#and having to pick amongst them oof

[honeysucklebuttons]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GONTA!!! You guys know I enjoy putting this guy into any AU I can think of, so have some sprites for Harvest Moon!! Each one has their niche role, each one has something that makes them challenging to court, but I love them all. Also incorporated into each of the designs is a type of bug, can you guess them all? (Some of them are a bit of a reach, but I’ll give you a chance!!)

Answers and just the reaction sprites under the cut!

Answers: Bagworm, Ladybug, Luna Moth, Praying Mantis, Dung Beetle, and a Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis (just before it hatches) :D

[wolvwa]

Satusugu x gn!reader

Notes; technically my first one-shot. I can never write endings smh still new to tumblr like a lil baby

pure fluff. I love them sm I am sick.

"I love you two."

Those were the four most beautiful words the two of them have heard. Nothing between the you three was official—even though Shoko practically sighed and gagged anytime the three of you engaged in conversation amongst yourselves.

But neither of them could get it out of their head.

From the day you all met, none of you really could keep another out of your head.

You were quiet and nonchalant. You got along well with Suguru.

You seemed boring to Satoru.

And Satoru wouldn't allow that. He poked and prodded at every little button, but all he got was a lazy glance.

It was his mission to annoy you.

The beginning of that day, Satoru calls out your name, but you don't reply. He frowns, poking at your cheek. "Helloooo?? Is your head nothin' but clouds?" He whines.

"Man child..." Shoko mumbles under her breath as she lights a cigarette.

"Hey! Technically, I am still a child!"

"..I don't think that's helping your case..." Suguru says after a moment, though he can't help but smile.

"I'm tired." You sighed, leaning back to lay on the gym floor. "You're always tired." Satoru huffed as he picked up a ball and lightly bounced it on your forehead. "Yeah....but I'm really tired right now." You sighed again.

Satoru pouts at your lack of reaction while Suguru just shakes his head.

You're sighing and dragging your feet all day. Leaning on Suguru with a frown, too tired to engage in even a normal conversation with Satoru or Suguru.

"Come onnnnn," Satoru groans, "you've been moping all day! What's up!?"

"The day isn't over yet." You protest with a pout.

"Quit that."

"Quit what?"

"Doin' your face like that."

You narrow your eyes at him and turn to the other side of the bed. While Satoru complains and bombards you with questions about your behavior, Suguru watches quietly, a small frown tugging at his own lips.

It wasn't that you smiled often or had much energy, but you definitely didn't frown often either. You were notoriously lazy even in battle.

"Are you smilinggg? I saw that~" Satoru's teasing words bring Suguru down from his thoughts as he glances back at the two of you.

You let out small huffs and grunts as Satoru tried to pry into your blanket cacoon. He giggled as you shoved at his ivory hair, trying to push him out. Your lips twitched upward no matter how hard you attempted to hide it. Suguru felt a small smile ease itself upon his face. He hadn't realized how much your distress had became his and how much better he felt seeing the two of you back to normal. As normal as you two get, anyway.

Your laughter was the true sign that Satoru had won—as usual—Successfully dragging you out and tickling you in an iron grip.

"That's enough now. You two have missed the intro of the movie already." Suguru reluctantly said after a moment of watching the two of you squirm and giggle.

"Ehh, the beginning is always super boring anyway." Satoru waved off before pointing his thumb to you, looking back at Suguru as he straddled your waist. "Plus, this one's sqeaky little laughs are more fu— oof!-" Satoru winced, falling back dramatically as you smack him with a pillow.

"Drama queen..." You scoffed, sitting up as you recovered from your merciless tickle ambush.

"This is abuse, ya' know!?" Satoru exclaims with an acusing finger. "I have my witness," he adds, looking over to Suguru, who just closes his eyes. "I've seen nothing, sir." He said, shaking his head. Your lips twitched upward again, seeing Satoru's jaw drop.

Your heart thumped against your ribcage, and the unknown insects in your stomach seemed clearer. It was unusual to feel so much heat flush to your cheeks and to be smiling so wide.

"I love you two."

It slips out like vomit. It's quiet but loud enough for the both of them to hear. You dont realize they heard you or that you even said it at first until their gaze is on you.

"...you mean it?" Satoru asks quietly. You can't tell if he's serious or teasing.

You stare at them with your usual blank look, eyes a bit wider and your cheeks hot. You tilt your head to the side and avert your gaze to the floor.

They both take your reaction as an answer.

"Oh, damnit. I wanted to say it first." Satoru groans and crossing his arms. "I love you two way more, dummy." Satoru says casually.

The both of you are caught off guard with how bold he is, but let's be honest, this is Satoru Gojo we're talking about.

You're no emotional person, but your poor heart is beating out of your chest.

Suguru seemed a bit too shy to talk aswell and the three of you continued on with the movie as normal— Satoru talking half the damn time while you pinched his cheeks to shut him up, Satoru stifling a giggle as you fall asleep on him mid movie—taking out his phone for blackmail, and after the movie Suguru ended up on one end of Satoru while you were curled up to other side of him.

[korgidorgi]

Lena Luthor x Reader "Tank Time!"

Word Count: 1,723

Warnings: None, just fluff :3

Lena stops by your place early to help you prepare for game night. A/N: I love imagining this in my head and I've been trying to write it for a while now, i just didn't know how. I love combining my hyperfixations and aspects of my life into my fanfics, and this is one of them. I love my fishies if you can't tell ^w^

The lyrics to your favorite song drift throughout your house and you hum along, sloshing water around your large fish tank. You shove the gravel vacuum into the sand of your tank, sucking up the nasties that have fallen to the base to settle. You barely hear the knock over your music.

“Come in!” You call, unmoving. “It’s open!”

You hear Lena open your door and step in. She pauses briefly to take off her shoes and her jacket before joining you on the other side of your house. You’re elbow deep in rapidly clouding fish water. The plastic tubing of the siphon hose is guiding the dirty water into a bucket on the floor.

“Hey, Lena,” you greet. “Jeez, did I really take this long?”

She chuckles at your predicament, shaking her head. She watches you suck more water out.

“No,” she muses, “I just thought you’d need some help to prepare for game night.”

You hum in response, sending her a small smile. You turn back to your task, watching the brown algae and waste get sucked up the tube. The sand settles back into its place as you lift the siphon up to another spot. You watch your bucket fill, careful not to overflow and flood your floor.

Water splashes as you lift the nose of the siphon out of the water. The sand stirs slightly from the flow. Your fish dart to and from their hiding spaces amongst the rocks and plants that inhabit the tank. One of the discus fish surfaces, splashing a small amount towards you in protest.

Setting the siphon down, you turn towards Lena and the bucket on the floor. You nod your head towards the back door of your house, squatting down to pick up the 5 gallon bucket.

“Could you get the door, please?” You huff as you pick up the heavy bucket.

“Of course!” Lena responds, swiftly pulling the glass door out of your way.

You waddle your way out the door and set the bucket down to the side of your patio door. You go around the other side of your patio to turn on the hose around the corner. You wander back around to the patio to find the hose head. Picking it up, you squeeze the handle, shooting out a jet of water. Lena lets out a small yelp. Your head snaps up to her, noticing she is now wet.

“Sorry!” You call to her, your eyes widening at your mistake.

“What was that?” She tsks, raising an eyebrow at you.

You smirk at her, feigning your ignorance now. “Oh, you mean--” you slowly lift the hose back up at her-- “this?”

You send another jet of water her way. She puts her hands up to shield her face and turns away from you, gasping at your audacity.

“You did not!” She gawks, turning back once you’ve stopped spraying her.

You try to contain your laughter, failing miserably as a few chuckles escape your lips. 

You laugh, “Oops!” Your hand covers your mouth.

She bends to grab the bucket you’d previously sat down, tipping it to spill some water and make it easier to lift. Hauling it up, she steps towards you, threatening you with it.

“Woah, woah,” you plead, pointing the hose nozzle away from her and holding your hands up in front of you. “We can work this out.”

You take steps back down the stairs of your patio onto the grass, hands raised. Out of options, you begin to spray her a few more times as she approaches in hopes to discourage what she���s about to do. Your foot snags on the hose line that's on the ground, causing you to topple onto the grass. You land on your ass with an oof. You look up at her towering over you, bucket in hand. 

“This is payback!” Lena announces, a devilish grin taking over her features.

She proceeds to dump the full contents of the bucket onto your downed form. Cool water splashes across you and your yard, fully soaking your clothes and hair. You laugh, begging for mercy as you throw your hands up in defeat.

“Okay, okay, I yield!” You squeal.

You lay back, sprawling on your yard in defeat.

She smirks, placing the bucket down with a small hmph. “That’s what I thought.”

You rest for a few seconds before getting up, grabbing the hose as you stand. Lena turns to watch you cautiously. You turn the hose towards yourself and spray the nasty fish water off you before heading over to turn the water off, plopping the hose down onto the grass. As you approach your back door, you drip all over your patio. You shake your head, trying to get some water out of your hair, flipping it all around. You then remove your shirt, pulling it over your head to reveal your bra, and wring it out. You throw it over your shoulder and look over at Lena.

“I’ve got spare clothes in my room.” you slide the door open, beckoning her inside. “I can put your clothes in the dryer.”

“Thanks.” She nods her head at you.

She steps into your house. You close the door behind you and begin to lead her to your room. You open your drawers, grabbing a couple articles of clothes for yourself. You go to leave the room.

“You can wear whatever you find.” You grab the bedroom door to pull it closed. “I’ll get cleaned up in the bathroom.”

You give her a smile, shutting the door and leaving her to get changed as you get yourself changed. Once dressed, you go to plop your wet clothes into your washer, needing to get the residual fish gunk out of your clothes. Lena soon emerges from your room and finds you, sporting one of your favorite hoodie and sweatpants combos. She hands you her wet clothes to place in the dryer.

“Thank you.” She smiles, sticking close to you as you both walk back to your fish tank.

•••

Your fish tank is all clean and refilled in a matter of minutes, thanks to the help of Lena. After putting away the fish equipment, the two of you head towards the kitchen. You’re ready to prepare snacks for game night. 

She helps you drag out bowls and food for the snacks you bought for the night. The two of you get ready to prepare the food.

Your back is to her as you start to chop food for the dip dish. The soft thunk of the knife as it connects with the cutting board rings out to the beat of the song currently playing from your speakers. Your body sways gently to the music. Humming the tune to yourself, you fail to notice Lena approaching from behind. You feel her arms slide around your waist as she hugs you from behind. You lean back slightly into her embrace, letting out a small hum. She lays her head onto your shoulder. You continue to chop until you have enough. You set the knife down and begin placing the vegetables into their designated spots in the dish, ready to be stuffed into the potsticker dough you have prepared

Lena’s arms move to guide you to face her. You move to put your arms around her waist as well, staring into her emerald eyes. Her hand moves to cup your face, moving closer to you until her lips finally connect with yours. Her lips are tender against yours as the two of you lose yourselves in the moment briefly. You decide to gently break the kiss, grinning as you look up at her. You nestle your head into her neck, letting out a soft sigh as you relax against her body. She holds you for a few moments, resting her head on top of yours.

“Thanks for helping me,” you nuzzle your face further into the crook of her neck, holding her a bit tighter.

