'm Aether /Lumine and this is Paimon. Now, do you seriously do not know who the fatui are?

Y/N, nice to meet you. And no i haven't. Could you explain it to me? If you don't mind of course.

Of course we don't!

Ooh~ Paimon wants to tell them! Can i, please, please, please, please, pleaseeee?

------------—————

After exchanging both pasts and explaining about the fatuis

————————------

Yeah! And theres a scary doctor whos experimenting people and! and!

You frowned as you heard the word "experiment", bad memories floading your head. Paimon took notice of this as she started apologizing.

Oh, i'm sorry! Paimon didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!

You looked up at the small fairy beside you, giving her a weak smile.

Don't worry that was hundred of years ago. I'm glad there's someone who understands how i feel. I'm deeply sorry Lumine/Aether. I did see a girl/boy similar to you but that was a long time ago. Did you at least get to see her/him again?

One or two times. Yet she/he was so different than when we used to travel together. What about you? Have you gotten to see this person?

Your smile faded as you sighed.

I wish i did, he was such a sweetheart. It broke my heart seeing him cry like that while we got separated. Before they knocked me out i screamed a promise.

You smiled again looking down at your feet.

What promise did you make?

Paimon looked at you, captured by your story. You laughed at her cuteness, remembering your promise perfectly.

"I promise i'll search for you darling. No matter how bad the weather or bad the health, i'll always be searching. Our love shall never die, for i be forever searching, nobody can tear our love apart and i shall never lie."

Waaah (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ Paimon thinks this is so sweet! What if you don't see him again??

The little floating girl said, hugging you tightly.

Don't worry Paimon. I haven't given up yet. He must somewhere in this world. If not i'll start traveling the worlds for him.

You said trying to get your hopes up. In reality you had no idea where he could be. You did in fact travel multiple worlds only to be stuck at the start line back in teyvat. You sighed, changing the subject to enlighten the mood.

After deciding to join them in their journey, you both made your way to the Sumeru City.

--------————

Timeskip after saving Nahida

————--------

Woah... Who would've thought there's place like this hidden right slap bang in the middle of the city!

The sages wanted to realize their god creation plan without being discovered. The safest and most convenient way would be to build within the Akademiya itself.

They are already hiding a god, so why not 2?

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion. What was this all fatui thing and fake god that they were talking about? If so, how come you never heard about them? Your thoughts were interrupted when Paimon spoke again.

Paimon knows that he was a prototype puppet for the Raiden Shogun before he became a Fatui Harbinger...

You stare at Paimon in shock. Did they know him all along? How come they never told you about this? Yeah the traveler said he/she had some vision about the Balladeer but they never told who he actually was. All these questions swelling up in your head made you furious yet sad at the same time.

You 2 sure seem to know about him quite well. Yet there is a certain person who has more knowledge about him and his past. In fact they were very close for that matter.

The traveler and Paimon looked confused at Nahida. The little elf like archon took your hand before speaking.

Y/N. I know you were searching him for a long time. Could you tell us what you know about him?

Wait.. Y/N!? The person you were searching is him?! But how!? When you were talking about him, he sounded so nice and sweet! He's literally nothing close that! He is an arrogant little-

Paimon, please do not jump to conclusions. We do not what occured in his life to change his behavior like that. So Y/N. How did you exactly meet?

Well.. I was walking through chinju forest when i heard something. I started investigating, trying to find the source of it when i tripped and fell into the water. A figure approached me asking me if i was alright. It was a boy in a white strange yet beautiful outfit. I stared at him for a while. His whole feauters didn't look much human. He looked like those gorgeous puppets you see in the kid theaters. He landed me his hand and hesitantly took it. Later on i learned his name and how he got there-

Oh so scaramouche right?

Paimon it is impolite to interrupt someone.

Nahida looked at Paimon, scolding her.

No its alright. His name isn't Scaramouche. Or at least it wasn't when i met him. He told me to call him Kunikuzushi.

After that i invited him to live with me, since he didn't have anywhere else to go. We then fell in love but it didn't last long due to those horrible people that took me. From that day on i never saw him at least once. What happend to him after is still unkown to me.

You finished with a sigh looking down at the little archon in front of you.

She nodded, putting her hand on her chin in a thinking way.

It seems that the occurrence of this events damaged both of your physical and mental health, on your side as much as his. We need to be as careful as possible when approaching him. We don't know what type of manifestation we will get out of him. Now, without further ado, our time is pretty much limited just like a candle on fire. Let's go.

------———

Mini time skip

———------

Looking at its operational status, we must prepare for the worst. The god they wanted to create... is likely close to completion, or already completed.

Paimon floated behind you pushing you forward gently.

If someone should go first it should be Y/N right? No offense Y/N but it's your lover.

You sighed looking at the little scared girl behind you.

As much i would love to talk to him, i don't think he would listen.

Y/N is right. We can't just burst all that Information like that. It could disadvantage us in battle strategy but also cooperation with him. I'm curious of what our fate may be. To me, everything we perceive in this world, everything we learn, and everything that happens to us is considered knowledge. However, only fate is about that which has yet to occur, so it has always drawn my curiosity. So to me, "fate" is the ultimate knowledge.

And now, at long last, I'm not just an observer anymore.

I will personally experience my own fate, with you by my side. Hehe, isn't this such a wonderfully exciting thing?

The dendro archon smiled at you three, closing her eyes. Okay, let's continue on. I can sense "his" aura from here... You watched in disbelief at the sight that standed before your eyes as you made your way further. It was in fact the boy you've been desperate to find again yet.. He looked so different.. So, lifeless.

Nahida used her magic as the blue haired boy had awoken.

The robot copied the puppets moves, making a strong wind.

The boy smiled scanning the sight before him.

Who would have thought... The world would be so eager for my "birth"

I remember you

The boy said looking at Nahida

Buer, the God of Wisdom... And standing beside you the Traveler

He said as his eyes finally reach you

And...

His eyes widened, facade dropping a little then going back on.

My.. My, what do we have here? Honestly i didn't think you'll have the guts to show yourself before me after cruelly abandoning me like that. I see you've changed. But dear so did i.

He said, venom within his words.

You watched him, tears welling in your eyes. Voice trapped in your throat, you could only watch him spitting his point of view of the past that you once shared. He did in fact change. You could see the actual Kunikuzushi behind. He was not evil, just hurt. And you knew it.

The Balladeer has already become a god...?

You listened to the conversation Paimon and Nahida had behind you.

"The Balladeer" A long bygone title..

When my spirit ascended to divinity

I felt as if I had existed for the same number of epochs as heaven and earth

Looking back

The existence of what once called itself "Kunikuzushi" appears infinitely small... and ugly

You couldn't believe what was happening right now. This was all your fault. If you knew how to fight that day, none of this events would have existed now. Seeing your uneasy state Nahida took your hand and spoke.

