#doctor who novels tenth doctor stories DW novels

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 52

Sorry for the long wait! I got a bit distracted with the new series...

The biofields on Gallifrey are so active that they can keep non-Gallifreyans young. For example, Leela had not aged even after 25 years on Gallifrey. (Audio: Spirit)

The Tenth Doctor recalled that Jamie McCrimmon used to hide the Second Doctor's recorder from him. (Comic: The Forgotten)

The TARDIS chose a name for herself but never told anyone (including the Doctor) what it was. (Short story: Toy Story)

By some accounts, the First Doctor was unaware of Sol prior to running away from Gallifrey. On the other hand, Susan had learned about the solar system and the planet Earth in the classes she took on spatial cartography. (Audio: The Beginning)

The Forge salvaged a Gallifreyan sarcophagus, which is a type of hibernation unit. When the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Hex opened it, they found an older version of the Doctor inside. (Audio: A Death in the Family)

The Seventh Doctor kept a calendar keeping track of when his friends would die, which is how he knew about Evelyn. (Audio: A Death in the Family)

The Third Doctor possessed an obedience spray. When he used it, he could make people follow his orders. (Comic: Undercover)

The First Doctor used to skip class at the Academy to practice juggling and yo-yoing. (Novel: Match of the Day)

John Smith - an amnesiac Decayed Master - once treated the Seventh Doctor, removing his clothes after they had been charred by a lightning strike and wrapping him in wet towels to ease the pain. Feeling that the Doctor could help restore his memories, John Smith fell into a reverie next to the Doctor and forgot about his other guests at the time. He gave the Doctor water when he woke up and warned him not to move because of the physical trauma he had gone through. (Audio: Master)

When a Time Lord truly goes mad, a part of their mind becomes lost, referred to as Dark Design. This unleashes the dark part of their minds. Those affected by Dark Design are hidden away in institutions. (Novel: Falls the Shadow)

This Dark Design is a true evil within the very DNA of Time Lords. While unaffected Time Lords effectively stabilize space-time, a Time Lord suffering from Dark Design might have the effect of changing the future and the past like a virus. (Novel: The Infinity Doctors)

Dark Design is a lot more intense than Time Lord Insanity and enters mental spaces unfathomable to other species. (Novel: SLEEPY)

Omega was affected by Dark Design and as a result was able to summon an embodiment of his dark side. (Short story: A History of the Universe; TV: The Three Doctors)

The Seventh Doctor had met no sufferers of Dark Design native to his time. However, he knew of possible futures where he would become affected. (Novel: Falls the Shadow)

The above points are particularly interesting when you take into account several incidents in DW Canon. For one, the Master said, "There is some evil in all of us, Doctor, even you. The Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your twelfth and final incarnation, and I may say you do not improve with age." Furthermore, the Doctor’s dark side was once again manifested later on as the Dream Lord. There was an additional manifestation of the Doctor’s darkness (or, the weak, insecure, lonely aspect) somewhat dormant in the Sixth's subconsciousness. (TV: The Ultimate Foe, Amy's Choice; Audio: The Widow's Assassin)

First 1 Prev 51 Next 53

[gon-and-killuas-mother]

had an excellent idea last night after playing The Room (.... for the tenth time) while also playing out Doctor Who Scenarios in my head

idk if there's anything called the "Null" in the dw universe but. really. what more perfect of a situation for the Doctor to end up in than lost in endless puzzles and escape rooms, navigating an energy source/impossible realm that goes against everything the Doctor knows and understands. if the developers of The Room won't let me borrow the idea i could probably just call it "Nil" instead, assuming that's not also a thing in the dw universe. but honestly, i feel like The Room developers might actually appreciate their world being showcased in a Doctor Who short story/novel

i'd already been brainstorming for a Doctor Who story, this one having been hanging out in the rafters of my brain for a few years now, bc i want to write something. idk what the likelihood of actually getting it published is, but if other fans can get their doctor who fanfics published then why the fuck not

besides, this story will feature an OC that i wanna use for emotional processing. a trans disabled character being valued and loved by the Doctor. my therapist told me once that doing stuff like that is a powerful form of coping and self healing, so yeah

[heythererosetyler-blog]