“Of course, Darling,” she returns, giving your shoulders a squeeze.

The two of you stand for a moment longer before detaching from each other to finish making the food. The two of you manage to barely avoid any fights with food, not wanting to change clothing again. After food is all ready, baked, cooked, and made, she helps you set out the dishes in preparation for peoples arrival. You set out some glasses for the others to grab their drinks with when they arrive, as well as setting up a few bottles of various beverages both alcoholic and non.

Once everything is prepared, you bring Lena over to your couch and pull her in for cuddles while you both wait for company to arrive. You breathe in her scent, sighing contently as you settle into her form, wrapping your arms around her waist. Her arms wrap themselves around your waist as well, holding you against her. She brings one hand up to stroke through your hair and she places a soft kiss to the top of your head.

“I love you,” she whispers, continuing to brush her fingers softly through your hair.

You settle deeper into her, “I love you too.” You place a kiss to the side of her neck.

The two of you stay like this for a while until a soft knock rings out through the house, alerting you to the first arrival. You drag yourself up off of Lena, the lack of her warmth causing you to shiver slightly. Lena follows you to the door. You swing it open, revealing the iconic blonde.

“Heyyy!” You greet your friend, swinging the door open wide.

She greets you as well, embracing you in a hug. Her eyes land on Lena.

“Oh my god,” Kara panics, “am I that late?”

“No, I’m just early.” Lena assures your friend.

“Lena just came over early to help me set up the arrangements.” You give her a smile, welcoming her to take a seat.

Kara sets a bottle of wine down on your kitchen counter before taking a seat. Before long, the rest of the Superfriends arrive, quickly filling the air with chatter. Food is served, teams are decided, games are lost and won. It’s safe to say your Game Night was a success, especially with Lena at your side the whole way.

[ok-pop-1]

a piñata for your troubles

a goofy ficlet, you can either read it below or on ao3 :)

To say that this is a normal dungeon would be an... understatement.

It's not that there's anything particularly wrong about it, Twi thinks as he squints at the wall. The bricks are uniform(ish), there isn't (that) much wear and tear, it's all as grey and drab as some dungeons tend to be. Objectively, he's just standing in a random dungeon room with the other heroes. It could be from anywhere, anywhen, whatever.

But, it's just...

"Why the hell is there a piñata here?!" Legend shouts, pointing wildly at the bright and goofy horse-thing hanging in the center of the room.

Twi sighs. They'd only just learned what piñatas are last week from Wild, who was extremely distressed to know that the others didn't know about them. And now, in a random dungeon, that should be normal and not weird and which definitely isn't in Wild's era, there's a piñata. Just hanging there. Waiting.

"It be thinkin' ye be needin' an aneurysm." Wind marches forward, ignoring Legend's splutters to pick at the pile of fabric strips hanging below the piñata. "Should we be... fightin' it?"

All eyes turn to Time, who just shrugs. "Maybe?"

"Yes," Wars says immediately after. "We have no idea whether it is safe or not, or what could be stored within it. Better to take care of it before we move on."

'Usually it's just got candy!' Wild signs to the room, though most miss the words.

"We're so fucked," Hyrule mutters next to Twi. "Well, ready for this?"

'No,' Twi laughs, accepting a blindfold from the pile that's being passed around. 'But I'm thinkin' it'll be fun!'

"Uh-huh."

Once blindfolded, Twi is left with the realization that he can't actually see Wild, which means he can't see what Wild would presumably want to say about the best way to fight piñatas. And he's left with the second realization that nobody else can see him, so he can't exactly express that information to the group. Although, now that he thinks about it, Hyrule isn't bad at understanding sign by touch alone...

Waving awkwardly in the air, Twi eventually makes contact with Hyrule. And immediately regrets his decision when an extremely pointed punch slams into his gut.

"Monsters!" Hyrule shouts. "One must've infiltrated just now-- it grabbed me!"

"Attack, aim for the piñata first!" Wars shouts. "But be careful of each other!"

"Should we be takin' off--"

A whack! cuts Wind off, the sound of metal on paper, before immediately being followed by an "oof!" from Legend.

"One of-- those monsters-- got me!" he wheezes from the vague direction of the other side of the room.

Chaos erupts. Twi abandons the thought of using his sword, due to the far-too-close proximity of literally everyone else, and just takes to swinging with his fists. He's pretty sure that there aren't actually any monsters infiltrating their ranks, but it's hard enough to tell amongst the repeated callouts of monster locations.

Eventually, though, one of his fists connects with paper. The piñata.

Gritting his teeth, Twi cocks his arm back and gears up. Sets his feet just-so, prepares to fling himself behind the hit and take care of this possibly-or-possibly-not-cursed piñata in one go. Swings, mentally shouting, imagining the piñata before him, quaking in its papery boots at the sight of his fist barreling down on it.

His hand collides with what can only be described as a metal wall, the clang! of it ringing through the entire room.

"What was that?!" "Time, are you--" "More monsters??" "I found the piñata!"

A tearing sound-- and then the sound of someone (Legend) cackling-- ensues. And then, nothing but utter silence.

Well, not entirely nothing. Twi holds his hand to his chest, because he's pretty sure he just broke every single finger on Time's armor, and his ego admittedly feels defeated by that fact. Oh, and it hurts like a bitch.

"Hey!" Wind shouts. "There only be the piñata! No monsters!"

Huh? Twi (and everyone else, apparently) tug off their blindfolds to stare at...

Seven bedraggled heroes, one piñata lying torn to shreds on the ground, and Wild, sitting with a smug grin at the edge of the room.

'You know,' he says, 'you're not all supposed to put on the blindfolds.'

Shouting sounds from several heroes. Twi drops his head in his one working hand. Lesson learned: next time, ask Wild to elaborate before charging in.

...And ask questions before Wind cheerfully hands you a blindfold. Twi makes sure to note that one, too.

[emo-gremlin]

A Caffeinated Conundrum

"Good morning Gordon!" Norman chirped, running up to the tired handyman to hug him tightly.

"Hey ki-OOF!" Gordon always forgot how strong the jock puppet was, nearly lifting to man off the ground in his excitement. A clang hit the floor, causing Norman to drop the veteran.

"Oops...sorry Gordon." Norman sheepishly muttered, going to pick up the object. Picking it up, he noticed how...warm it was.

"It's OK, no worries." Gordon replied, yawning.

"What's in here?" Norman asked, handing it to the man.

"My coffee, I...had a rough night last night." Gordon took a sip of his coffee, still trying to wake up fully.

"..Can I try?" Norman requested, looking at the mug in his hand.

Gordon looked at the puppet, and then to his mug. He sighed. "Lemme make some more in the kitchen first, ok?"

Norman smiled, "I'll go get the others and we'll meet you there!"

"Wait! No-" But it was too late, the puppet ran off before Gordon could tell him to stop.

"This...is an awful idea." Gordon trudged to the kitchen of the studio, where the rest of the colorful cast of the Neighborhood awaited him. They said their good mornings to him as he turned on the coffee pot.

"Listen, I'm guessing none of you have had coffee before, right?"

They all replied in the negative.

"OK. I'm only letting you try this once. Got it?" Gordon stated, the look in his eyes told the puppets he meant every word.

"Yep!" Junebug gave him a thumbs up.

He made five cups of coffee, along with a refill of his own, leaving some still in the pot.

"Do humans have this stuff often Gordon?" Lilianna asked politely, taking her cup with a smile.

"Honesty, I don't know how humankind functioned without the stuff before it was invented." The handyman revealed, passing out the rest of the cups. "I personally perfer the classic, which is what I made for you guys. Just black coffee. None of the fancy shamacy stuff kids nowadays drink, with the mocha latte whatevers."

"Smells great!" George commented, taking his cup with a smile.

"Thanks for letting us try this, Gordon!"

It was the biggest mistake Gordon J. O'Brian had ever made.

Norman was the first to take a sip. His eyes went wide the second he swallowed the hot brew. The puppet started to vibrate right before the man's eyes, so violently it looked like he was splitting into two.

"Oh no." Gordon went pale as the others started to drink.

Lenard was next, his eye going wide as he stared at the table. He calmly sat up from his seat and laid face down on the floor. Gordon walked up to him.

"Do not bother me. My thoughts are manifesting." The purple puppet warned.

Junebug started screaming, her cup was empty and so was her seat. Gordon looked everywhere in the room before finding her on the ceiling, clawing to it like a cat in a cartoon.

George had emptied his cup as well, now huddled in the corner with the coffee machine in his arms, hissing at Gordon when the man tried to get it away from the taxi driver.

George pounced on the mug before Gordon could snatch it away, downing it in one gulp.

"Oh God what have I done?" Gordon muttered to himself, trying to think of what to do.

Norman was still in his seat, still shaking, pupils so wide it looked like his eyes were completely black. "I am going to fist fight God." He stated, looking Gordon as dead in the eyes as he could in his current state.

"Please don't." Gordon replied.

George cradled the maker of coffee in his arms, drinking out of the pot and looking all over the kitchen for the grounds to make more.

Junebug was still screaming as Lenard laid perfectly still, seemingly unaffected by the chaos around him. Junebug knocked one of the cabinets off the wall, causing the coffee bags George had been looking for to fall out, the magenta puppet crawling on all fours to grab them before Gordon had a chance to react.

The handyman heard the door to the kitchen open.

"WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE FUCK DID YOU DO OLD MAN?!" A voice, similar to Norman's but deeper, rang out amongst the pandemonium.

Noir, an Unfriendly version of Norman, had walked in, along with two others; Tax, an Unfriendly George, and Lestat, an Unfriendly Lenard.

"I need your hel-DEAR GOD NO GEORGE PUT THAT DOWN!" Gordon screamed, now unwillingly playing tug of war with a bag of coffee as the rope.

Noir noticed Norman's cup, only a sip had been taken from it. He raised a brow as he put it to his lips and swallowed some down. "Hm..not bad, wanna try guys?"

"PLEASE JESUS DON'T DRINK IT!" Gordon cried, trying to get Junebug off the ceiling.

Tax and Lestat both tried the brew, now cold from neglect.

"Whoa." Noir mumbled, his eyebrows raised before punching Tax square in the face. Lestat dodged the swing aiming for him, running and tripping over his friendly counterpart, still lying on the floor.

Tax immediately swung back, the two puppets hyper and violent, destroying one of the tables when Noir was thrown onto it.

Gordon put his head in his hands, too tired to full think logically, and already emotionally drained.

"WHAT THE HOO HAY IS GOING ON HERE?!" Ricky yelled from one of the pipes near the sink. It was close enough to the coffee maker that George smacked the sock puppet out of the pipe. "MINE!"

"Oh thank God! Ricky, please tell me you know how to fix this."

Ricky looked him seriously in the eye. "You do realize I have no hands, right?"

"Now's not the time for bullshit Ricky!" Gordon shouted at the smaller puppet.

"Language!"

"JUST HELP ME!"

"What did you even do?!"

"I...I gave them coffee."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"How was I supposed to know this would happen?!" Gordon argued.

"Boys." Lilianna approached the two, holding a braided rope in her hands. The end of which was topped with Tax's signature hook.

"How did you-"

"Noir knocked out of Tax's belt when he sucker punched him. I took it to avoid any casualties." She replied calmly.