None if these are your fault Y/N. Life has its ups and downs that seem to affect not just human lifes, but immortal creatures both in good and bad ways as well. Everyone creates and has his own destiny. And now, you choose if you want to make a change or not.

Nahida said, looking up the "god" in front of you.

What a cute yet pathetic little speech. You should know that wisdom cannot solve every problem. Like now, where your only option is to face me in combat.

Come.. Let us reenact a scene of the Archon War. Come and inaugurate my birth as a god.

The traveler raised his/her sword as the battle begin

---———

You helped Aether/Lumine get up, watching the giant robot collapse.

Humans... filthy humans...!

The "god" spitted out, not wanting to accept defeat. The small archon flew closer to him, using her magic to take his gnosis. Noticing this the boy started panicking, looking at Nahida desperately.

No! Please! Anything but the gnosis..!

The boy begged, breaking the bots face plate.

That's mine! Don't even try..!

He said trying to hold a grasp of the gnosis, Wires slowly breaking behind him.

I'll..! I'll never go back!

He gave you a small glance, a desperate look on his face. Your heart only could ache at the sight of him being so hurt.

Y/N plea-

Before the boy could finished Nahida reached his gnosis, wires finally breaking, proceeding to make him fall, a lifeless look on his growing bigger by each second. You quickly rushed into catching him, fear rushing through your blood as you used your powers to create a sheild bubble around you 2. You watched his features as you slowly floated your way to the ground. You hugged him, visible tears running down your face. Nahida landed beside you giving you a sympathy look after returning to the traveler.

We haven't yet found the answer to the most important mystery.

Irminsul is still waiting to be saved.

------———

Time skip after Nahida ereased everyones memories

———------

You were not sure why you were crying a moment before just now. The traveler and Paimon exchanged looks before Paimon asked.

Do you remember what happend at the academia?

You gave Paimon a confused look before thinking at the previous events these days. Confused you told Paimon what you knew.

Uh.. We saved Nahida and sumeru. Why?

Paimon gave you a shocked expression.

Do you seriously not remember him??

Am i missing something?

You asked clearly confused.

You were searching for him remember?? You guys promised to search for each other! We just fought with him! You have to remember!

I think we should leave them alone Paimon.. Its not going to work if you press them like that. Let's go...

Aether/Lumine whispered to the little fairy.

Y/N we have to go. See you around!

Bye..?

---———

You walked around the Sumeru City, making some groceries. It's been a week since you and the traveler saved the irminsul. Something was missing yet you couldn't quite catch what. Paimons words from previous weeks ringed through your head, trying to find the answer to your curiosity.

Hey Y/N, over here!

You turned around to see Paimon and the traveler. Beside them there was another person facing another derection.

This is ridiculous.

Paimon pushed the big hat boy further giving him a thumbs up. You couldn't really see his face due him looking down.

Hi. My name is Y/N! Nice to meet you-

Upon seeing his face, memories click in your mind, now remembering it all. He was the person Paimon talked about. He was the person you were desperately searching all these centuries.

Kunikuzushi.

The boy looked shocked yet relieved. You took him into your arms, embracing him as if he would disappear. Paimon and the traveler smiled, leaving you two be.

I've missed you so much. W-where have you been all this time? How come could i never get to stumble upon you?

You said voice shaking from happiness.

It's not important. There are many things i regret in my past that i don't want to make you worry about. Right now, let me show you how much i've missed you.

---———

The end >¬>

Have a nice day/night

[askdiscordwhooves]

A much needed summary of the Discord Whooves story.

Voiced by @voiceofthecity

Transcript below:

Doctor: Right, so. A lot has happened since I woke up in this universe, eh? I guess this is a sort of… diary entry. 

I first opened my eyes in this universe without any memories. Derpy standing over me. She took care of me until I could remember who I was. I reunited with the TARDIS and took Derpy on as my companion. It became obvious quickly that she had… Deeper feelings for me. But I ignored it in favor of our friendship.

I fell in love with a bush because of a love potion she got hold of, thank goodness it wasn’t with her. At one point we ended up on a planet of machines where we fought an AI that wanted to experiment on us. He called himself NeoSurgeon, after copying me. Copying me made him very much alive, and I almost destroyed him before realizing this… We taught him to value life, and I installed him into my sonic screwdriver to let him explore the universe. [annoyed] And of course he goes and mucks things up by experimenting, resulting in Dinky and Sparkler being created from Derpy and possibly me.

Derpy and I had a few encounters with changelings, which led to us finding a changeling who copied me and thought he was me. Everyone just loves copying me, don’t they… When he found us he realized he wasn’t The Doctor, and asked us to save the corrupted hive. I let the queen feed on all my love of the universe, turning her and her hive back to their true selves. But I lost my love from it. 

I was investigating disappearances of races and planets in the timeline. This led me to the Caves of Truth, where Discord dwelled. Showing me a terrible truth about myself that shattered my entire being. I still can’t bring myself to go into detail about it because I’m terrified. This truth made me want to give up adventures and helping others, and Derpy didn’t agree with me. I lashed out at her, and she lashed back by abandoning me.

That’s where many of you found me, after that point where I was alone and saying ‘to hell with the universe’. I dove headfirst into sex and drinking to fill the emptiness I felt. At some point, the questions I got began provoking my rage towards Derpy. I took it out on her by hurting her to teach the… audience, I suppose… a lesson to not bother me about her. I let her go after that. But anger got the best of me again from prying questions. Once more I took it out on Derpy, more violently this time before I ditched her. 

Had an unpleasant encounter with Octavia where I crashed into her place. Even though I met Twilight Sparkle and bonded with her, like an idiot I tried to woo Octavia to much humiliation and failure. So I focused more on Twilight and I grew to really care about her. She was a light in the darkness for me.

Let’s see… Fooled around, yelled at Dinky and Sparkler, ran into poison joke which let’s not even talk about. After recovering from that I encountered… Patience, my ex wife, for the first time here, and I ran from her. 

Oh. The wings. Didn’t always have those either, my regenerative hormones were acting up and caused them to appear. After sticking to myself for a while I decided it was time to learn how to fly, as it seemed like my wings had grown to fit my body. I learned how to fly from an alternate Rainbow Dash.

I was going to celebrate with Twilight, but when I found her she had cut herself deeply in a suicide attempt which had been prompted by The Master. She survived, thank the stars… 

The Master had teamed up with Inkie Pie and further antagonized me, trying to goad me into fighting. But when I wouldn’t give, he beat me down and kicked me out. My hearts were getting louder and louder in my head. I tried to drown them out with more drinking and in my drunken state forced open the heart of the TARDIS. She possessed an hourglass to create a pony avatar for herself and cared for me like a nanny. I decided to call her Ananta. 