10th Doctor Novels Review from ‘oh give me a break’ to ‘more of that please!’ There are DW novels and then there are DW NOVELS and today, fellow Whovians, I will be giving you MY list of the top 5ish best and worst novels from the 10th Doctors’ run.  I think all the books in the best category could be switched around depending on what you are looking for from #10.  For instance, I like him best when he is alone so you don’t get the classic, ‘must save companion’ story and I also like the one’s where he is a hairs-breath away from being killed. It bears repeating that, except for the book at the #1 spot which no one who has read it would ever argue that it doesn’t deserve that honor, this is simply how ‘I’ would rank them.  YMMV.   Also, and this is a big one if you keep going YOU WILL SEE SPOILERS, so proceed with caution if you plan on reading any of the books on the list.  So, go on and read/listen to it…. we will wait. (Taps foot and drums fingers while whistling the DW theme.  Badly.) Welllll…I said we will wait but, welllll…. I really meant that I would wait but welllll…. nah, you had your chance so just tread lightly.  Or read with your eyes closed because, and let me repeat this…. THERE ARE SOME MAJOR, MAJOR SPOILERS!! )))))*((((( Imho and without going into too much detail, the following can be passed by without missing out on anything.   In fact, if you read any of these first you may just be turned off of DW books completely.   The Last Dodo by Jacqueline Rayner Ummm, if you are interested in trying to figure out where the Dodo went, this might appeal to you.  The only interesting feature is that where it ended up is where the Doctor might end up unless he and Martha can free the missing creatures from all across the universe from this evil zoo.  Trust me, not as exciting as it sounds but it might have been if it been written better.  And in that same vein we have…… The Doctor Trap by Simon Messingham I don’t know what it is about trying to catch the Doctor because he is the last of his kind that just cannot be written right, but here is another.  I had high hopes for this one because it starts out pretty good but after the first chapter or so you just want to scream ‘CATCH HIM ALREADY AND MAKE THE PAIN OF READING THIS STOP!!’   The Wooden Heart by Martin Day Has nothing to do with a heart that is wooden.  I am still unsure as to why it is called what it’s called.  On the ‘Goodreads’ website the description of the book states: A trip through space becomes a nightmare walk in the woods for the Doctor and Martha.  Period.  End of description.  I think the reason it ends there is because there is nothing much more to say.  I have read much better fanfic than this.   Others that I consider a touch better, with maybe a little less snore factor are…. The Slitheen Excursion by Simon Guerrier The Many Hands by Dale Smith )))))*((((( Whew, let’s all take a deep breath and get into the tasty 10 tales, shall we? The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner How do you take a story about ancient Rome, a 2000 year old statue of Rose aka the goddess Fortuna found at the British Museum, a genie, fake astrologer, evil sculptor and a crazed Doctor who is panic stricken while trying to save her but gets thrown into the REAL lion’s den and forced to fight in the Colosseum, and make it all work?  Write a book like this!  If you like your books a bit timey-wimey you will eat this one up.  AND this is the only published story where I think you will ever read the lines…. “(His) arms flexed and grabbed Rose into a hug. Soft lips pressed hers with a kiss of gratitude and joy and unspeakable pleasure at being alive.” A gazillion Ten/Rose shippers just punched the air.  They also would agree with Rose when, a line or two later she says…. “I think you must be real…my imagination’s not that good.”   Neither is ours Rose, neither is ours.  A fast and :: cough:: satisfying read! In the Blood by Jenny Colgan Ok, I know that a lot of people have a problem with the fact that whoever did the proof-reading was obviously sleeping on the job, but I still think it is a great book.   And strangely enough, I really wasn’t thrilled by the premise of the story; an infection is let loose over the internet turning normally calm, everyday people into violent pressure cookers who die when their anger gets too much for their hearts to handle.   What I DO love is how much the author just ‘gets’ the Doctor and Donna and the predicaments she puts them in.  I mean she just nails them and by doing so it elevates the story into something special.  On top of that Colgan introduces a near perfect pseudo-villain named Fief.  