Lestat came up behind her. "So like, what are we doing then? We just hide until it's over?"

Lillianna shook her head, twirling the rope in the air and aiming at Junebug, grabbing her by her sweater and bringing the screaming yellow puppet to the floor. "Lestat. In my room, I have a few stage cables, go fetch them for me, would you?"

Lestat gulped, nodding. He somehow was able to avoid the chaos as he ran out of the kitchen.

"Gordon, I hope your time in the military taught you how to break up a fist fight." Lilianna stated.

Gordon nodded, going to break up the fight between the two unfriendly neighbors.

"Now Ricky," Lilianna started, putting the smaller puppet on her shoulder. "I need you to get the hand puppets, and you four will distract George to get the coffee maker away from him." She placed him in the pipe before turning to Junebug, still shrieking and clawing at the floor.

"You, young lady need to stop yelling." Lilianna pulled a ribbon from her pocket and gagged the younger puppet with it, muffling her screaming.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! STOP IT YOU TWO!" Gordon shouted at the two eyeless puppets, holding the two apart.

"YOU'RE A FUCKING CUNT YOU KNOW THAT TAX?!" Noir yelled, trying to get out of Gordon's grasp.

"WELL AT LEAST I'M NOT A DAMN PUSSY LIKE YOU!" Tax screamed back.

Lestat had returned with the rope.

"Ah, right on time. Now, Norman and Lenard both seem stable enough to be left alone, so I need you to assist Gordon in tying up your friends."

"Oh boy..." Lestat looked over at them worried. He was the weakest of the Unfriendly Neighbors, no real match for the two that Gordon was keeping apart.

"You can do it." Lilianna encouraged him, tying up Junebug in a nice bow. The yellow puppet squirming to get free, but only knocking herself over in the process.

Ricky had returned with the hand puppets, now trying to get between George and the machine. The yellow clad puppet hissing and snarling at them, scaling up another cabinet with the coffee maker in tow. His weight caused the thing to fall off the wall, the impact making George let go of the machine.

Randy got his hands on it, hopping to the highest point of the nearest wall with it, out of George's reach. Handy and Pig tackled him to the floor as Ricky unplugged the appliance.

One by one, the puppets, now subdued were gathered, some tied up to keep them from causing more trouble, others dragged to the center of the kitchen with the rest.

"You are never doing that again." Ricky told Gordon.

"I know." Gordon sat, exhausted and catching his breath. "Still...Lilianna, how come you weren't affected?"

"I perfer tea." She said with a smile, sweeping up debris.

[sinnohsiblings]

◀️◀️ for Zephyr??? 👀

There was so much excitement in the air, the Zacian pup's tail wagged wildly as he scampered down the grand white halls of the creator's palace. His father had brought him along to meet Lady Ashani for the first time. This was an exciting moment for any pup in the pack to finally meet the great creator they'd one day pledge their life and loyalty to, well at least once they were old enough to understand the meaning of that pledge.

The pattering sound of Zephys tiny paws filled the halls as he giddily picked up his pace with his father walking father ahead him with an amused smirk. The Zamazenta halting to bow down as a rift tore through the air in front of him. Zephyr paying no mind slammed into his father's back legs and the Zacien pup let out a light "oof" Shaking his head and walking between his father's legs he hid himself under his father as he peered out from under his father's shield-like mane to see who he was bowing to. The warrior Wyrm his mother had told him stories about slithered through the rift, her snake-like form melting seamlessly into a 6-legged dragon, she was so much bigger than the stories made her seem, her cream body only seemed to make her nearly white silver and sapphire blue accents gleam against the contrast of the white halls.

His tail wagged again, making thumbing noises and it slammed against his father's hind legs, Lady Galaria was as inspiring as the stories made her seem. She seemed to pay them no mind as she continued down the adjacent hall, Zephyr almost didn't notice the small green and gold mass of the calf that had nested itself on her back. "It seems Lady Galaria finally birthed her calf." He heard his father say pleasedly, "One day Zephyr you will pledge to protect our newest Lord of the Void. " "Why were they green? Mama said the lords of the void with golden metal could only have red bands. Like Ladia Galaria is silver with blue bands." "Hmm...I don't know, Zypher. Perhaps our newest lord is just someone special even amongst their own kind. Now come, Lady Ashani is waiting for us. I'm certain she will be in excellent spirits given the new arrival."

Zephyr nodded and happily trotted after his father.

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

i do think the jealousy in school reunion is really interesting i think thats a really fun part of the doctor companion dynamic to explore, what makes me roll my eyes is the we're both in love with him "the missus and the ex" thing

but like the jealousy thing on its own? just the flipside of the making people feel special thing that we explored a bit with 12. the doctor does single people out, does make them feel special, their attention is like a fucking spotlight who would be immune to that warmth

but the other side of that then is like, was it their attention that made me special? was it their companionship that made me special? thinking of donna going travelling "it's all bus trips and guidebooks and dont drink the water and two weeks later youre back home" like sure thats comparing what the trips are like but like, that also describes sort of like, who you get to be on those trips right? a tourist vs a hero

thinking of yaz in combat magicks being like "yaz liked wearing her uniform because it marked her out as someone who belonged anywhere. ready to help, and with the right to intervene. the doctor just breezed in and made the whole universe her business, like she was born to it, and yaz longed for that confidence." thats sort of what being the doctor's plus one gives you, right? access to everywhere, without consequences, except maybe your own death but the doctor makes you feel invincible too so you dont worry about that

so sure there would be jealousy but i think making it into an ex-girlfriend kinda jealousy flattens it? "in amongst 7 billion theres someone like you" and then you get to save planets. you become a part of the doctor's hero complex. you get to see beautiful amazing things but you also get to prove yourself a hero every day. thinking of rose "the doctor showed me a better way of living your life. you dont just give up. you have the guts to do whats right when everyone else just runs away" you get to feel powerful. you get a lot of agency where in your daily life you probably dont have a lot. thats what the doctor gives to those handful of the seven billion. so what if they take it away?

thinking of clara asking "why me?" and sarah jane "did i do something wrong?" why did i get this opportunity. and why was it taken away. was it anything i did? and if it wasnt, then doesnt that undermine all that agency you made me feel like i had? can i do this on my own too? and of course lots of companions prove they can, they dont need the doctor to be who they are but idk. i think it would still be kinda insecure-making when youre still with the doctor. when youre still in the middle of it like rose in school reunion. when you dont know yet what After will look like

and this is something the fam doesnt have to deal with i think. because they came to the doctor. they werent picked, they werent offered, they asked. they dont have to wonder 'why did you pick me'. which im kinda relieved about especially thinking about yaz? imagine having to wonder 'was i a friend of convenience' on top of everything else. oof.

and another thing is that of course for the doctor the rejection hurts just as much. when a companion says no thank you, your way of life doesnt seem that fun to me (anymore)

anyway so uh tldr i guess the jealousy thing is interesting but making it a romantic jealousy is not whats interesting about it

[talkfastromance4]

If we’re talking hockey! Calum. I need to see some angst amongst the fairy tale. Like if he loses an important game and takes his frustration on her and she leaves.

Oof you know I love me song angst.

It’s always a big game against the Boston Bruins. For years it’s been a ‘friendly’ rivalry between the Kings and Bruins and Calum was on edge along with the rest of his team.

While he was skating along the ice he faintly heard the announcers calling out their names and the uproar that erupted when his name was called. He scans behind the glass in search of y/n and when he finally finds you, he picks up his speed. You shift so you’re at the opening and he skids to a stop.

“Hey tiger,” you greet with a smile. “How’re you feeling?”

“Amped up,” he grunts tapping his stick on the ice.

“You’ve got this. Do you have my scrunchie?” you bounce on the balls of your feet.

“Of course,” he cracks a smile. “I can’t play without it, or without a kiss from my girl.”

You tilt his helmet up so it’s resting on his forehead and meet him in the middle for a kiss. You’re used to the fans cheering every time you do this but you hope you never get used to the feeling you get whenever you kiss Calum.

“C’mon man,” Michael taps him on the shoulder quickly then skates away.

Calum breaks away and you pull his helmet back into place.

“Go get ‘em, tiger.”

“Thanks Princess.”

It’s a rough game with a lot of fights, a few of them involving Calum and some guy named Fuller from the Bruins team. You hated when he got into fights because you think back on when he tore his MCL. Sometimes in fights helmets get knocked off and fists connect with faces.

The Kings had so many ‘almost’ shots to score but ultimately, the Bruins won by scoring with the last five minutes left. The atmosphere shifted in the arena as fans were disappointed by the loss and a few cheers were heard from the random Bruins fans in attendance.

Before the teams left the ice, another fight broke out and you were shocked to see it was Calum and the Fuller guy again. Michael pulled Calum away and you shuffled out of your seat so you could wait for him.

It’s tradition for the team and their significant others to eat at The Jolly Barrel, The JB for short whether they won or lost a game. The team is sullen as they drink their beers and poke at the appetizers as you make your way towards Calum. You rest your chin on his shoulder.

“Hey Princess,” he grunts.

“Hi tiger. I’m sorry about the game,” you sit in the stool next to him.

“Yeah…me too,” he takes a big chug of his beer. He sets the bottle down then nods to the bartender for another one.

“Are you hurt at all?” you hedge and try to meet his gaze but he keeps his eyes on the bar top.

“No.”

“What was that last fight about with that Fuller guy?”

“He was talking shit and I was sick of it.”

“You shouldn’t let him get to you–”

“He was talking about you so I shut him up,” he snaps and you recoil.

“Oh.” You look around the bar, nodding to Michael and his girlfriend Crystal. “Have you eaten?”

“Not hungry.”

“You should eat something, even if it’s small like a banana. Do you want water?”

“No, y/n,” he sighs, “I don’t want a banana or gatorade or water.”

You’re not used to him acting like this, he’s lost games before but he’s never treated you this offhandedly. He’s very withdrawn and keeping you at arm’s length.

“Okay…um, do you want to relax at your apartment?”

“No.”

“We can talk about–”

“Damnet, y/n, enough all right?” he snaps finally looking at you. The bar goes a little quiet. “I’m in a piss mood and I don’t need you to try and fix everything. So let me be pissed, all right? Your glass may always be full but sometimes it’s half empty for the rest of us.”

You’re frozen in surprise. He’s never spoken to you like this. You feel ashamed and embarrassed that his whole team witnessed it but more importantly, you feel hurt.

Then anger quickly rolls in and you hop down on your feet.

“Excuse me for caring about your well-being and wanting to help you. You lost, it sucks but that doesn’t give you a right to speak to me like this.”

You voice waivers and cracks as you defend yourself. A beat passes and he turns away. The tears don’t fall until you’re running out the bar in humiliation.

***

As you practice your routine, you replay the other night over and over again in your mind. The words Calum bit at you left a mark in you that kept hurting. When you got home from the bar you silenced your phone and when you woke up to see no messages from Cal, your heart broke.

After your practice, you quit a half hour early because you weren’t focusing. As you left the ice and exited the tunnel, you spotted Calum leaning against the tunnel entrance. The way he’s looking at you reminds you of a dog with it’s tail between it’s legs when it’s done something wrong. His expression appeases you slightly but you were the one he bit so you walk past him.