It finally hit me that all of the sex felt pointless and I decided I’d give it up as it wasn’t doing me any favors. No matter how many times I tried, I could never find relief, not even with Twilight.

The Master wormed his way into the mind of a mare I had let get close, which was the final straw. I went after The Master with a gun but I missed the bastard. He was also with Octavia for some reason which threw off my aim.

Spending more quality time with Twilight in Ponyville was when it came to my attention that things were wrong in this timeline. I was informed of Sugarcube Corner’s bloody history as Slaughtercube Corner, where Pinkie went insane and murdered multiple ponies. I learned all of Twilight’s friends were corrupted, dead, or missing. I would have investigated more but Patience found me and demanded I leave.

I visited a corrupted Rarity’s universe to let of some steam and discovered that her universe was layered and bleeding into mine, causing events of her timeline to happen here. It seemed to be like that for multiple corrupted universes, taking aspects of them and applying them to Twilight’s friends.

After that, I tried to avoid getting involved because it was getting far too complex. I drunkenly opened a temporary dimensional rift which caused the one and only Jack Harkness to fall through. I was elated, finally someone good from the humanoid universe that I could spend time with!

We reconnected, and I wound up in the wrong dimension when trying to show off to him. There we found a bleeding filly, Scootaloo, who had tried to run away with her newborn. The baby needed a caretaker that could be trusted and I suggested Twilight, who was more than happy to take him in while things got sorted. 

I think for a while I was more myself. I felt more clear headed. I even got it in my head that I should check in on Sparkler and Dinky. Foolish. Utterly asinine. Dinky was rightfully angry with me, and I couldn’t explain myself. Then… She showed up. Derpy. I went at her, but… I was suddenly pummeled with rocks and bricks by Dinky. Her magic was even powerful enough to throw me HARD. I think… I think she was just about ready to kill me before her mother stopped her. I promptly left after that, just hoping we’d never have another encounter. I hate… what she makes me do.

While letting Jack help me process things, the TARDIS had an intense interference that triggered the cloister bell. I fought something that was pulling her, and I was hit hard with the resurfacing memories of losing Amy and Rory horrifically and violently in the journey to this dimension. Distractions. Right. I gave myself distractions.

Landed in the dimension that was home to an obnoxious punster, got upset with Jack for wandering too far away. I was scared of losing him but in doing that I made him feel trapped, and we started having arguments. Jack wanted to go back home but he wanted to take me with him and that just… couldn’t happen.

To make up for the arguments, I took us to the Nimbus Resort and Casino. That’s where everything went wrong. That rift I opened before also let in a group of daleks which invaded and started slaughtering everyone there. I was scared, I tried to run, Jack tried to stop me and I pushed him right into a dalek’s laser, and I just left him there. I did go back for him, I did! We witnessed the Master decimating the daleks and I took Jack and ran from that too.

Jack was… different after that. He threatened me with a gun and demanded I take us back to the human dimension, but when he was distracted I pulled out my own gun and shot him. I threw him out while shooting him again and I suppose it’s after that when the Master recruited him to Torchwood. Tch… since then he’s been having me tracked.

Fell off the deep end, binge drinking and neglecting my hygiene, doing nothing. Ananta cleaned me up, got rid of the alcohol, made sure I got the right supportive questions and comments to keep me going. [more serious] I tried to study what was going on with me, which revealed another entity inside of me calling himself Hyde, a corruption of myself. 

Less important stuff happened, came to the conclusion that the askers were essentially my companions. Which was nice enough to convince me to investigate further into the altered timeline. Equestria was at war with the Diamond Dogs, and Twilight was expected to help as a princess but couldn’t because of what happened to her friends. Ponyville was in ruins while Twilight clung to it for her few remaining friends. 

I realized then… The Twilight I became close to wasn’t meant to exist. She was part of the altered timeline, and if I fixed it, she’d be gone. And we’d never have that connection again, because her giving up the throne was what let us have something in common…

I was searching for the trigger for the timeline corruption, so I traveled into the past to observe Pinkie. Octavia found me, she was interested in me after I had… insulted her I think? Strange woman. Pinkie kidnapped us both to torture us, showing she was already corrupted. We were rescued by the guard before she could do any real harm but she had drugged me out of my mind and in my disoriented state I took Octavia with me onto the TARDIS.

Octavia demanded compensation for all the trouble I’d caused her, so I tried to take her somewhere nice but ended up landing in the future city of Vannice. A future wrecked by Discord, where only 10% of the pony population remained and all the Princesses were long dead, Twilight included… I tried to ditch Octavia but she ended up shmoozing with a rich scientist who was luring her into his experiments. Meanwhile I was trying to sneak around because his drones were after me. 

NeoSurgeon made himself known again, and was useful in finding and stopping the secret alicorn magic-tech versions of cybermen. My worst self convinced a worker to sacrifice himself to do it, using Neo to super charge him… then bloody Jack shows up with one of his lackeys so of course I had to grab Octavia and run again.

She still wasn’t satisfied. She seduced me with kinky sex, had me take her on thrill after thrill. She stole something from an important historical figure. Kept pushing me for more and more until I snapped and lashed out at her. But she actually got EXCITED by that, and it snapped me out of it enough to have the sense to force her out of the TARDIS and out of my life.

More investigations, bringing me to the mirror pool. Revealed the real pinkie and a clone swapped places so it was a clone that went on a murder spree. Poor Twilight, I had to tell her, and then ask her if she wanted to remain in this timeline or return to the old timeline without her memories.

As I was leaving Twilight to think about it, Patience- Or Minuette, found me and insisted on joining me to keep me from causing trouble, and to help me. She was fittingly patient with me but never let me step out of line. 

Twilight decided she wanted the timeline fixed, but not until she could help me. She and Minuette worked together to cure me of the curse using a memory spell, and I finally felt like myself for a long time. There was still some of the curse remaining inside me, but I could finally function more like myself. 

In recovery, I tried a few times to write letters to those I had hurt, but it was difficult for me to write anything. I might try again, honestly. What have I got to lose besides paper?

Anyways… Minuette and I went to NeoSurgeon’s planet so that they could combine their memories of me, which seemed to help fight the curse further. I wasn’t fully cured yet, so I continued to focus on recovery before investigating again.

Minuette and I went back to when the Mirror Pool was first formed to see when Discord influenced it but this… was a mistake, as it lead Discord right to the pool to infect it. Must have wormed into my head too, because once I learned Minuette had been seeing the Master romantically, I succumbed to the curse in a full blown relapse and… And murdered… her… Do I really deserve to be saved any more…?