He is a big brute of a guy from the planet Cadmia who is unpredictable and whose loyalties are to his people and to retrieving the source of the infection no matter what he has to do to get it.  He is unfeeling, totally logical and robotic (picture the Terminator and he comes pretty close) and wears an earpiece that connects him to his world who are all raised on and made of sound.  When the Doctor entrusts him to care for Donna as he believes he is going to his death, Fief obeys and holds Donna back from following him.  He seems to connect to Donna which is fascinating to read.  Meanwhile back on the train, the Doctor disconnects the engine so that the cars slow and stop but he has to get the train to jump the tracks before it barrels into the town.  The big problem is that the train is suspended over a huge viaduct located in the Brazilian rainforest and it is one hell of a long way down.  And since the engine is heavier than he is it will burst into a huge ball of flame which our hero will land in as well.  Colgan comes up with some of the most beautiful writing here as the Doctor falls…. “And, as he cut through the air, all the things that fall pulsed through his head: a glorious downed pheasant on the wing; and a windfall apple in Lincolnshire; and a golden ball in Pisa; and a hammer and a feather on the moon; and a wall in the bitter east; and every passing snowflake and lonely airman and oh so many tumbling stars…. And he felt a part of all of these things.” There are other heart stopping moments in this book that make me wish it was available on audio.  Another winner! FUN MENTION/Target Novelization of…. “The Day of the Doctor” by Moffat Since we are talking Ten, I am adding this for one reason and one reason only: The Tenth Doctor kicks the Eleventh Doctors ass.  After releasing the initial script for the ‘movie,’ the Moff rewrote it to help clarify some things and give each Doctor a bit more back story.  It explains how Ten had been put in that very same cell during his Zygon investigation that all three of them got thrown in together.  Elizabeth tosses him in there because she believes him to be a spy and yet visits him often because he makes her laugh…. even during his torture on ‘the rack.’  Pre-picnic shows how he came within seconds of being beheaded (he wonders if both his head and body would regenerate if separated) and how he wanted his final thoughts to matter…. “Realizing he was now, beyond all doubt about to die, the Doctor rose up inside himself, steadied his hearts and chose his final thought with care. The children. The children of Gallifrey.” This I think, more than any other reason explains why he was so angry when 11 didn’t remember how many children died.  In the book version he becomes so angry that he gets in his face, screams at him about not remembering then grabs his shirt and throws him across the room into the opposite wall, knocking him out.  11 wakes up to seeing 10 pacing and mumbling about how he doesn’t hit people but then says, “But 2.47 billion children!” before launching himself once more at 11 but this time gets him in a headlock shouting “How could you forget?!  HOW COULD YOU FORGET?!” I would have paid good money to have seen this instead of merely reading it.   It is for everyone who sobbed their eyes out when 10 regenerated and still to this day have a hard time revisiting it.  This is all of us saying to 11, ‘Yeah, take THAT bowtie boy!’ even though we ended up liking him eventually. 3 - Peacemaker by James Swallow Quote: “A weapon is only a tool. I’ve heard a lot of people say that over the years. But so is a hammer, and if that’s the only tool you have, pretty soon everything starts to look like a nail.” Oh, I love that!   Peacemaker is a scifi western.  No, really it is and guess what…Swallow pulls it off!   The official summary is: “The peace and quiet of a remote homestead in the 1880s American West is shattered by the arrival of two shadowy outriders searching for 'the healer'. When the farmer refuses to help them, they burn the house and the owners to the ground, using guns that shoot bolts of energy instead of bullets... In the town of Redwater, the Doctor and Martha learn of a snake-oil salesman whose patent medicines actually cure his patient. But when the Doctor and Martha investigate, they discover the truth is stranger, and far more dangerous. Caught between the law of the gun and the deadly plans of intergalactic mercenaries, the Doctor and Martha are about to discover just how wild the West can become...” Whew, a lot to take in I know but very worth it.  The badie is a good one called the Clade which exist for one thing: war, death and destruction.  They are on earth to get back a gun that belongs to them and they will stop at NOTHING to retrieve it.   