“Princess, wait, I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t need to talk to you.”

“Please, it’s about the other night–”

“Oh, you have more hurtful things to say? Where’s the team?” You look behind him in search of them, “or can you do it without an audience?”

“Princess–stop!” he stands in front of you blocking your way to the locker room. “I was a total ass and a dickhead to you and I’m so so sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said because it isn’t true. I was frustrated and I took it out on you and that was wrong of me.”

You stare at him and see how sincere he is, his brown eyes are sad and pleading.

“It really hurt me, what you said,” you whisper.

“I know,” his shoulders cave in, he stops closer to you. “I know and I hate myself for it. Please, can you forgive me? I love how caring you are and how you want to make sure I’m okay. Please, Princess, I’ll do anything.”

You look at him in thought.

“I know I can be a little overbearing sometimes…just tell me when I am and I’ll stop–”

“No,” he rests his hands on your shoulders. “You’re perfect just the way you are. I promise I won’t act like that ever again.”

“You’ll never be angry? That’s impossible, Cal. Be angry, just don’t treat me like a punching bag when I’m on your team.”

“I won’t,” he shakes his head, his fingers trail up to your neck cradling your face in his hands. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Princess.”

“I’m sorry I was being so pushy.”

You smile at each other and embrace each other at the same time, you inhale his cologne deeply. The steady beat of his heart is music to your ears.

⛸️🏒⛸️🏒

Taglist: @calumance  @in-superbloom @calpalirwin @karajaynetoday @wiiildflowerrr @sunshineeeluke @littledrummeraussie @suchalonelysunflower @hoodhoran @thew0rldneedsmcreycghurt @sunshineeashton @ashtonsunflower​ @mymindwide​ @itjustkindahappenedreally @seanna313 @mulletcal @pandaxnienke @celestialams @in-a-world-of-fandoms @blairscott @writersdare

[danco110]

“Now sign here.”

The new Broker eagerly scribbled his signature across the dotted lines of both the original contract and an adjacent copy, much to the satisfaction of the group on the other side of the boardroom table. As the young man departed through the double doors behind him, copy in hand, the board members began jovially chatting amongst themselves about their latest prospect.

“I like that kid! Reminds me of myself, from back in the day,” cooed an excited aven.

“For sure,” rumbled a towering rhox. “He has a lot of get-up-and-go.”

A human woman seated at the table nodded in agreement, then called out to the open doors.

“Is he gone, Miss Crystal?”

An tall, imposing angel appeared in the doorway, forced to lean down so she could see under the frame. “Yes, ma’am,” she answered, in a stoic tone.

“Oh, good,” the human sighed in relief. “Can’t give him too swelled of a head, hm? Still, he had a certain charisma to him, don’t you think?”

The angel bit back a sarcastic laugh as she stepped inside the boardroom and drew herself back up to her full height. “Well, ma’am, you know how some people have a kind of ‘reality distortion field’ about them? A way with words that puts even some of our lawyers to shame?”

“Yes!”

“…Well he didn’t actually have that. He just hypnotized you all into thinking he did.”

“Huh?”

Crystal strode forward. She picked up the signed paper from the table and began to read. “Oof. And it looks like he conned you into writing down the combination for our vault.”

The Brokers were silent for a moment, then again began lauding their new hire’s praises.

“Wow! I figured he was pretty clever, but this takes the cake!”

“Indeed! I feel like we should offer him some kind of signing bonus! What do you think, Miss Crystal?”

“I think…” the angel began, in a disappointed tone, “that I’m surprised he didn’t trick you out of the shirts off your backs, while he was in here.”

[silver-tooth-the-panther]

I

I recently came across your stories and really like all of them,and have made me a bit happier. If it's alright can I request a rui x blind male reader who is,like your second douma story is undernourished because he can't find his way into civilization,if he does,they trick him into getting lost. He has short light red hair green eyes.his name is shao and he's shy,doesn't trust people for obvious reasons.it's ok if not,just asking...!

(I’m so glad that my stories are able to make you happy! I didn’t know if you wanted vore or not, but since all my Demon Slayer stories have vore I decided to include it. Plus my friend helped me with that. However , I decided to make Rui a teenager so I would feel more comfortable with it. In my AU, child demons can mature and grow. They stop growing physically when they reach adulthood. So yeah. Rui’s a teen in this fic. I hope you enjoy it!)

Lost and Found

(A Rui Soft Vore Fanfic)

Warnings: Malnourishment, self loathing, and soft vore.

Once again,Shao had been tricked by the kids in his village. He was born blind and feeble, so he used his sense of hearing to guide him. Despite this keen sense of hearing, Shao has been tricked many times.

The people of his village feared him, believing that he was cursed. They believed that he would cause the newborn babies to be ill, so they decided to keep him away. While the adults just stayed away from, the kids tormented him. They often led him to the forest and then left him there, roaming for days.

The poor blind teen desperately wanted to be apart of them, so he often fell for these tricks. At this moment, he was wandering around the forest on Mt. Natagumo. He had been wandering there for three days.

“Crap.” He cursed as his foot hit the root of the tree. Shao felt weak. His legs buckled and Shao fell. “Oof.” He huffed as his face his the cold solid ground. He wanted to disappear. Away from all the cruel people.

He closed his misty emerald eyes and he listened to the forest around him. The wind blew gently over his body. Little woodland creatures rusted in the trees. Shao calmed his breathing and let himself become one with the forest. Then suddenly, a strange sound caught his attention.

“What do we have here?” A calm voice muttered. “Are you..dead?” Footsteps could be heard from ahead and they came closer. Shao lifted his head and a sigh of relief could be heard. “Oh thank goodness.”

Rui had been taking his usual route on Mt. Natagumo, his old stomping grounds. He had been reflecting on all that had changed in the previous years. Tanjiro becoming king, finding a family amongst the Upper Moons, and even maturing and growing as a result of becoming a Half demon. It was all so exciting, yet overwhelming.

So to prevent himself and his OCD from getting overwhelmed, Rui would come back to Mt. Natagumo. Were there bad memories locked away up here? Yes, but he couldn’t ignore the sense of nostalgia he felt.

Rui was heading towards the base of the mountain when he heard a loud thud. “What the-“ He muttered as he cocked his head in the direction of the thud. Rui picked up his pace as he rushed towards the sound.

He eventually came across a human teen with light red hair. The boy looked malnourished and he seemed like he wasn’t taken care of. “What do we have here?” Rui said, trying not to panic. “Are you.. dead?”

The boy lifted his head, revealing his eyes. They were emerald green, but they had a misty glaze. Rui quickly realized that he was blind. Despite this, he was glad that the boy was alive. Rui sighed in relief. “Oh, thank goodness.”

The sound that came from the creature was calm and gentle, at least to Shao. It sounded like a human sound, but it wasn’t exactly the same. “Who..are you?” Shao asked tenderly. “I’m Rui. I’m a half demon.” Half demon, huh? Well that explains his odd sound.

Shao laid his head back down on the ground. How unlucky must he be to run into a demon of all creatures? Still, there was something about his sound that lured Shao. “What happened to you?” Rui asked warmly.

“I’m lost..I don’t have anyone.” Shao winced as he laid on the ground. “Would you like me to help you get home?” The demon’s voice was warm and oddly comforting. “No. I’m lost because they tricked me. They don’t want me around them.”

A small wince came from the demon. “I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?” Shao shook his head. “My body’s so fragile and weak. I’m better off dead.” Shao heard the demon sit on his knees. He crawled up to Rui and rested his head against the demon’s legs.

A soft purr came from Rui. “I understand how that feels, but you should never say that you’re better off dead.” Shao felt the demon take his hand. Rui’s hand was warm as it held tightly onto his.

“What’s your name?” The demon said calmly. “I’m Shao.” Rui purred even louder, which was oddly comforting. “Shao..I like how that sounds.” Rui was then silent, thinking. “How about this, Shao. I can take you with me. All the other demons can protect you and Lord Tanjiro can help me take care of you.”

Shao’s heart nearly skipped a beat. All he wanted was to be with people who truly cared about him, but he still was suspicious. “Are you sure that they will be kind? Are you sure that they won’t find me pathetic?”

Rui softly purred as he held onto Shao. “Of course they will.” The demon’s sound told Shao everything that he needed to know. Rui was telling the truth. “Okay..I’ll go with you. Thank you.”

Happy purrs came from the demon. “It’s no problem.”

A cold breeze made its way through the mountain, causing Shao to shiver. “Are you cold?” Rui asked gently, stroking the boy’s head. Shao nodded as he shivered. “Here, I can help you with that. Do you trust me?” Shao seemed confused by the demon’s question. “Yes..”

A little chirp came from the demon. “Alright. Just try not to move around too much.” Shao was still confused as he felt Rui gently grab him. Then a sudden warmth came over his body. It was unlike anything that he has felt before.

He felt a strange plush material all around him. It was a little damp but somehow that added to the comforting sensation. Shao let his body rest against the plush material. It seemed to pull him farther and farther down, until he reached a strange pouch made of the same material.

The walls moved all around him, cradling his body. The warmth he felt was very relaxing and comforting. There also seemed to be some strange, yet soothing noises coming from around him. They all seemed to be..the demon’s sound.

“Where am I?” Shao asked curiously as he laid his hand against the plush material. “You’re inside of me..please don’t freak out.” Rui’s voice was muffled and there was some pressure on the plush walls. Shao was surprised by this, but the sound of the demon was enough to make Shao trust him.

“Oh, it’s okay. I feel..safe. Am I inside your stomach?” An embarrassed chuckle came from Rui. “Yeah..” Shao curled up and let his body relax against the demon’s tummy. “Thank you.”

Shao felt movement, but he wasn’t disturbed by it. He guessed that Rui was heading back to the other demons. “No need to thank me. It’s the least that I could do.”

[irritablepoe]

WAIT IM ALSO CURIOUS is there any poetry or maybe a poetry collection you really like??? IT JUST ENTERED MY MIND WHILE I WAS USING MY LIT BLOG PLS FEEL FREE TO IGNORE HSUWHSUWHS

THANK YOU FOR ASKING TOBI AND I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! i was thinking which i would pick as favs and then i went to reread them all and then i forgot about this and then i reread them again💀 anyways, i made a short list and wrote a lil bit of why i like it ig?

sooooo, i only have 5 collections:

rachel oates: reflections on healing

the poems of nakahara chuuya

kurt tucholsky: zwischen gestern und morgen (verbatim translation: between yesterday and tomorrow)

berklie novak-stolz: lazarus rises (amongst other things) (idk if you know her from tt maybe, she's really cool and does fandom stuff!)

the poems of edgar allan poe

i have other online books as well but these are like collected works from multiple mostly german poets yk :3

ok i'm probably forgetting so many poems but i'll try to list as many as i can that i really like (a few will be german tho and idk how to translate them really but i'll try if i use direct quotes)

Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland - Fontane: someone will hit me for this bc it's such a silly poem about a dude that has a pear tree and on his death bed he says to lay a pear into his grave and ofc a pear tree grows out of it and continues his tradition of giving away pears. and idk it's such a nice thing to think about like your good actions can be carried on after death? it's very nice

The Haunted palace - Poe: reminds me so much of that one short story i wrote in which i personify the house, otherwise i just love poe's flowiness in his poems so so much

continuing with Poe - The city in the sea: oof such feeling of doom, it cannot be compared

A dream within a dream -Poe: there's a reason this is my header, idk why it scratches my brain so much

The Raven - Poe: i don't think i have to explain that one it's just a classic

just like Annabel Lee -Poe, god i'm in love with this poem

Zum Lazarus - Heine: reminds me of Ivan Karamazov, i don't think i can explain it well but it's kind of a criticism of guessing and hypothesizing in regards to god when we don't know what he's up to?