I couldn’t cope. I broke Ananta’s hourglass. I was ready to kill myself. But that’s when The Master burst in and beat me down, tore off my wings, and threw them out with the hourglass. Then he took me onto his TARDIS where I was kept in his Zero room for a long time before he and his TARDIS finally made contact with me.

I think… it was going pretty well for a time… Until he revealed he had influenced many things in my life, from Minuette, to Jack, to Discord, to Derpy, the changelings, and who knows what else. I attacked him and that left me on my TARDIS with Di, his TARDIS’ avatar, to look after me. Meanwhile the Master was going to try to figure out how to solve all of this.

Twilight was in danger and I made a deal with Di that I wouldn’t ask for any more favors after going to help Twilight. And then there was… The Valeyard, likely a metacrisis from my wings and Octavia which means he’s just as, if not more insane than she was. He killed her but showed that he at least seems to care what happens to Twilight, because he let me take her away to safety. 

Now I’m just here, waiting, doing what I can to pass the time and hoping that everything will be okay. It’s hard putting everything in someone else’s hands, but at the same time… it’s what I want most right now, I think. I just… want to be left alone while someone else takes care of things for once. Am I scared? Completely. But I need to accept that I’ve done all I can do at this point. Anyway. I guess I’d best get to writing those letters… Maybe I’ll have better luck this time. I don’t know if this journal log really helped much, but it was something to do so… Yeah.

[sandymybeloved]

okay, I don't know how much sense this is going to make but its been bugging me so bear with

you know how sometimes when people in a fandom go long enough without going back and rewatching/rereading/relistening to/rewhatever, that they end up with slightly warped ideas about the characters and story that are far more based on fanon than anything in the source material. I think the same thing happens with criticisms of shows, some mild critique people had at the time becomes so pervasive and considered so all consuming that it no longer gels with the source material

what got me thinking about this was reading the tags in the @adventure-showdown tournament. a not uncommon thing I read is saying they only remember a single great moment from an episode, but they remember the other story completely, so the other story must be magnitudes better. and when someone is implying that because they only remember the gallery scene from vincent and the doctor, the surrounding episode wasn't worthwhile or even any good, I can't help but think, when was the last time you watched it? was it in 2010 when it aired, if you don't remember anything other than the scene that is regularly shared, and you're criticising based on your lack of memory alone, that just doesn't end up gelling with the episode, its not really a fair criticism

more broadly, half the criticisms I see of Moffat who are almost nonsensical to me as someone who does rewatch. (I'm not going to go into the sexism stuff, my opinions on that are far too nuanced and complicated to make a good example)

one of the most common criticisms is that it made the doctor too important, which every time I see it I can't help but wonder if the person saying it even watched in the first place. Because the thing is this is an idea the moffat era actively engages in constantly, and its not a late development at all, and the conclusion it constatly comes too is that the doctor's ego is too big, he's not as important and powerful as he, or the companions, or the audience percieve him to be.

in eleven's second episode, his plan for the star whale is wrong, it's amy who concludes the star whale won't run away and wants to help. in the series 5 finale, eleven makes a big speech to all his enemies gathered above about how they're afraid of him, and it doesn't work, it is at best a minor delay in their plan, he still ends the episode trapped in the pandorica, AND it turns out the doctor was not the excistential threat they were trying to stop, its the TARDIS, they're only imprisoning him as they (wrongly) think he's the only one capable of flying her

in series 6, in a good man goes to war, after the doctor is done parading about the place, after he's done with his massive ego trip and thinking he's won the day, it turns out he hasn't, he got amy back, but not her baby, melody is gone, and any reuniting that happens later in the series has nothing to do with him in any meaningful sense. a good man goes to war is the doctor getting cocky and it ends badly for his friends

its only more explicit in the capaldi era whre 12 regularly pushes back against people considering him anything more than a guy pottering about the universe in a box helping where he can. yes he is made president of earth, but he doesn't want that, he doesn't want authority. In fact series 10 has several of his most meaningful loses, in extremis there's nothing he can do but get a message out, in oxygen he loses his sight to save bill, in the pyramid at the end of the world the world enters a state of dystopia because bill wants to save him, in the doctor falls he loses everything, including his life, only the audience knows any differently

'moffat made the doctor too important' is not a criticism that gels when you actually watch the show, because it is something his era grapples with, is the doctor powerful, is he important to the universe, and if he is, is it a problem and who for. but the criticism isn't completely unfounded, not liking the material fact that 12 got made president of earth is fine, but 5 years removed its a criticism thats warped and changed into something unrecognisable as a criticism of the show its from, when the show says at one point, not even as subtext, that 12 is just a guy travelling around in a blue box, dropping in and helping out where he can.

anyway, this is helpful to me in that i don't like assuming people are speaking in bad faith, sometimes people do just haven't rewatched recently

[witchofthemidlands]

peter davison's recent statement got me thinking how i still find the biregeneration confusing in the sense that apparently all the doctors biregenerated even though that doesn't make any sense to me because if they did all separate then the timeline would probably implode because if they separated from regeneration then the companions that were ✨apprehensive✨ of their version of the doctor becoming someone new then surely they would stay with the version of the doctor they're used to therefore the timeline reaching destination fucked HOWEVER

that means one separated from two & could go back, yes, he could go back to see his granddaughter. he could reunite with vicki & steven because i have decided that tales of the tardis is the classic doctors going back to find their loved ones.

that means two separated from three. that means two could go & find jamie. that means somewhere in time & space they're still together.

that means three separated from four & he's probably stashed away in some unit basement laboratory still doing his thing, enjoying drives in bessie.

that means four separated from five & the curator IS four & he probably spent sarah jane's last days with her.

that means five separated from six & reunited with tegan & then probably nyssa.

that means six separated from seven & found peri.

that means seven separated from eight & did not have that traumatic end that scarred child!me for life & after, got out of that morgue & made things right with ace. AS HE LITERALLY SAID HE HADN'T REGENERATED.

that means eight separated from the war doctor & could go back to grace or any of his big finish companions, charley??? (i have not encountered an eight big finish in my lifetime so far i know his companions names but not much else.

that means the war doctor separated from nine & passed away peacefully in his tardis knowing that he had tried to save gallifrey.

that means nine separated from ten & this is where it gets complicated because then what happens with rose? surely she'd want to stay with nine?

that means ten separates from eleven & then what? where would he go? would he just travel alone forever just like he was from journey's end-the end of time?

that means eleven separates from twelve & goes back to die on trenzalore? because his confuses me the most as clara's reaction to twelve makes me think that if eleven bi regenerated in front of her she'd stay with eleven 100% no questions asked.

that means twelve separates from thirteen. does he go to die in the snow? or does he see if there's any truth to what he was told & see if bill is actually out there in the universe with heather?

that means thirteen separated from fourteen & could go back for yaz, so they wouldn't have to say goodbye again.