Problem is one man found it and the gun did what it is meant to do which is attach itself to its host and take it over completely.  It has the ability to heal but that is not its main purpose.  The Clade are simply machines that were made on a planet which was at war and let the Clade do the battles for them.  But then there was peace and the Clade had no purpose anymore so they waited and waited and finally decided to destroy the civilization that made them and then go out into the universe to fight battles wherever they could.   I can picture the Doctor donning a cowboy hat and riding a horse.  One of the many scenes I really like is when 3 gunslingers come out of a bar and challenge the Doctor to a duel.  It goes like this…. “The Lyle Brothers were quick on the draw, and they put a fan of bullets into the air before them; but they could only be as fast as human beings.  The Doctor was a Time Lord, and he moved between the ticks of the clock.  His hand blurred towards the holster on his hip, grabbing the slender wand there and thumbing the activation switch.  The sonic screwdriver droned loudly, and the air between the gunslingers and the Doctor shimmered like heat-haze off the desert.  Three speeding dots of lead stopped dead and flattened against an invisible wall of sound, before falling harmlessly to the dirt.” The end of the book was shocking when the Doctor makes the ultimate sacrifice by allowing the gun to take him over so that he can use it to save Martha’s life.  After that it was an internal battle between the Clade gun that was trying to possess him, and the Doctors own inner struggle which was a fascinating fight.   2 – The Eyeless by Lance Parkin Quote:  “Do you know what?  In the end their sacrifice made no difference.  Because THEY survived.  Thousands of them, millions.  Just one.  It doesn’t matter.  It’s the same thing. And…do you know what?... life is always better than death. Always.  Yet I want all of THEM dead.  Every single last one of them.  When did I become someone who wanted to exterminate?  When was that? When did they win?’   Take one brilliant hero, put him in a position where he must find and remove such a incredibly lethal weapon that it can destroy whole planets, then put it at the heart of a HUGE pyramid shaped fortress whose defense systems both inside and out are pin-point accurate to protect the weapon and you would have an good story.  THEN throw in an alien species called the Eyeless who are made of a glass like material and who also want the weapon and will kill the Doctor to keep him from getting it and you are probably reading a great story! THEN add in thousands of ‘ghosts’ that also inhabit the fortress and whose touch turns their victims into a ghost as well.  Even though they mean no harm, they do not understand their effect on those they touch which makes them yet another barrier for him to get by.  This up’s the entertainment factor, making it a fantastic story!  Finally throw into the mix one bully teenager who HATES the Doctor and also wants him dead, make the Doctor companionless, lonely and very introspective, have it all put together by an exceptional writer…. mix well and you have something that you lose sleep over and will reread multiple times.   The Doctor is up against an almost insurmountable goal that very nearly breaks him.  It is a breathless page-turner that is not for the faint of heart.  Parkin wrote this for a Doctor who is quick on his feet, a blazingly fast thinker who can stay one step ahead of multiple traps and enemies, one who is physically strong and extremely cunning.  In other words, Ten.  I can’t see any of the others having all those qualities in one dynamic package that Parkin could have placed center stage except him. For instance... “The Doctor had broken free of the Eyeless, but it still had a six-fingered handful of his coat and jacket lapel.  The Doctor was closed in, his arm under the Eyeless’ so that he had it in what he rather hoped was a wrestling hold…. The glass man shoved the Doctor against the back wall.  It wasn’t any stronger than a human being, although that was strong enough to push the air out of his lungs.  He recovered, twisted, managed to trip the Eyeless over and now he had it pinned, his knee in its back, although it was hard to keep hold….” And this was just one Eyeless.  At one point during the above scene Parkin describes it as almost like a waltz as the two vie for dominance over the other.  There is a lot of physical jousting and plain old hand to (glass) hand combat that I don’t think any of the others could have pulled off as well as Ten.   Where the ghosts are concerned there’s a part where he is surrounded by them as they advance. He is trying to get through to them that if they touch him, he will not become a ghost, he will just disappear.  