Sonnet 112 - Shakespeare: i'm sorry, but i might as well be frothing at the mouth at "you are so strongly in my purpose bred, that all the world besides methinks are dead"

same with sonnet 139 - Shakespeare

shakespeare in general ig?

(in the collection:) XXIII - Berklie novak-stolz: i mean "hope is a feathered thing i thought to be lost" COME ON!!

III - Berklie novak-stolz: "these words must be pried from my teeth" again. i have no words.

shame - nakahara chuuya: "why, oh why, this shame?" sfskdfhksdhk at this point i can't be coherent anymore i suppose; i've not read many of his works yet but i'm excited to read them

Loreley - Heine: captain is so mesmerized by a woman he sends his ship into the ocean; a classic, very nice, very enjoyable read

der spinnerin nachtlied - brentano (translation: the spinners (?) lullaby)

goethe and schiller are ofc very good poets but idk i haven't been hit in the face by them yk (at least not yet? or maybe school has made me immune to their writings idk, i did like faust a lot tho)

die brück' am tay - fontane

fontane in general has made some nice poems but i'm a bit traumatized by john maynard, like yeah good hero man and stuff but i can't take this serious anymore when i still hear my classmates and me singing that poem

elizabeth barrett browning!! probably especially "my heart and i", i've not read much of hers tho

okay that's like a good overview of what i like :3 again, sorry it took so long and this isn't nearly as long as i'd hoped it to be, but maybe i remember a poem or two later on that i've forgot to mention?

now i wanna know what yours are tho, if you have any👀

[yourstrullyme]

boop! you have to answer the following questions and get into the ask of 3 your mutuals and make them answer them as well

1. Are you named after anyone?

2. When was the last time you cried

3. Do you have kids

4. What's the first thing you notice about people?

5. What's your eye color?

6. Sad or happy endings?

7. Any special talents?

8. Where were you born?

9. What are your hobbies?

10. Do you have any pets?

11. What sport do you play/ have played?

12. How tall are you?

13. Favourite subject in school?

14. Dream job?

omg this is fun

1. yes, my mom had a grandma that they called Lina, thinking it was a nickname for one out of two possible names so my mom gave me one of them (the prettier of the two imo)... turns out her grandma was just Lina lol

2. oof id say tuesday? ive been terribly sick and stressed out of my mind and had a test i did very badly on and it was just too much

3. nope lol

4. usually... id say the clothes, style, vibes. im bad w faces and eyecontact

5. green w lil brown freckles

6. both? i love bittersweet endings and honestly if the story is good and the ending makes sense i dont care if its happy or sad

7. uuuh im really good at picking up stuff?? like learning something for the first time is pretty easy, perfecting it is tough but starting is easy. i can also move my ears lol

8. Reñaca, Viña del Mar. Chile.

9. they change a lot but id say rock climbing, music in general, and reading and writing would be the most consistent ones

10. YES her name is carlotta and she was born to a dog a friend picked up from the street so i adopted her. shes small but her body is long and short-legged and her hair is colored like a black and white border collie, but her hair is really tough lol and shes got a beard. shes just a mix of a lot of things. she turns 3 in december

11. sooo many lets see... formally i did volleyball and hockey in school, plus athletism where i mostly did long and high jumps amongst other things. football in college (i was a goalkeeper) and now rock climbing, and im also considering joining a jiu jitsu gym with a friend to try and exersize more regularly (and beat the crap out of each other). then on the side ive always dabbled in running, did a bit of skating, rollerskating, some gym stuff, water skiing, fishing, and i tried kayaking for a month and i want to get back into it

12. 1.74 mts

13. so many lol although i enjoyed myself the most in english, spanish and history back in middle and high school, now that im in college i really love economy and anything to do with biology. basically everything lol

14. oh god... no idea. many jobs. id love to have a job that requires me to travel and meet many people, and a lab job or a field job but in research, and a public figure kind of job? the kind were u have to decide stuff and make speeches and shit. id love to write too, to be a writer on a tv show or write books, but also direct or act (i shouldve been a theatre major honestly if i could have aby job this one would probably be it lol) id love to also have a farmer or a shepards job... the long hours in the great outdoors and physical labor just call to me lol

i just feel like my dream job is a dynamic job, nothing too stagnant, but then again that can just be my age talking yknow? maybe when im older i'll just want a good paying job that allows me to be w my loved ones so who knows. ideally though, it would require me to be outside some part of the time lol

this was fun thanks!! also to that anon that asked me the same thing the answers are here but thanks for asking!

[furtiveseal]

1 and 14 for th end of year ask game?

1: oof, picking just one is basically impossible 😭 It'd have to be between Rivers In The Desert from Persona 5, Pretty Marines by Stringstorm and uuuuh Civilisation by Orelsan (a French artist). But that is legit the hardest question of the list for me I think, I love too many songs to be able to pick

14: Oh, definitely La Passe-Miroir (The Mirror Visitor in English). It's a French fantasy novel about a girl from a family where items are alive and everyone can "read" the emotions left by their past users inside of them. She's uniquely able to travel from one mirror to another, and ends up thrown into an arranged marriage with another family where she has to find a way to survive amongst the political chaos and assassination attempts. It's reaaaally good and I really recommend it (plus it's been translated in a bunch of languages). Honorable mention to Chainsaw Man, which quickly became one of my favourite mangas after I binge-read it in like three days in April.

[yeonchi]

Doctor Who 2022 Centenary Special Review: The Power of the Doctor

Air date: 23 October 2022

Way back in April, there was an apparent leak stating that the title of this episode would be called The Lives of the Doctor. That turned out to be a hoax fabricated by some people from the Doctor Who Discord server, but the name we have now is close enough to be similar, even though we already went through an “X of the Doctor” phase in 2013 for the 50th anniversary.

Well everyone, we have finally made it. After over 4 years (of which 2 years and 8 months consisted of EXTREMELY prolonged hiatuses), Jodie Whittaker’s final episode as the Thirteenth Doctor has finally aired. After that, we’re getting another EXTREMELY prolonged hiatus of 13 months until the 60th anniversary.

Before I make my final verdict on Jodie Whittaker’s tenure as the Doctor and by extension, the Chibnall era of Doctor Who, let’s jump into the final episode and see whether any loose ends will be tied up.

Here is my spoiler-free thought for this episode and the final one for the Chibnall era: “Oof, Yaz favouritism overload.” Nah, it’s the final episode, we can do better. “Sometimes, rumours can come true and sometimes, things don’t always turn out the way you predicted.”

MAJOR spoilers continue after the break.

Year-long hubbub

This section was written before this episode was aired just to see whether this prediction comes true.

People might be wondering why they didn’t see Ncuti Gatwa debut as the Doctor and I can speculate a few reasons as to why. The filming for this special took place from 23 August to 15 October 2021. The news of Russell T Davies returning as the new showrunner was announced on 25 September 2021 and the crew were only notified of this the day before. Ncuti Gatwa was cast as the Doctor in February 2022 and the announcement was made on 8 May 2022. With these timeframes, it would have been impossible for Ncuti to have made an appearance in the Centenary Special, unless some strings were pulled to allow for this.

Also, I totally predicted back in the review for Legend of the Sea Devils that this episode would premiere on 23 October (as part of the BBC’s centenary week of programming that started on 22 October). I honestly wonder what it would have been like had the Centenary Special not been commissioned; would this episode have taken the place of the Easter Special (albeit a bit shorter), or would the Doctor have successfully sacrificed herself to stop the Sea Devils without Ji-Hun to take her place? I guess we’ll never know.

TV Zone revealed the air date for this episode on 2 October before the BBC released the trailer for the episode a week after. It’s really telling of the care factor that went into the promotion of the series (amongst other things regarding production) when an unofficial source revealed the air date of the episode before the BBC did. Maybe the air date was kind of predictable given that it is the BBC Centenary (and, as I stated previously, the Chibnall era seems to like putting episodes on Sundays), but fans should have gotten confirmation at least four to six weeks before the air date. For the record, the title was revealed in Doctor Who Magazine 582, released 15 September, over five weeks before the air date. Apparently the marketing got messed up due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the official title reveal got pushed to 21 September.

Grab onto the waves of time space

Somewhere in space, a train- oh great, they’re finally doing a DenLiner. Nah, not really, it’s a space train, not a time train, plus, if I had to pick between the TARDIS and the DenLiner, I’d pick the TARDIS. That’s the reason why Den-O got replaced with an original Rider in my personal project. Anyway...

Somewhere in space, a train belonging to the Torajii Transport Network makes an emergency transmission after it has been hijacked by Cybermen- no, Cyber-Time Lords- no, CyberMasters. The Doctor receives the transmission and heads down with Yaz and Dan. During this, they are confronted by the CyberMasters and one of them shoots a hole in Dan’s helmet, causing him to float away, though Yaz manages to hold onto him as the Doctor deactivates the electromagnetic roof, causing the CyberMasters to float away.

The Doctor, Yaz and Dan head into the train. While Dan uses the sonic screwdriver to take control of the train, Yaz helps one of the personnel with a wound while the Doctor goes to confront the CyberMasters, who manage to teleport away with some cargo the ship was carrying, namely- The Timeless Child? Nah, not really, we’ll come back to them, but that’s the first thought I had when I saw them.

After this, the Doctor takes Dan back to Liverpool in time for his date (presumably with Diane), but as he leaves, he stops and turns to tell the Doctor that she doesn’t have to come back for him, deciding that he doesn’t want to push his luck any further after the accident he had earlier. I honestly thought he’d stopped upon hearing that there was a child to be rescued, but I can understand why he would decide to leave. The Doctor and Yaz see Dan off before they head back into the TARDIS. You know, I’m pretty sure the Doctor picked Dan’s house up after it was shrunk by Karvanista’s trap, so you’d think she’d be able to find a way to restore it, but oh well.

That’s the last we see of Dan for this entire special. You know, you’ve got to admire his dedication for Diane, a woman who considers being ghosted worse than being kidnapped amidst a crisis threatening the universe. Also, remember what Jack Harkness said to Yaz in Revolution of the Daleks? “Being with the Doctor, you don’t get to choose when it stops. Whether you leave her, or she leaves you.” I think Dan’s departure is an exception in that he actually got to choose when he left the Doctor. He could have not said anything and the Doctor would pick him up again 24 hours later, though given what’s about to happen next, I suppose he made the right decision.

Ra-Ra-Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen

At an art gallery in 2022 London (not really the National Gallery, Somerset House maybe?), Ace learns that a painting has been taken down for restoration work after it was restored only two months prior. Yeah, I bet it was those climate protesters, who oh so conveniently came back when the pandemic was all but over and most of the world got vaccinated. Anyway, Ace contacts Tegan Jovanka over video chat and tells her that 15 paintings over the world have been taken down with no explanation. Tegan, who is in Romania, tells Ace that three seismologists she was looking for (among others) have disappeared while investigating a nearby earthquake near a volcanic chain. On top of that, Tegan discovered a package upon arriving at her cabin; inside was a Russian doll toy box with a card saying that it was from the Doctor and a doll, specifically the doll of the shrunken Lone Cyberman, Ashad.