[blatterpussbunnyfromhell]

Did Silver kill Flint?

I keep seeing cold ass takes in the Black Sails side of tumblr that make my blood boil.

Look, I got into Black Sails in 2017, three weeks after the finale aired. Back then, there seemed to be an understanding that the "Silver killed Flint" interpretation was just a fringe theory from straight people made uncomfortable by the queer lead getting a happy ending. Personally, it was my first encounter with the phrase "unbury your gays" (having learnt "bury your gays" a year earlier with The 100). It seemed to be generally accepted that Flint lived, and that this was the whole point.

Now, it would appear that a shift has happened in the fandom, where the idea of Silver killing Flint is no longer treated as a theory by straight weirdos but as a canon, onscreen event, and these posts come from queer fans. It seems to come from younger fans who were about 12 or 13 in 2017. It's so mindboggling to me.

The arguments for this Silver-Killed-Flint thing is usually the same two: birds flying away and Silver's men turning around in the forest, as in reaction to a noise, which is interpreted as a gunshot.

Like, I'm just elaborating on a rant I sent to my friends earlier today here but, if Silver killed Flint, then :

Why would we be shown an entire sequence with one of Silver's henchmen looking for Thomas where he is?

If Thomas and Flint are dead, why aren't we shown their deaths? It's an actual rule in cinema that a character whose death isn't shown on screen isn't dead, a rule that the show does follow (we see Billy's funeral but not his corpse). Besides, Black Sails doesn't shy away from showing death on screen, even for main characters. Then, why not show how Thomas died instead of telling us? Why not show us Silver shooting Flint? The writers trust their viewers to understand the pattern, and understand that the reason we do not see their deaths is because they aren't dead.

Why would Silver bring up Thomas to Flint if he'd planned on killing him? Or if, as I've also seen it said, it was just a lie he made on the spot for Madi ?

And talking about Madi, I've seen A LOT of people saying she would never forgive Silver. And to that I genuinely have to ask, have you seen their last appearence in the show? I dont mean their argument in the cabin, I mean the scene where Silver sits on top of a hill and turns around to find Madi waiting for him on the path. I mean the scene where he walks towards her and she waits for him. So, my question here, if she wasn't gonna forgive Silver, why is she waiting for him on that hill? Nevermind the fact that Treasure Island's Long John Silver is in a relationship with a Black woman (I've seen posts saying that could be Max, and really wtf??), what is the point of showing us this scene if she's not gonna forgive him? Why not stop their arc at the cabin where she sends him away?

At the time when Black Sails' finale aired, Supernatural was still queerbaiting its audience, and Sherlock ended in a fucking shitshow. People were throwing fits over Bill Potts, Doctor Who's first ever onscreen lesbian companion because she was a lesbian with a masculine name. A year before that, The 100, a very popular tv show at the time, had just killed it's only lesbian character and faced so much uproar and backlash for it. (That was my entry into the LGBT+ community, by the way : the first character to make me think I might actually like women getting killed on screen two scenes after having had sex with the female lead). Sense8's two-hour long finale and Love, Simon wouldn't air for another year.

So yeah, if you weren't into queer media back in 2017 (and omg I sound like such an old twat), I don't think you can understand just how important that ending, with Flint being reunited with the love of his life after so much pain and loss, was.

If your interpretation of Black Sails is that the events of Treasure Island happened the way the book tells you, then I'm sorry to tell you this but you completely missed the point of the show.

[nortism]

doctor who liveblog pt 22

s4 ep10 midnight

- i’m glad donna’s getting a nice holiday

- COLIN MORGAN OF BBC MERLIN FAME??! katie mcgrath next pls

- “ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon”

- ROSE ON THE TVVVVVVV

- oh god was she possessed

- FUCK SHES REPEATING LIKE THE THING OUTSIDE

- SHE GOT HIS VOICE

- that was such a good episode, genuinely unsettling

s4 ep11 turn left

- omg are we in a country that’s not the uk?? i didn’t know the tardis knew how to do that 😭😭

- oh never mind they’re on a different planet, should have known

- and billie piper!!

- oh the doctor’s dead

- get the screwdriver donna!!

- ROSE TYLER!!!!!!!!!!

- oh she’s vanished

- donna’s so funny

- NO MARTHA’S DEAD this sucks

- SARAH JANE SMITH’S DEAD?!?! this au is awful

- ROSE

- i love donna’s grandad so much it’s not even funny

- london’s gone??? thank god the world is free!

- not leeds

- uh oh america

- ROSE

- oh fuck jack as well

- oh great, now the uk is turning into nazi germany

- that’s a big old bug

- rip alternate universe donna

- BAD WOLF?!?!?!!????

- shitttttt

s4 ep12 the stolen earth

- oh fucj the earth’s gone

- MARTHA

- ohh fuck the companions r all gonna come together

- ROSE WITH A GIANT GUN WOOOO

- oh yeah the whole gang in the opening credits

- oh great we’re gonna find out what a shadow proclamation is

- ofc the british are celebrating the end of the world by drinking and rioting

- ofc it’s the fucking daleks

- i feel like there was easy ways to exterminate the human race i won’t lie

- the crucible?? always with the religious imagery

- idk if i trust the space cops

- not the rhinos again

- ohhhh they’re building a mega planet

- for what it’s worth, i trust martha to save the world. she’s done it before

- NO MARTHA

- the loss that is yet to come???

- also which god??

- BEES ARE ALIENS?!?!

- i knew i couldn’t trust the space cops

- ROSE

- when he was a 90 year old teenage girl

- HARRIET JONES MY LOVE

- yay martha’s alive

- aww rose is jealous

- is everyone here a jones?

- HARRIET NOOOOOO

- he’s still thinking about rose 😭😭

- jfc what is that

- ewww

- FUCKING DALEKS RUINING MY REUNION

- oh my polycule did reunite, just under the worst circumstances possible

- FUCK HES REGENERATING ALREADY

- noooo sarah jane

- whatttt

s4 ep13 journey’s end

- did he just regenerate back into david tennant???

- MICKEYYYYYYYYY

- JACKIEEEEEEEE

- oh the whole gang is back together i missed them 😭😭😭

- oh donna i love u

- they gotta stop leaving the tardis lying around!!!

- that’s nice of the daleks to translate for different countries

- that’s a lotta daleks

- donna?!!

- DONNA?!?!!??

- hello is donna regenerating?!?!