But there is a part of him that is just so tired and feels so alone that he actually wonders if that would be a bad thing.   As they come closer you can tell that he is almost yelling at himself when he loses it, saying to them… “I’m the last one,” the Doctor said. ‘I’m it.  My people died.  All of them.  And Time Lords don’t die just the once, you know.  You have to kill us a lot more than once to make it stick.’   Still the ghosts pressed at him, some holding out their hands like beggars after a scrap of food, some shouldering towards him like they were after a fight, some apparently just wanting him to see them cry.  They kept coming, like waves to a beach.   ‘Do you know what?  In the end their sacrifice made no difference.  Because THEY survived.  Thousands of them, millions.  Just one.  It doesn’t matter.  It’s the same thing.  And…do you know what?... life is always better than death.  Always.  Yet I want all of THEM dead.  Every single last one of them.  When did I become someone who wanted to exterminate?  When was that?  When did they win?’   The ghosts weren’t listening.” At times it feels like you are eavesdropping on a therapy session because we get to hear the inner workings of his mind.  It is a fascinating way to understand this Doctor’s motivations and feel his loneliness.  This story is like one big ‘Escape Room’ where you either solve it or die trying.  As the Doctor would say, ‘no second chances.’  It’s that kind of story.   1 – Prisoner of the Daleks by Trevor Baxendale Scene: “The execution squad was already moving back towards Jennifer and Kuli, taking up extermination positions again. The Doctor ran over and placed himself between the Daleks, the little girl and her mother. “If you really want to kill them then you’ll have to go through me first.” “You can be disabled" warned Dalek X "Try It” The Dalek guns twitched impatiently in their sockets.  All eyes were on the Doctor, but he met the pitiless blue stares unflinchingly. “Harm them in any way and I will not cooperate. You can disable me and torture me again or even kill me, but you will NEVER get the TARDIS!” ― Trevor Baxendale, Prisoner of the Daleks Fellow Whovians please bow down and give thanks to the man who wrote possibly the greatest DW novel of all time, certainly of the reboot…. Trevor Baxendale.  Ok, ok so I haven’t read EVERY DW book so the ‘all time’ comment can be almost ignored.  I say almost because I have read reviews by those who have been fans from Hartnell to now who have also said that this is the absolute best ever written.  Don’t believe me?  Check out YouTube where there have been a couple of attempts at recreating scenes, or the video reading of the first chapter with intro and backdrop, whole pages filled with fan art of this very book on DeviantArt etc. etc.  Hell, just look at the ratings on Amazon for it.  Even Barnes and Noble along with the BBC thought it worthy of putting it, along with “Remembrance of the Daleks” from the Classic era into their ‘bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging and an attractive silk-ribbon bookmark’.  One thing I do take issue with is where it says that on Amazon that it offers…. “…hours of pleasure to readers young and old…” Ahhh, no.  “Prisoner…” is most definitely NOT for the young reader.  It is one of the most, if not THE most adult DW book I have ever read and I have read 95% of the reboots novels.  At times it is downright brutal.  There is no other book where a scene like this is featured…. (He is dragged into a room and forced to stand against a metal wall where he is bound to it via tight clamps around his ankles and wrists.  Then something is clamped to his head with hundreds of fine needles pricked his scalp.) “I AM DALEK X’ ‘Can’t say I’m pleased to meet you, sorry’ ‘YOU ARE ATTACHED TO A DALEK MIND PROBE.  IT HAS BEEN CALIBRATED TO YOUR SPECIFIC BRAINWAVE FREQUENCY.’ ‘You won’t get anything out of me’ the Doctor blurted. ‘THAT IS NOT THE INTENTION’ replied Dalek X. ‘YET.’ ‘I INTEND TO MEASURE YOUR CAPACITY FOR PHYSICAL PAIN’ said Dalek X ‘Oh.  Why?’ ‘BECAUSE I WISH TO.’ Suffice it to say that what they do to him is written pretty graphically and is even hard to re-type.  There is one part, however, I do like which comes after the second time (in a row, btw) they torture him that I think sums up 10 pretty well, “His brain felt like it was about to burst, but when the torment ended the Doctor found himself laughing.  “That’s it, isn’t it?” he panted, his breath ragged and thin.  “Your losing!” It’s the laughter that makes the scene so surprising and makes it uniquely Ten.   There they are, my least favorite and my best.  What do you think?  Which are yours?