In 1916, the Master, in disguise as Father Grigori Rasputin (who could ever have known) is called urgently to the Winter Palace from Siberia. As he compels the Tsar and his family to take some time away, the TARDIS lands on an extra planet in the shadow of Earth, where all the organic life has been converted into metal - let’s call it a Cyberplanet. They discover an extra TARDIS there, which is later revealed to a Type 75 belonging to the Master. Upon discovering another energy source on the surface, the Doctor and Yaz investigate and discover that the child has been tethered to the Cyberplanet alongside the Master’s TARDIS. The Doctor undoes the consciousness shield and discovers that the child is merely a visual filter for the quaranx, a rare source of sentient energy capable of powering planets and civilisations, now being used by the CyberMasters to power mass Cyber conversion.

As more CyberMasters appear and shoot at the Doctor and Yaz, they run back into the TARDIS to find a message from Kate Stewart calling them to UNIT. Upon arriving at UNIT HQ, the Doctor meets Tegan and Ace after so many years. Kate shows them all the situation; it is revealed that the paintings were taken down because they were defaced with the Master’s face. The Master has also left a message inviting the Doctor to the International Seismology Memorial Conference in Naples near Mount Vesuvius. Before she and Yaz leave, the Doctor greets Tegan and Ace with a touch on the shoulder, inadvertently shocking them with static electricity.

The Doctor and Yaz head to the conference to confront the Master, who has compressed all the seismologists with his TCE. The Master warns the Doctor to leave Earth or her existence will be erased forever, but UNIT troops come in and arrest the Master. The Doctor has one of the soldiers give Yaz a gun as they intend to take the Master back to UNIT HQ in the TARDIS.

Meanwhile, Vinder comes through a wormhole in search of the missing quaranx and crashes on the Cyberplanet, resulting in him being stranded as a result of the damage to his ship sustained by travelling through the wormhole. He decides to use the device the Doctor gave him to contact her.

After the Doctor drops the Master off at UNIT HQ, she leaves Tegan and Ace with Kate to guard the Master while she goes in search of a jaded Dalek who contacted her with an offer to destroy his kind and a warning that a Dalek invasion of Earth is imminent. Yaz gets a static shock from the Doctor during their conversation before they land inside a volcano in Bolivia. The Doctor and Yaz go their separate ways; the Doctor meets the jaded Dalek to extract the information he is offering her while Yaz discovers more Daleks attempting to harness the volcano’s power. Yaz makes it back to the TARDIS as three more Daleks find the Doctor; the jaded Dalek is exterminated while the other Daleks use its shell to capture the Doctor, leaving Yaz to set off in the TARDIS alone just as she receives Vinder’s call.

Back at UNIT HQ, Tegan and Ace notices that the Lone Cyberman doll is on the ground. As the Master confronts them through the camera system in his bunker, the doll expands to its normal size, revealing that he was the one who sent it to Tegan. The doll opens up and out come a group of Cybermen, including Ashad, who was apparently cloned. Tegan and Ace try to shoot the Cybermen with gold bullets but it fails, resulting in them having to run upstairs. Ashad kills all the soldiers in the bunker and releases the Master from his imprisonment. The Master recovers his TCE and teleports away.

In the Winter Palace, the Master brings the Doctor before him, the Daleks and the Cybermen, where we see the Master dancing to Boney M’s Rasputin in something that could only rival the Master dancing to the Rogue Traders’ Voodoo Child or the Scissor Sisters’ I Can’t Decide during the Series 3 finale two-parter. Meh, if I was the Master in that episode I’d be singing along as well plus including some ad-libbed dance moves from tokusatsu to zhuzh it up. The Master then makes contact with the TARDIS and has Yaz watch as he uses the Cyberplanet to force the Doctor to regenerate into him; or to put it a better way, I think he forced the Doctor to regenerate so he could hijack the regeneration and take over her body. Yaz lands the TARDIS in the Winter Palace and the Master, now in the Doctor’s body, proceeds to commandeer it. Landing on an asteroid (presumably), the Master heads outside to see the Earth and what I think could be the Cyberplanet (but judging how the other planet doesn’t even remotely resemble it, I think it could actually be Mondas) firing missiles at each other. The Master, intending to tarnish the Doctor’s name, tells a news camera drone that he (meaning the Doctor) caused this, but that is all he could do as Yaz pushes him out of the TARDIS and sets off.

All we need is “DRIVE”

The Doctor finds herself within her own consciousness at the Edge of Existence, where she meets a man sitting next to a telephone pole, namely the First Doctor, played by David Bradley, with his last appearance being in Peter Capaldi’s final episode, Twice Upon a Time, in 2017. During the sequence, the man is also shown becoming the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Fifth Doctors- wait, Fifth? Peter Davison? Didn’t he get cancelled back in 2017 for claiming that Jodie Whittaker’s casting meant that the Doctor would no longer be a role model for boys? Eh, I suppose people forgot about it even though he really meant no ill will towards the decision or the people involved in it. (For the record, I think that the Doctor has been a role model for ALL genders, as they say these days, and women have seen the Doctor as a role model even before Jodie Whittaker’s casting, just as some men may still see the Doctor as a role model now.)

The Doctors claim that the Thirteenth Doctor refuses to pass through the Edge of Existence, though they acknowledge that the Master has taken over her body and that they can’t let him permanently hijack their existence. The Thirteenth Doctor realises that there is always a way before she finds herself alone.

Back in the TARDIS, Yaz sees an AI hologram of the Doctor, activated through a nano-implant which was inserted into her, Ace and Tegan when they got static shocks from the Doctor. Yaz then goes to pick up Vinder from the Cyberplanet before telling the Doctor hologram about her forced regeneration, at which point she switches between faces as she tries to adapt to the new information.

At UNIT HQ, Kate locks down the building while Ace and Tegan prepare to jump off the roof, but Tegan decides to go back down and help Kate. As Ashad and the Cybermen proceed to convert the UNIT soldiers, Tegan meets back with Kate, who tells her to head to the basement and find the manual override for the structural termination system. Tegan heads off while Kate distracts the Cybermen by giving them an offer. Ace jumps off the roof and lands in the TARDIS just as Cybermen are shooting at her parachute. Yaz drops Ace off inside the volcano in Bolivia before she has Vinder hide as she goes to pick up the Master from the asteroid. Tegan’s hologram activates, but her emotional memory causes the hologram to become that of the Fifth Doctor, who gives her some reassuring words before she opens a panel into the lift shaft. Inside the volcano, Ace’s hologram activates and she reconciles with the Seventh Doctor after apparently having a falling-out offscreen. Ace sets off after this and runs into Graham, who is having trouble with his psychic paper, though I could pass it off as being ineffective on previous companions of the Doctor.

The Master takes the TARDIS back to the Winter Palace, where he orders the Daleks to activate volcanoes around the world. With help from a hologram of Ruth (the Fugitive Doctor) and Vinder, the CyberMasters are defeated and Yaz forces the Master back into the machine before harnessing the CyberMasters’ regeneration to degenerate the Doctor’s body back into her previous self and return the Master back to his body. The Ruth hologram disappears and the Doctor, Yaz and Vinder return to the TARDIS.

Ashad and the Cybermen find Kate, who allows herself to be taken for conversion. Tegan climbs down the lift shaft, but Ashad hears her and the Cybermen shoot through it, forcing her to let go and drop to the basement. Tegan manages to stop Kate from being converted, while at the same time causing Ashad and the Cybermen to be shocked. Meanwhile, Ace and Graham manage to blow up a Dalek and the disruptor pulse system before they escape in the TARDIS, the Doctor having flown in to pick them up. The bombs detonate, taking the volcano and the Daleks with it. Tegan and Kate escape from the building as it is destroyed (a building that size you’d think would cause more destruction) and the Doctor picks them up as well.

Come on and feel the Nexus Future

As the Master stumbles out of the Winter Palace, the Doctor heads back to the Cyberplanet and puts Graham, Yaz, Tegan, Ace and Kate around the TARDIS before heading out and fixing Vinder’s ship. She then goes into the Master’s TARDIS and links it with her TARDIS, transporting it to 2022 while Vinder leaves through the wormhole. The Doctor then uses the Cyber conversion systems to freeze the lava into steel, quelling the eruptions.

The Doctor heads out and tells the quaranx to disintegrate the Cyberplanet before freeing itself. She is about to head back to her TARDIS when the Master, whose body began failing from the previous ordeal, teleports back to his TARDIS, using the TCE to aim the quaranx’s energy at her before collapsing. Yaz picks up the Doctor and takes her back into the TARDIS before leaving as the Cyberplanet fully disintegrates and the quaranx goes free.

The Doctor regains consciousness after Yaz took everyone else home (or rather, Croydon, but don’t worry, with transport being so advanced in London these days, plus Ubers being a thing, I’m sure they managed to get home easily). As the Cloister Bell rings, Yaz and the Doctor discover that the latter is regenerating. The two of them enjoy a final view of Earth over some ice cream before the Doctor decides that she must be alone and drops Yaz off, presumably in Sheffield, and leaving without a goodbye. And they never got to kiss lol.

Yaz encounters Graham and Dan, a month having passed since Dan’s return, and they take her to a Doctor’s Companions Anonymous meetup, where they are joined by Tegan, Ace, Kate and additionally, Jo Jones, Melanie Bush and Ian Chesterton.

The Doctor takes the TARDIS atop a cliff, and after some final words, she regenerates (with her clothes as well?) into... David Tennant? I mean, we know he’s coming back for the 60th, but this is honestly just fan-wanky and admittedly, this is something I’d expect from fan theories. Well, now we know that RTD isn’t rebooting the franchise, but continuing it, albeit sweeping the Timeless Child revelation under the rug. Also, this was kind of expected given what I mentioned earlier about the next Doctor not being cast yet at the time of filming.

Random expectations

So over the past year, I’ve seen rumours about this special here and there and I want to address some random things.

Yaz was apparently going to be shown back with the police, which would be a serious regression of her character because she barely went back to the force ever since she started travelling with the Doctor. It was for the best that Yaz quit the police given these circumstances.

I’d read somewhere that the Doctor was going to have to wipe Yaz’s mind (along with Tegan’s and Ace’s) because her travels were affecting the stability of the timeline (hence the static shocks in the episode) and in doing so, it would give the Thasmin stans the kiss they were looking for. Frankly, if this was the case, it would be an insult to her character (and possibly Tegan’s and Ace’s) because it completely negates her journey and what little character development she got (and on top of that, destroying more Doctor Who canon established by other people over 30 years ago). This would be like when the Doctor wiped Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan’s minds back in Spyfall Part Two, but a hundred times worse. The only time a memory wipe was justified was with Donna Noble in Series 4.