- ITS ANOTHER DOCTOR?!?!?

- dw rose this is just an avg day for jack

- nah is the new doctor technically donna and the doctor’s child???

- pls leave my girl and her mummy issues alone

- oh they’re soulmates

- when did martha learn german??

- oh yeah on her world tour

- it would be cool if they subtitled the german bc i’m getting none of this

- not loving the sound of a reality bomb

- omg they’re disintegrating

- oh so we’re destroying all matter now???

- won’t this also destroy the daleks??

- apparently not

- SHES GONNA BLOW UP THE EARTH

- oh fuck the whole gang’s been teleported

- it’s up to u now donna

- uh oh rip the other doctor

- uh oh rip donna

- this is a bit awkward

- YES FHEN DONNA

- the doctordonna

- SHES PART TIMELORD?!

- they oppenheimer-ed him

- K9!!!

- finally an explanation for why he sucks a flying the tardis so much, he needs more guys

- he’s got the biggest family on earth 😭😭

- she’s getting her own doctor?!

- aww she got her kiss?? i think aww?! this is a weird situation all round

- oh no donna’s malfunctioning

- wait what

- is she fucking dead

- HER MIND’S BEEN WIPED!!?!?!

- awww she’s forgotten him

- this is so sad

- aww granddad

- jesus that was bleak

[oneacearmy]

Sole Survivor with severe separation anxiety

I imagine a Sole that didn't come out of the Vault as unscathed as they have us believe. At the beginning when they didn't have any relationships aside from Codsworth, they didn't notice much. Even with their first companion they didn't notice.

But after switching companions, they start experimenting nightmares, insomnia, seek of physical contact, chills, shaking, etc. It starts small like waking up in the middle of the night with a heavy heart or a misstep on their traveling while thinking of first companion. Then the chills start and the insomnia. The last symptoms would be night terrors and panic attacks.

Current companion catches on eventually and tries to coax them to talk about it. But even Sole doesn't know what's happening. Current companion offers to put their bedrolls together and sleeping together and it helps. It really helps. The night terrors disappear along with the panic attacks, the insomnia recedes but the waking up with a heavy hearts still occurs.

When they reunite with old companion or when they talk with a Commonwealth doctor, they discovered that these symptoms are from trauma. Their subconscious believe that their loved ones disappear or die if they losses sight or closeness from them. This is because of what happened in the Vault, when Sole woke up from cryo their family was dead, their neighbors gone, their family and friends and acquaintances. Their home and city and country. They are ALL GONE.

Sole has to live with this. He starts coping in different ways like grounding techniques and self taught psychosocial therapy. Mental health is a spectrum, we got good days and bad days, so when Sole is having a bad day, they hold their companion's hand or grabs their arm. Their companion grounds them in different ways like rationalizing their thoughts, delaying their ideas, using physical touch or distracting them. (should I write a companions react with how each companion helps sole through this?)

I imagine a Sole Survivor asking their romanced companion to hold them at night or to sleep face to face because if they wake up facing the wall they freak out. I imagine a severely wounded Sole resting alone in a bed or room and when they wake up alone and in an unfamiliar place, it may trigger a panic attack or a dissociating episode.

[bibliocratic]

Loose Threads or: What’s Fifteen Going to Find Out in 2024 (based on The Giggle and The Star Beast)

The Doctor’s identity

The specials take the particular choice of mentioning the Flux (and by extension the Timeless Child) multiple times (both its emotional ramifications and canon impact). The Toymaker may or may not have had something to do with it.

“I made a jigsaw out of your history. Do you like it?”

The fate of the Master

Since we last saw them (if the current Sacha incarnation), they got themselves bested by the Toymaker and imprisoned

“The Master was dying and begged for his life with one final game. And when he lost, I sealed him for all eternity inside my gold tooth.”

Whoever picked up the dropped tooth (for my money, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart due to the colour of the nail varnish) and what they'll do with it.

The One Who Waits

Apparently the one force that the Toymaker “didn’t dare face”.

“I saw it, hiding, and I ran… Hmm. That’s someone else’s game.”

Outstanding questions

Who was the Meep was working with/for?: “A creature with two hearts is such a rare thing. Just wait till I tell the boss.”

Who are the Toymaker's Legions?

Who are The Vlinx?: Who are they? No idea. Everyone’s super chill with them and they are played as though an established element of canon and the UNIT set up. Ol’ Briggsie is back with voice-over so they’re likely to make a return.

Will we see UNIT again?: Considering that Kate Stewart's playing Catch 'Em All with the Doctor's old Companions (Donna, Mel, Martha), and the special takes time to introduce new Scientific Advisor Shirley Anne, yes. Graham's got contact with most of the surviving companions via a secret member's club, leaving the door open for classic companions like Tegan (and Nyssa, if The Tales from the TARDIS is to be believed that they got reunited) Ace, Yaz, Dan, Jo Grant to show up.

Potential follow-ons

While the 'invoking a superstition' at the edge of the universe is responsible for the Toymaker's reappearance, it wouldn't surprise me that more hasn't come through that entrance into our reality as a result.

[13thdoctorposts]

I am getting really excited for One Night... but it's also making me kinda sad for what we could never of had in Doctor Who.

I've always been happy for the Doctor to love, be in love with their companions I'm not a purist who doesn't think the Doctor should be with no one and not fall in love, because I think love can change the way you see things, people... and honestly if the Doctor didn't fall in love with a few select humans what is really the appeal of the human race to them? Like we aren't that special, lol, I'm sure in the big wide universe there would have been better folks to spend all your time with then us. But falling in love that changes things, and would change the way the Doctor saw us so I'm all for that, but I never cared about it as much till Thasmin.

And I wanted more for Thasmin, I was fully invested but I also knew there could never really be much more (ok maybe a little more then we got but not much).

And... I don't know, seeing the type of sapphic relationship on tv we can have, like with Tess and Vicki, which is heighten compared to other sapphic relationships on TV because Jodie is again playing the leading role, and not getting that with Thasmin stings a little, even though that was never going to happen in Doctor Who.

But there is always hope that Jodie and Mandip can reunite on a sapphic project one day, maybe that cop show they want to do, were they are together and it can be like a Thasmin AU we're watching, lol, that would be kinda grand getting an ending/closure in something that could be seen as Thasmin AU to the Thasmin story. I know it's unlikely but a person can dream.