[expelliarmus]

[doccywhomst]

I am violently fighting the adhd impulse to hyperfixate on the extended universe before inevitably dipping out of it when the hyperfixation ends. Thankfully I would have no idea where to begin if i stopped fighting that impulse. The sheer ocean of content could drown several coastal provinces in one night. As such, it sure would be a SUCH shame of you happened to, i dont know, drop any sort of starter's guide typa thing detailing the basic content you'd need to start getting into the eu?? wink wonk

it's a chilly evening in late october. i meet you at the usual spot, just as we agreed, by the fire hydrant on the corner of 5th and Main. my long, taupe overcoat ruffles in a sudden breeze; the faint odors of smoke and aftershave linger on my calloused fingers. i lower my hat to cover my eyes as i pass you, effortlessly slipping you a leather briefcase.

the goods.

my masterpost of FREE doctor who EU resources

ALL of these are free (excluding a Spotify subscription)!

comics:

viewcomics.me is the website that I use to freely access DW comics! try to buy them if you can afford to, but budgets get tight, so here are the links for the:

Eighth Doctor Titan Comics stories with Josephine Day (just go 3-8 pages in to skip the cover images)

Doctor Who Classics series

Thirteenth Doctor comics

Missy comics

Tenth Doctor comics

and SO much more. i mean, just look up the doctor or character you're looking for and you'll probably find most of their stuff for free. give it a whirl.

EDA books:

archive.org has most (if not all) of the Eighth Doctor Adventures in PDF format! the link above sends you to their collection, which is free. there's also an option to listen to them like audiobooks, but the voice is pretty stilted and robotic, so be prepared.

VNA books:

archive.org ALSO has most/all of the Virgin New Adventures novels in PDF format! the link above sends you to the collection, which is also free. again, you can listen to them like audiobooks, but... just grit your teeth and bear the robot voice.

Eighth Doctor audios:

here is a Spotify playlist of the Eighth Doctor's first adventures with Charley Pollard! Big Finish is extremely protective of their audios, so they copyright-strike basically everything that resembles a transcript or audio recording, but these were released for free. there are quite a few on here, so consider listening through it.

additionally, here is another playlist of his first adventures with Lucie Miller! BOTH companions have more stories after these, but you'll either need a friend to share the links or some dough to give to Big Finish.

Scream of the Shalka:

this animated webseries features a (pretty beloved) "non-canonical" doctor, usually referred to as "shalka doctor." dailymotion has all six parts of the webseries! (don't be spooked by the video titles. they're from a turkish account, but the videos are in english.)

part 1 // part 2 // part 3 // part 4 // part 5 // part 6

final comments:

unfortunately, i couldn't find a free PDF collection for the Faction Paradox books. if anyone has a link, please append it below! there are also the DW spinoff series, like Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures, but you can find those on normal pay-to-stream sites. i wanted this post to be for (mostly) free sources.

[halorvic]

could I trouble you for a drawing of the tenth doctor just doing something doctor-y... I miss Ten.

[just-the-hiddles]

Writer’s Spotlight | myoxisbroken

Happy hump day, peeps!  This week’s spotlight is the queen of a historical fic, AU or canon.  The maven of food porn in a fic. And the reigning champ of teasing me with smut @myoxisbroken​ !  Let’s dive in!!

The Basics

MASTERLIST HERE

Any other names you want people to call you?

Miss Ox, myox, whatever you feel like!

How long have you been writing fic?

2 years.

What fandoms and/ships do you write?

MCU (Loki, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes), other Tom Hiddleston characters (Pine, Conrad, Sharpe, Buxton, Nicholls, Plumptre, and ever-growing), and just branching out into Pedro Pascal with The Mandalorian; I also have a few Doctor Who fics in my Masterlist (Ten/Donna Noble)

How did you get started writing fic?

I was reading a ton of Doctor Who fic and enjoying the Doctor/River Song stories. Then I rewatched DW season 4 and was so depressed about Donna's ending that I immediately watched the David Tennant/Catherine Tate version of Much Ado About Nothing. And then I started to ship the Tenth Doctor and Donna.

So I read a bunch of their fic and thought, "You know what would be awesome? If someone wrote a WW2 AU where Donna's a single mother and the Doctor is an injured fighter pilot that she takes in as a boarder." And then I started to get snippets of dialogue in my head, and ideas for scenes, and I wondered if I might be able to write a story myself. I hadn't written anything in years, but I decided to give it a try. And a few months later, I had my first story completed, a 14-chapter Doctor Who AU.

 After that, I had the writing bug and I haven't been able to stop coming up with ideas and working to put them into words!

Story Recommendations

Which of your stories are your favorite?