Given what little information we got about the 60th Anniversary, some people (including myself) presumed that it would be a reboot and that this episode would end on the Doctor’s regeneration with a fade to black. In fact, given that the production didn’t know about RTD taking over as showrunner until a month into filming the episode, I think that it would have been the case had it not happened. Honestly, I’m kind of glad that they at least got David Tennant back for it because it’d end up being a situation where others would have to address a missing regeneration somewhere down the line.

Also, if the teaser we got at the end of the episode was any indication, the RTD2 era is going to continue with the Univisium 2:1 ratio instead of going back to 16:9 widescreen. Not a big problem in the end, but still.

So, the BBC has confirmed that David Tennant is now the Fourteenth Doctor (in addition to being the Tenth Doctor) and that Ncuti Gatwa will be playing the Fifteenth Doctor. Three specials are due to air in November 2023 before Ncuti’s first episode is expected to premiere “over the festive period” in 2023 (please there be a Christmas Special, please). With this, I would also like to announce that I intend to continue reviewing new Doctor Who episodes in the RTD2 era and hopefully beyond, even if only for the content. I’ll explain this in my final wrap-up post for the Chibnall era, but RTD’s return has given me a renewed hope in a series that has seen better days. Anyway, that’s beyond the scope of this review series for now. Let’s quickly wrap up the review.

UPDATE - 19 November 2022: So news about the production of the regeneration scene has come out since broadcast and I'd like to discuss it. David Tennant’s portion of the regeneration scene was filmed on 13 May 2022, seven months after filming on the whole special wrapped. It was filmed in a greenscreen studio with the help of a stand-in and the scene was directed by Rachel Talalay, who was also directing one of the 60th Anniversary Specials as well.

RTD has explained the reason why the Doctor’s clothes regenerated with them as well, saying that he was certain that it had to happen because the notion of drag can be delicate and David Tennant wearing the Thirteenth Doctor’s clothes would be a mockery of the culture. Also, he was worried that the media would focus on it and that it would be weaponised by people. On one hand I can understand this, as the scene was a big moment for the franchise and David Tennant wearing the Thirteenth Doctor’s clothes, while natural, can look a little silly, plus there was precedent for this during the first regeneration in 1966, which was presumably written off as a production error. On the other hand, however, the Master was shown in the Doctor’s outfit when he took over her body and barely anyone kicked up a stink about it. Also, all arguments aside, crossdressing isn’t necessarily drag culture, meaning that RTD did this because he was afraid of the scene being shown as “drag blackface”. It’s not like they couldn’t show David Tennant wearing the Thirteenth Doctor’s clothes and then reveal his new outfit soon after. I hope RTD has an in-universe explanation for this, or it’ll just get left unexplained and I’ll be disappointed.

Also, if I haven’t pointed this out already, the whole regeneration sequence was filmed in a greenscreen studio, with the scenery being filmed at Durdle Door in Dorset using drones. The owners of the estate where Durdle Door sits have complained to the BBC for being dishonest about the filming of the scene, saying that it would attract people to the dangerous landmark and possibly jump into the water, like any normal person would even consider it in the first place until the media highlighted it.

Other general thoughts

Like many others, I was surprised to see all the previous Doctors returning for this special. If it weren’t for Ruth’s introduction and the Timeless Child arc, I’d have the Eighth Doctor in place of Ruth for that scene in the Winter Palace. He honestly deserves more screentime if the BBC won’t give him a mini-series.

They changed the font used for the locations again. It’s not that jarring, I’ll give it that, but the thing that’s even more jarring is that they couldn’t be consistent with their fonts for four years.

Ryan is mentioned to be in Patagonia after the Doctor picks up Graham. Such a shame he couldn’t return for at least one more appearance.

When the Doctor sees the Dalek appear in her TARDIS, she tells it that it is “the first Dalek to ever mean that”. Has she forgotten Rusty already?

“The Master’s Dalek Plan” is also the name of a Big Finish audio featuring Derek Jacobi as the Time War Master.

I feel like Sacha Dhawan could have gotten the opening titles credit instead of John Bishop given how Dan leaves the TARDIS soon after.

The Master gives himself a gold star and a sticker upon seeing the destruction between Earth and the other planet (probably Mondas). If I had to really count it, I’ll just assume it’s 15 points. Such a shame the Doctor stopped giving out points.

In the Doctor’s Companions Anonymous scene, there is an extra chair with an iPad on it, as someone on Twitter pointed out. In the replies, someone thought that it was meant to be for Ryan, while another thought that it could be for Polly Wright. Fun fact, Anneke Wills, who played Polly, was invited to reprise her role for this scene but she declined as she wanted to tend to her garden instead. Also, Chris Chibnall mentioned to the Mirror that Tom Baker was also invited for a cameo but he presumably declined due to his age. Amusingly, some people mentioned that the iPad belonged to Dan and amusingly, in the quote tweets, I found a link to a Twitter for Dan’s iPad. Whoever runs that page made the next Evil Dan, I swear.

Earlier in October, Bonnie Langford, who played Mel, was announced to be reprising her role, but we didn’t expect to see her in this episode. I assume that she would be returning in the RTD2 era and I hope that’s still the case.

The way that Tegan and Ace were reintroduced in this episode is quite weird. They state that it has been 30-40 years since they last saw the Doctor, though this disregards all the times they met the Doctor again since their departures, whether it be through Big Finish audios or prose. This is particularly the case for Ace as it is assumed she continued travelling with the Doctor after the classic series ended in 1989, though the 2020 book, At Childhood’s End, written by Sophie Aldred who played Ace (and also shows Ace meeting the Thirteenth Doctor and her fam), acknowledges all her adventures as being possible futures. That story also apparently explains the origin of Ace’s falling-out with the Doctor, though the Seventh Doctor Big Finish audio Dark Universe, also released in 2020, could come in at a close second. I won’t blame Chibnall that much for not doing his research, but if I were writing the episode, I would have read the wiki and found a way to acknowledge the adventures in the extended universe(s).

Fun fact unrelated to this episode but related to the classic series: Tegan, an Australian companion, was introduced as a way to make Doctor Who more attractive to the ABC in an attempt to get them to invest in Doctor Who, though they were not interested in a co-production deal in the end. She was also introduced as a replacement for Romana when the actresses for Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) and Leela (Louise Jameson) were unable to reprise their roles. Oh, an additional fun fact; I knew someone in primary school and high school who was named after Tegan and her younger sister was named after Nyssa.

Summary and verdict

Well, I’ve got to hand it to Chibnall. Admittedly, he promised an epic episode and we got an epic episode, though that can be said for a lot of finales. This feels like one of his better episodes even with the memberberry nostalgia baiting or the fanwanky ending, but I’m not forgetting what he did to this series so easily. It feels on par with an anniversary special, but it’s basically just The Day of the Doctor on another scale so it would kind of feel shallow if this was the actual 60th Anniversary episode. This could have premiered on 23 November for the 59th Anniversary and it would still have the same effect.

Dan left the TARDIS 10 minutes into the episode and the leaving companions near the end felt a bit rushed, but Graham’s reappearance in the last half-hour and the Doctor’s Companions Anonymous meeting really make up for it. Yaz got some time to shine, even without having much in the way of character development. Ruth makes an appearance as well which is good, but we get no resolution to the Timeless Child arc or Ruth’s place in the Doctor’s timeline after Chibnall pussied out of the double-down at the end of Flux. Kate gets the screentime and involvement she deserved after lacking it in Flux, plus the returning companions and Doctors were a really nice touch.

I came into this episode with the expectation that I would have to give it a negative score, but it got subverted because it didn’t mention the Timeless Child at all. It’s almost like you don’t have to disrespect nearly 60 years of canon to tell a good story. I just wish we got this quality of writing over the last five years instead of what we got.

Rating: 7/10 Series 13 cumulative total (with Legend of the Sea Devils): 11/80 (14%) Series 13 cumulative total (with The Power of the Doctor): 18/90 (20%) Hypothetical total: 47/90 (52%) Conservative total: 27/90 (30%)

I wanted to give Chibnall credit for all the memberberries, but I don’t want to give him the benefit of the doubt given how I said I’d be reviewing this series more critically last year.

And so, we have finally reached the end after 4 long years. There won’t be any new episodes until the 60th Anniversary Specials in November 2023, but I’ve still got Doctor Who-related things lined up for this blog, such as Kisekae Insights and Doctor Who 10 for 10 (which has had to be pushed back to next year because I’ve been so busy this year finishing off Kamen Rider Zi-O for my personal project). In the meantime, I have one final post in the works to round off the Thirteenth Doctor Reviews series, so stay tuned one last time as I bookend this series with a recap of my reviews and my closing thoughts on the Chibnall era of Doctor Who.

[darecruit]

What was the process of writing this next installment? What kind of ideas crossed your head before you decided on having Rachel and Quinn fight at school to get the story moving? Any deleted scenes?

And I can’t help from mentioning, how tough Shelby situation is. Finding herself between both her daughters. Having to reconnect with Rachel while assuring Quinn that it doesn’t change her situation, that Shelby is also her mama. Oof

Great work

Great question! I've got a whole document of ideas started of what I would like to see happen in this universe. The issue is when and where they happen and the order of it all. I have a whole scrapped attempt when I was thinking about jumping ahead in time a bit. Get Shelby and Rachel to a place where they had started meeting for coffee and things. Beth has a cute little scene. I wasn't getting anywhere with this set up because I needed to show Rachel's reaction to finding out Q is living with Shelby and all of that, and A Mother To Both does just that.

I think a lot of this scrapped content can reappear in the next story. The title will be the same as it is here, Growing Pains, and will focus on how the girls are handling Shelby juggling her time between them.

Growing Pains, Chapter 1: Hot and Cold

Shelby Corcoran sat drinking her coffee in the early hours of a mid-February morning, enjoying the peaceful, child-free quiet that she had so often taken for granted before. Not that she didn’t enjoy her new life, but going from zero children some nine months ago (save for the child she’d been a surrogate for), to juggling her time and attention amongst three daughters, two of which were teenagers…Well, it was a lot to handle.

Seven weeks had passed since her oldest’s 200-mile road trip two days before Christmas and the resulting spanking the girl had gotten when Shelby had returned home with her. In that time, the guardianship had gone through and Quinn had taken it upon herself to test each and every one of Shelby’s boundaries. Shelby thought she’d been more than fair with what she let the girl get away with, but even so, the teenager had spent nearly half of that time on some restriction or another.

At the same time, Shelby had been working hard to repair the hurt she’d caused her first-born all those months ago when she’d initially contacted the girl, only to get cold feet and run away. It had taken being a mother to Beth and then to Quinn for Shelby Corcoran to have the courage to fight for a relationship with Rachel Berry—and she needed every bit of it she had to face the Berry mens’ cold reception.

Shelby deserved the fathers’ suspicion and even anger. She had hurt their baby girl. Shelby had to prove herself—prove that she was for real this time and wouldn’t walk away again. Seven weeks in and the death glares they’d greeted her with every time she came to pick Rachel up for a coffee or lunch date had given way to curt nods and brief pleasantries. It was progress.

Meanwhile, Rachel had jumped into the relationship with both feet and took off running. The girl was trusting and wore her heart on her sleeve. It was endearing but served as a harsh reminder of what she had done to this sweet girl. Rachel deserved so much more and Shelby had made it her mission to give this child the world.