[3lostyears]

i hope this is the last post i’m gonna write about this but one of the reasons the 60th specials upset me is that it felt like rtd cheapened his own legacy. his initial run, especially season 4, was so meaningful to me as a kid, so influential to me as a writer and even the way i love and engage with tv to this day. that’s not to say he or his run was ever perfect, the most obvious issue being the terrible choices with martha and mickey, and others.

but it’s still upsetting to know that he doesn’t get what made his own series special. which i kind of knew when i read in the writer’s tale that, had catherine not come back as donna for season 4, the companion would have been romantically interested in the doctor. again. the thing he most consistently got right was how his run had stakes; how you could feel the heavy weight of death. tentoo works because it IS bittersweet, because it does come at a cost to both the tenth doctor and donna.

and now? he just gives us another tennant clone and it means nothing. if it had been 13, if david had just come back as tentoo to remind his former self that resting, living, is still an adventure. that despite what it might feel like, it’s an option. and after all the horror 13 faced it could have felt like a catharsis, especially if she’d reunited with the fam in addition to tentoo reuniting with donna. maintaining the biregeneration would still have undercut ncuti’s debut but not the way having david as TWO different doctors did (plus i was never expecting rtd to have improved on race because i watched years & years and wow yikes).

but it still sucks that someone who has written genuinely meaningful things to me hasn’t learned anything in the intervening years. that perhaps next time i revisit s4 it’s going to shine a little less brightly because of what he’s now written, to me the sign of truly bad writing and something i’ve already experienced from another doctor who showrunner, and that makes me sad. a real “you either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain” moment.

[dreamcaught]

So okay, I haven't seen the commentary about Fourteen returning to Fifteen once he's processed his trauma to be "reabsorbed" or whatever, but if that's how it's gonna go, then yeah. Okay, I can see why they did this.

Doctor Who has been such a fucking insane whirlwind of loss and trauma pretty much since Journey's End when the Doctor lost his lover and his best friend. Tentoo and Rose are happily married in Pete's World. That Doctor gets to actively live the happiest he's ever been every single day, but this Doctor had to keep going.

Eleven lost the Ponds. Twelve lost Clara and Bill. These characters effectively die, which is why they're mentioned directly. And exemplified by the Toymaker, these are big losses. Yaz+Co. didn't get even an inkling of a mention because, quite frankly, they weren't. They all just got to go back home like companions used to do all the time. It was kind of a big deal that so many companions had such tragic, permanent, traumatic endings. So yeah, it makes sense that the Doctor would need to take time to process this.

(That and the Flux thing, apparently, which - uh - I guess falls under the same umbrella.)

Fourteen is incredibly vulnerable. He's open and raw, and he needs to be in order to be the Doctor to process these things. It makes strategic story sense to have the Doctor break in half to allow part of him to retire and process while the other part of him keeps going, because (like with Tentoo), the show must go on -- he can't actually stop.

Having David Tennant's face as Fourteen makes a lot of strategic sense, too. Not only is DT a fan favourite, but his relationship with Donna is the most familial of relationships he's had. Some fans may wonder again why Yaz wasn't who he'd go to, but it has to be noted that they made Yaz a romantic interest and that is not what this Doctor wants or needs right now. That's why they've established Fourteen as (likely) gay. That's why he's calling Rose Noble his niece and Shaun his brother-in-law. He's effectively rehabilitating with his sister, and that's kind of cool.

I do understand the tragedy of Donna's ending was appealing to many viewers, but it's been 15 years. That's long enough for her to get a better ending to her story that doesn't just involve winning the lottery. Her family and how she cares for people who need it are Donna's greatest strengths. Having Donna get her memory back but not become an all-knowing DoctorDonna hybrid is sending a kind message of hope that I think this world needs right now, to be honest.

RTD has done this, in part, to allow for the show to return to being more lighthearted and about hope than it has for a long time. It's saying that it's okay to take a break, but also acknowledges that the Doctor - as a show and as an almost supernatural being - has to carry on as well. It's a soft reboot with acknowledgement to the past without having to view it as a burden, so I get that.

I've seen a lot of people immediately compare this ending to Tentoo/Rose, though, and I don't know if I agree. This isn't a Doctor creating a version of himself to be with a lover as a human, to live the one, singular life he couldn't otherwise have. He didn't bi-regenerate out of love or fear of losing his lover. His loss of regenerations and ability to age as Tentoo is really important to their story, and this is not true for Fourteen. He's still full Time Lord - and if the commentary is true - will eventually reunite with himself. That's not at all the same. Instead, this is the Doctor many years after a traumatic experience using a magical way to get his break and travel, too.

As well, the Doctor was in love with Rose. He had to tear his heart out and leave her in a different universe to let her go. That would not have happened with a bi-regenerated Doctor sharing the same universe. The two Doctors would have had to create a copy of Rose (much like these two had to do so with the TARDIS) in order to be happy. It's not like Donna, because Donna can be a sister to two identical brothers and it's not weird.

(That's if you don't count polyamory, but that would never happen in the show.)

I hope that they use this soft reboot to help move on from past traumas in a healthy way. I hope that Fourteen with Donna does help Fifteen become more of a positive Doctor than even Thirteen was, who was secretly dealing with so much angst all the time.

I do adore, absolutely, that the Doctor did acknowledge his favourite people. River Song and Adric were mentioned as important and lost. Sarah Jane and Rose were explicitly said to be loved. It was less than I was hoping for, but also exactly what I think should happen if they're trying to use this special as a way to finally, realistically move on and start something fresh, new and positive.

So yeah, I guess I'll keep watching to see what happens next.

[paulrobinsonshotel]

OK so I've been thinking, if RTD absolutely didn't want to go down the root of having a multi-Doctor/multi-companion extravaganza for the 60th, and wanted to go down a more subtle route using old villains and obscure comics to celebrate the show's history, imagine if instead of making the only real "anniversary" elements of the story be his Doctor and his companion, RTD had done the unthinkable, and asked Jodie and Mandip to stay on.

Obviously, there are multiple reasons why that didn't happen. Ultimately Thirteen and Yaz are Chris Chibnall's characters, and RTD may not have wanted to add to Chibnall's story. I'm also aware that Jodie and Mandip thought Chibnall's departure was the right time for them to go, so this ultimately wasn't down to RTD. But I do think (with Chibnall's blessing) he could've convinced them to come back with a good story.

I'm also aware that Jodie had a baby after filming POTD, and needed time away. However, since returning to acting, she has filmed other shows, including Time, which aired before the 60th specials. So there's no reason filming couldn't have been delayed to accommodate Jodie while still having the episodes ready for November/December 2023.

Imagine the end of Power of the Doctor, the Thirteenth Doctor has her farewell with Yaz, goes to the clifftop and starts regenerating... only to end up with the same face by the end of it? Might not have the same impact on the general public as the Tennant return, but certainly enough to keep fans speculating for a year.