It is honestly so hard to choose. I'm only going to choose completed works, because I always love the WIPs I'm working on. So, let's see: You Bring Me Home is one of them, because it was so fun to just jump into a sexy vacation romp with some playful kink exploration for James Conrad (Kong: Skull Island). With Brooding Wings was my first attempt at a vampire story using multiple Tom Hiddleston characters, and I really enjoyed playing with the dynamics of different personalities and settings in that world. 

 In A Restless World Like This Is is another, because I had such a great time writing a fluffy love story for Steve Rogers and an older OFC. It started as a spite project because of someone's objections to older characters and turned into such a lovely experience. It was one of the easiest I've ever written in terms of how quickly it flowed from my brain through my fingers. I'd loved writing for Loki (An Excellent Suggestion was my first Loki story, and my first time writing smut) and for Bucky (We Are All Victims of Physics Sometimes was my first dip into capturing Bucky's quiet reserve and depth of emotion).

I honestly could go on and on about stories but would only sound more conceited.

Which story are you most proud of?

I think A Pursuit of the Heart. It was my first time writing in the Regency/Georgian era, and I did a TON of research for it. It was also my first novel-length story, and I didn't even know if I could take on something that big or write a historical romance convincingly, in a way that felt era-appropriate and true. I was so proud of the finished product.

Which of your stories do you think is the most underrated?

Let Your Heart Be Light, a Bucky/OFC story with a Christmas theme - its companion piece, Kissing The New Year In, also didn't get much traction. But I loved writing them!

Someone is new to reading your stories, which story/stories should they read first?

It depends on what actors and characters they like, really, as well as if they like smut or fluff or both. For a smutty one-shot, I'd recommend An Excellent Suggestion (which has a one-shot sequel). For a swoonier longer fic with smut, I'd recommend either You Bring Me Home or my fake relationship Steve Rogers fic The One Thing You Can't See. 

For fluff, An Unforeseen Outcome is a Loki one-shot with both fluff and a little emotional hurt/comfort. Interestingly, I've written more not-smut fluff for Loki than for any other character. I think I just want him to find connection and love and acceptance so much. 

And if you are a fan of historical romance, I'd recommend either my Thomas Sharpe AU A Compromising Situation, or if you like your fics with a healthy dose of angst, Beside Us When Beauty Brightens, my William Buxton (Return to Cranford) story about what happens after he loses Peggy.

Which Story did you do the most research for?

A Pursuit of the Heart, since it was my first one set in the Georgian era and I had a lot of catching up to do! I research for most of my stories, and definitely for my multi-chapter stories. Even if they're contemporary, I still look up resorts, locations, restaurants and local foods, things to do, etc. I can't help it. It's like I'm addicted to research.

Which Story was the easiest to write?

For a multi-chapter fic, In A Restless World Like This Is. For a one-shot, probably my Loki Christmas fluff All I Want For Christmas Is You.

The Writing Process

What is your favorite part of writing?

When a scene I've had in my head just flies out of my fingers and onto the page, and I can read it back and think, "YES! That's just how I wanted it!"

What is your least favorite part?

When my brain is too scattered and unfocused to actually allow me to do any writing.

Describe your style in 1 to 2 sentences.

Well-researched stories that use the information to make you feel like you're there and that incorporate sweetness into even the smuttiest scenario. Also, food porn, and porn porn.

Who are some of your writing idols and/or influences?

For published novels, Mary Balogh and Sabrina Jeffries are two of my favorite historical romance writers, and I think that reading them has helped to make my writing better. In terms of fic authors (some of whom are also published), @nildespirandum​ and @caffiend-queen were two of the first I read in the Tom/Loki fandom and their excellent quality and intriguing plots are an inspiration, even if I will never be able to write plots as twisty as theirs. Also, reading @yespolkadotkitty​'s stories helped me push myself to get better at setting scenes and at incorporating the various senses into stories, because she is so good at both of those things and so much else.

What programs do you use to write and/or edit?

I use Google Docs. I have also been dancing around buying Scrivener for an original novel I plan to write and shop around, so I'll be doing that soon.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Plotter, for sure. My brain would implode if I tried to pants my stories.

Do you write RPF or not?