Just as her thoughts turned to her youngest, the nine-month-old’s cry crackled from the baby monitor. Beth was awake and sounded angry. Shelby sighed and set her half-full mug on the coffee table, then dragged herself off the sofa and towards the stairs.

 Beth’s ears perked up at the sound of the door opening and she pulled herself up on ever-steadying feet to give her mother a watery glare. “Mama, uh! Uh!” she demanded, reaching one hand out to the woman.

Strong hands lifted the infant up where she wanted to be and Beth laid her head on her mama’s shoulder for a brief moment. Then she remembered her needs weren’t being met and made her mother aware of that the only way she knew how—she bit her.

“Ouch, Beth! No!” Shelby scolded. Beth had been teething recently and, apparently, entered her biting stage. The mother was not a fan. “We do not bite, young lady,” she continued, shifting her daughter away from her shoulder.

“Ba!” Beth returned, face turning red in anger. She squeezed her fist open and shut in what she had learned meant ‘milk’. “Ba! Nah!”

“I know you’re hungry. That’s still no reason to hurt Mama, Elizabeth,” Shelby said as she laid the angry baby down on the changing table.

“Nuh!” Beth wiggled and tried to roll over as her mother unbuttoned her footed pajamas.

“Someone is cranky this morning,” Shelby remarked, making quick work of the diaper change. Beth tried to grab her hand and bring it to her mouth but the mother shut that down immediately. Taking the infant’s hand in her own, she slapped herself and very firmly told Beth ‘No.’ Beth sucked in a breath and then unleashed a truly piercing scream.

“That is quite enough of that attitude, Little Miss,” she scolded, scooping the child up once more. “I had my fill of it with your sister last night, and I don’t need it from you now, too.”

***

Quinn groaned as she rolled over and fumbled for her phone on her nightstand, only to remember that Shelby had confiscated it the night before for her “attitude”. Her behavior had gotten her a stinging swat and an early bedtime, too. Sitting up and rubbing sleep from her eyes, Quinn did a double-take at the time on her clock radio. Was it really 10AM?! She’d fallen asleep well before 9 last night!  

Her cheeks colored as she thought back to the previous evening. She’d been in a mood the entire day but had kept it under wraps while at school. She lost it in the afternoon once she was in the safety of her home. Shelby had been kind and attentive and it pissed Quinn off. After several hours of her snark, Shelby had finally had enough and warned Quinn to cool it. Quinn did not.

“Since you’re so obviously overtired, you can head on up to bed. Give me your phone, you won’t be needing it,” Shelby told her just after 7:30.

 “I’m not! God, I just want to be left alone and you haven’t done that since I got home!” Quinn leapt up from the sofa to argue back. Shelby gave her a look and simply held her hand out expectantly. “No!” Quinn continued, stomping her foot in frustration.

“Throwing a tantrum isn’t going to help matters, young lady. You’re tired and grumpy and clearly need to go to bed. We’ll try again tomorrow,” Shelby said, her matter-of-fact tone agitating Quinn that much more.

“I’m not a child! Stop treating me like—”

“That is enough, Lucy Quinn. Give me your phone and go to bed,” Shelby repeated as she got to her feet.“Now,”she added, stepping closer to the rage-filled teenager.

“Mama!”Quinn whined, stomping her foot a second time. “You’re being so unfair!”

Shaking her head, Shelby was on Quinn in an instant, snatching her arm up and turning the girl to the side. A hard swat landed on the seat of Quinn’s leggings, raising her up on her tiptoes in response.

“Ow, Mama! Don’t!” the teen hissed, twisting her hips to save her bottom from further admonishment.

Shelby let go of her child’s arm, swiping the phone from the girl as she did, and then pointed a finger at her. “I expect you to be changed and in bed in the next ten minutes. I’ll be up to check, so don’t even think about disobeying me.”

“But—”

“Lucy! Unless you’d like to take a detour into my room first, I suggest you do as you’re told.”

Quinn’s stomach plummeted and her heart raced. She shook her head fiercely as she backed away, her hands snaking down to protect her backside. She turned and fled as soon as she was clear of her mother’s swatting range.

Quinn was in her pajamas, teeth brushed, and laying in bed in record time. True to her word, Shelby came to check on her not long after. “Thank you for listening to me,” the woman said as soon as she entered the bedroom, then moved to sit on the edge of Quinn’s bed. She was quiet as she tucked the blankets up around Quinn’s shoulders the way she liked.

“You gave me quite the attitude tonight,” Shelby remarked as she smoothed the covers over Quinn. “Anything you want to talk about?”

Quinn’s stomach twisted with guilt. She’d been awful to Shelby tonight and here she was, still ready and willing to be her parent. So why did Quinn have to make it so hard for this saint of a woman?

Shelby breathed out a small sigh and brushed some hair back from her teenager’s face. “I love you, Quinnie,” she affirmed. “I don’t love the attitude and I expect it to be gone in the morning, got it?”

Quinn ducked further under her comforter and averted her eyes, but nodded all the same.

“Good—because if we have to go over this again, you are going over my knee.”

Shelby then kissed Quinn’s forehead, smoothing the covers one last time, and stood. “Close your eyes and sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

The teen sighed and pulled the blankets back before throwing her legs over the side of the bed. She needed to get up and, more importantly, needed to go apologize to her mom.

She found her lounging in the family room while Beth played with her toys on the floor. Shelby smiled and waved Quinn over the moment she saw her.

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” Shelby teased, slinging an arm over Quinn’s shoulders as soon as the girl sat beside her. “Sleep well? You certainly slept long.”

The teen groaned and blushed, but snuggled into her mama’s side. She was rewarded with a kiss to her temple. “I’m sorry for yesterday. I had a bad day, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” she said sheepishly.

“Apology accepted, baby. Are you feeling better this morning?”

“Yeah,” Quinn sighed, lowering her gaze. Last night’s guilt began to stir and creep back into her belly, souring it.

“Hey,” Shelby gained the girl’s attention. She gave her a warm smile and squeezed her tighter. “Don’t overthink this. As far as I’m concerned, the matter is settled and today’s a brand-new day.”

“Yeah,” Quinn repeated, unconvinced. Shelby was too good to her and had proved it time and time again. All Quinn had proved was that she was ungrateful and undeserving of this second chance at a better life. And the worst part of it was, she really was trying. Her best just wasn’t good enough.

Shelby didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that Quinn’s mind was teeming with insecurities and negative self-talk. But rather than belaboring the point with words that didn’t do much to stem those fears, Shelby let her actions speak for themselves. And for now, that meant pulling her scared teenager close and offering a much-needed cuddle.

***

Rachel paced the length of her living room as she waited for her mother’s black Range Rover to pull into the driveway. Today was a big day. Today was the day she and her three parents were going to sit down and figure out a custody arrangement. None of them knew that today was the day, but that was besides the point.

“Rachel, sit down. Or at the very least, stand still,” Hiram Berry told his child. 

[sapphism-and-cyanide]

Also like I wanna post an excerpt from Where Parallels Cross, which was like... Supposed to be a short story and then it became 28 pages long lol so oof. But I kind of like this scene, and it's my blog, so I'm posting it and no one can tell me no. It's the section where Layla more or less "becomes" Inky, with Ethan trying and failing to be the glue in their family.

It’s Monsoon season. Years have gone by. Layla has assumed the position of ascending prinseka, and a foreign outlander is kept in her quarters. She arrived one night without a trace of a ship or a wreckage, and the two have been quiet about the logistics. Everyone suspects Layla and the foreigner know what truly transpired, but none dare to press.

Besides, that Nyx girl speaks in a way that makes many shiver, and only the young scholars of Phorgraza seem to wish to speak to her longer than a few brief moments. Her arrival did bring the gift of more advanced technology, however, and the girl’s contributions have been without compare.

Ethan’s only complaint is that no one can see the signs like he can.

A girl with some insane blessing of knowledge no one else seems to hold, and the attachment his sister has to her. He might have found it cute if he didn’t fear the worst.

This Nyx girl can make anything out of nothing. She can give Layla exactly what she’s been wishing for - a last and final escape route.

And it’s during one particularly bad storm that Ethan begins that trek to the Gronaanchy, just as he had countless times before. The climb is less tiring now, and as he gets ready to stand on the platform, he freezes.

Every Darcell since the dawn of time has been blessed by some celestial gift that allows them elemental prowess beyond what is deemed the norm. Even Ethan, flawed and human, discovered his attunement to the emotional flow of humans and the steady pulse of nature. Where the two abilities meet is where his fingerprint lies. Branches and trunks turn for him, and the roots beneath his feet spring at his command.

Layla’s twin discovered power in frost and night, condensing the two into a choking, misty poison that blots out both light and lives alike. Terrifying, to be sure. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when those abilities were finally harnessed.

But Layla still hadn’t found her power. Not until now, it seemed.

The platform was blinding. Pure, searing light encompassed Ethan’s little sister in a solid orb, all while flickering embers sparked and danced in the twisting, serrated breeze. A tropical storm, Ethan would know the signs from anywhere.

“Inky!” Ethan yelled, his voice barely audible amongst the winds. “We need to go home! It’s not safe up here!”

The orb wavered, and finally broke away to reveal Layla, shivering and gasping. When she turned to face him, her normally cool, grey eyes snarled and flashed with something a little less mortal.

Lightning. Red lightning, coiling and grasping from her eyes. Flames erupted from her left foot, and more of the scorching light sprang from her right.

And just as Ethan has about to yell to her to come with him, lightning struck.

The boom caused panic down below, and all at once, Ethan’s awareness was ripped from his body. The light, the sound… It was bellowing. Roaring. Rolling with turmoil and fueled by anger.

When he was able to return to his own mind, he went to reach out to Layla, and then choked when she screamed.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

And he didn’t. When he finally, finally could see her, he faltered.

The lightning didn’t just strike. The lightning struck Inky.

Despite the sudden onslaught of vicious, ripping rain, flames continued to roar from Inky’s hair and limbs. And the lightning from the strike… It flowed through her and coursed along her skin. Ethan could see it - every red coil shook and growled, the speed picking up as Inky proceeded to step away. The already charred platform groaned, but Inky paid it no mind.

Afterall, she wasn’t the one who didn’t have wings.

“Ethan, go home! You can’t help me! Just fucking go home!”

“I-Inky, I-”

“Go home!” Inky roared, the Vlucht queen in her rising up higher than he’s ever seen before.

And, for once, he let her be. He left, his own wounds torn and bleeding while Inky screeched. Another boom followed after he was far enough away, and as the elders and even Elizea and Valora rushed to the tree, Inky released the lightning within her.

Ethan heard it, of course, but soaking wet and empty in his own equally empty house, the strength could not phase him. Not when he was once again ripped from his body by the wounds he exhausted himself trying to fix.

The Gronaanchy, once a sacred place, died that day. Inky’s flames engulfed everything, even as the storm above raged on. Nothing could extinguish her flames. Burning plasma and angry embers engulfed the one place the two of them could drop at least some of their burdens, and they never returned to it.

Even in the future, with her wife’s tinkering, Inky and Ethan would never speak about what transpired on that day. For them, it was a blank page in their history, even as the murals and tapestries recorded the legend of the lost prinseka’s destruction for future generations.

For them, there were some things they could never understand about each other, and nothing blood could do could remedy that.