Then at the start of The Star Beast, the TARDIS brings her straight to 2023, where she just happens to bump into Yaz as soon as she steps out, who is still hurting after a year without the Doctor, and shocked she doesn't have a different face.

And imagine hearing Akinola's themes for Thirteen and Yaz in Murray Gold's style when they are reunited!

While I do think Donna's exit was more heartbreaking than Yaz's, I'd argue she got closure of a sort, marrying someone who genuinely loves her for who she is, and getting a winning lottery ticket. It certainly didn't need a fanfiction fix-it of being sorted by "just letting go" ("something a male-presenting Time Lord wouldn't understand" way to shit on your own progressivism Russell)

While the ending Chibnall gave Yaz was an appropriate and bittersweet one for her character, it was written in a way that permitted closure or another writer picking up the character in the future.

I criticise RTD frequently on here, but one thing he absolutely excels at is realistic family drama (the scene where Sylvia isn't sure she's saying the right thing to Rose was probably the best writing in those specials), and integrating that family drama with the magic and silliness of Doctor Who. Not saying Chibnall was bad at this, but it was never really the story he wanted to tell. RTD could've done some great stuff with the Khan family in the 60th specials, with her parents and Sonya supporting her in adjusting to life without the Doctor, and probably delivering some uncomfortable truths to Thirteen(.5) about all the time she froze Yaz out or pushed her away.

I'm not sure how the specials could've played out, but imagine if instead of Fourteen regenerating into Ten's face because he "needed to come home" to Donna (and not every other found family the Doctor had ever had?), we linked it back to Power of the Doctor, and revealed that Thirteen wanting more time (with Yaz), and Yaz not wanting her time with the Doctor to end triggered the Toymaker's interference. Her made her regenerate into the same face, and brought her straight back to Yaz, and to defeat him they have to let the change complete itself.

If they're going hard on marketing Ncuti's era as "Series 1" as if it's a brand new show, then I think having Thirteen and Yaz (the final Doctor and companion of the 2005-2023 Who) both accept that it's time to move on would be the perfect coda for the "NuWho" as a whole. No "bigeneration" fanfiction fuckery, but maybe Thirteen offering Yaz to stay with her for the change this time, and Yaz this time being the one to say no, not because the Doctor is regenerating, but because she's accepted that time with the Doctor has to end sometime.

And then in the closing seconds, we get to see Ncuti's Doctor, taking up the baton (and clothes) from Jodie Whittaker, just as it should be, his Doctor on his own terms, not a side character in the last guy's story.

As I said, I understand why this didn't happen, but honestly, this would've been so much better than what we got.

[iminsomanyfandomsitscrazy]

I absolutely LOVE when Donna tells 14 “why don’t you do something completely different and have some friends?” Because it always felt like Ten had the feeing of loneliness hanging over him***. While we see it somewhat with other Doctors, we see it with Ten a sh*t ton more than any other Doctors.

We see it in the infamous “I just want A mate! A mate!” in Partners in Crime to Donna, as well as the heartbreaking “they’ve all got someone else, and that’s fine” in Journey’s End that we all know and get murdered over.

As well as when he tells Jackson Lake that he no longer travels with any companions because in the end all the companions he travels with “break my heart” in The Next Doctor which nobody ever acknowledges even though it’s one of the most heartbreaking things Ten says. Whenever people bring up the heartbreaking things Ten had said, they almost never include that.

But in terms of him not wanting really to have any friends, we see in Voyage of the Damned after he loses Astrid and everyone else he’d become close with on the Sto Titanic, he tells the only other person in his friend group that survived (the dude with the “degree” in Earthonomics) that he’s “better off alone”. (Especially since Astrid had taken up his offer to join him on the TARDIS and then sacrificed himself).

And in Planet of the Dead he tells and acknowledges when Christina brings it up that they would make a perfect team, but that he “travels alone” because he can’t take losing anyone else.

And in contrast to when he says that he now “travels alone” in Voyage of the Damned but then switches tone when he’s reunited w/ Donna and not only changes his stance bc he already knows Donna, but because we see that while traveling he keeps on talking aloud and then looking up and we see it sink in that he’s struggling being alone and he truly just wants “a mate”. (And to be honest, when he tells that man that it’s cuz Martha had left him not too long ago, and he just lost Astrid a few hours prior. But by that time, he’d “only” - which oh my god, is that heartbreaking - lost Rose (once), lost Astrid via her sacrificing herself, and lost Martha via her leaving him for her and her family (which once again, he understands completely, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt)).

But once we get to Planet of the Dead, he lost Rose twice, lost Donna, Martha left him (and tho he totally, 100% understood and respected her decision, he still did lose her), he lost Astrid, he lost Jenny, he watched River sacrifice herself, and though he didn’t know her well, he A) knew that she would be important to him later on, and B) gotten to like and respect her, and of course, he can’t stand having to sit by and watch anyone die, whether he knows them or not. When we get to Planet of the Dead, he’s made himself believe that he’s better off alone because he can’t stand losing any more people. He’s lost wayyyy to many people in a span of just a few years, and his hearts understandably can’t handle any more loss. And!!!!! In Journey’s End, Stavros makes the Doctor think of everyone whose sacrificed themself for him. Which then hangs over his head and (understandably) breaks his heart and kills him. When Stavros points that out, Ten’s faced with remembering all those people - from the very start (1x02) to one of the most recent episodes with the stewardess - and it hits him like a brick, and then Rose tells him that Harriet Jones sacrificed herself for him earlier that day, and it just destroys and kills him.

He’s lost so much more than most people can handle. The amount of loss and heartbreak he went through would kill most people, and like he told Donna in The Star Beast losing her killed him. We see in The End of Time Part 2 when he asks Joan’s great-granddaughter if Joan was happy in the end and her great-granddaughter says “yes” she then asks “you?” and the Doctor’s expression just tells it all: no.

And losing Rose? The one person he believed in? Over all the gods and Demi-gods he’d met? It killed him and tore his hearts into a billion pieces.

Losing her again? He didn’t survive that. While he was able to comfort himself because he was able to give her the life she deserved and wanted, and Tentoo could spend the rest of his life with her (which is the complete opposite to when Ten days in The School Reunion that she can spend the rest of her life with him, but he can’t spend the rest of his with her), it didn’t help to mend both his hearts. That comfort couldn’t piece together the billion pieces his hearts were in.

Martha leaving? Tore him apart.

Losing Astrid? Tore him apart.

Losing Jenny? Tore him apart.

Watching River sacrifice herself? Tore him apart, watching helplessly while someone - and! someone who he knew would later be important to him - die.

Hell, losing Madame de Pompadour? That hurt.

***I’m just using “he” pronounce throughout this because I’m talking about Ten specifically, who presents as male, even if “he” is not totally correct.