I have a few chapters of a Tom Hiddleston RPF in draft form but haven't proceeded with it. I'd kind of like to write a Pedro Pascal RPF one-shot. I love reading RPF but feel odd about writing it for some reason.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Again with the tough questions! It might be Loki, because he is such a chameleon and there are so many hidden depths to him. I really want to write some multi-chapter Loki stories, because so far I have done one-shots and one 3-chapter short fic. I'd like to explore a longer character arc for him.

What do you think are your writing strengths?

Authenticity because of my research, realistically depicting emotions, and writing in a style that feels genuine to the setting and era.

What do you struggle with?

PLOT. I do think that there is plenty of room for all kinds of stories, and I like to tell stories about relationships. But I would like to get better at adding outside conflict and other types of plot to my stories.

Favorite Trope?

It's so hard to choose between There Was Only One Bed and Fake Relationship. I think those are my top two.

What is the best piece of writing advice you have heard?

Write something. Anything. Even if you think it's crap, get your first draft done, because you can always go back and rewrite something that's bad and make it better. Also, if you're stuck on your WIP, write something else - a piece of another story or one-shot, a description of something you saw, a character profile, a bit of personal journaling. Keep writing and don't let a temporary roadblock turn into a long-term one.

What would you say to a new fanfic writer starting out?

It's hard when something you wrote doesn't get a lot of attention, especially when you love it. We share stories in the hopes that other people will discover and enjoy them, but you have to at least partly do it for your own satisfaction, or it will get pretty discouraging if the likes/kudos, comments, and reblogs just don't happen.

What is a random bit of research you have not managed to work into a fic yet?

Ladies' drawers (underwear) were not commonly worn until the mid-1800s. They were thought to be gentlemen's garments and it was thus vulgar for a lady to wear them. Yes, ladies of the Georgian (incl. Regency) era were generally commando beneath their skirts, petticoats, and shifts. But that was still a lot of layers.

Any goals or WIPs you want to share?

My goal is to write an original novel (series) set during the Napoleonic Wars. My hope is to get it researched, written, and put in final draft form so that I can send query letters out before the end of 2021.

This or That

Fluff or Angst

Fluff AND Smut

Reader Insert or  OC

Canon Divergent or AU

Pepsi or Coke (Neither: Cherry Coke Zero)

Coffee or Tea (Neither: Cocoa)

Sweet AND Savory

And that is it, until next week, remember to check out the masterlist here.  And your new fav fic is just around the corner!  Until next time, toodles!

[mellicose]

Doctor ... WTF?

An impassioned rant about the steady decline of Doctor Who, the trajectory of the Thirteenth Doctor, and the righteous indignation after The Timeless Children, not only as a Whovian, but as a woman-

I love how certain people are spinning The Timeless Children as being good, yet the BBC has released (2)TWO statements basically telling fans the following:

“Doctor Who is a beloved long-running series and we understand that some people will feel attached to a particular idea they have of the Doctor, or that they enjoy certain aspects of the programme more than others. Opinions are strong and this is indicative of the imaginative hold that Doctor Who has – that so many people engage with it on so many different levels.

We wholeheartedly support the creative freedom of the writers and we feel that creating an origin story is a staple of science fiction writing. What was written does not alter the flow of stories from William Hartnell’s brilliant Doctor onwards – it just adds new layers and possibilities to this ongoing saga.”

Creative freedom, huh? Ask Joe Hill about it. Or Gaiman. The writers, including Chibnall, are only free to do what the Beeb and the other show investors tell them. 

They go on:

“We have also received many positive reactions to the episode’s cliff-hanger. There are still a lot of questions to be answered, and we hope that you will come back to join us and see what happens, but we appreciate that it’s impossible to please all of our viewers all of the time and your feedback has been raised with the programme’s Executive Producer." 

Uglylaughing.gif

There is a huge, monumental difference between 'not being able to please everyone all at the same time' and basically making a whole fandom, New and Classic, young and old, come together with the same level of disgust and disappointment.

I also find the people arguing "Canon? What canon?" about the Doctor now being the Lord and Savior of the Shining World of the Seven Systems to be foolish at best, and disingenuous at worst.

No canon?? So what have I been steeping myself in for years  - a vague approximation of a tale? Please. Of course, writers have embellished and alluded, but tampering with the unspoken but well-known 'no touch' rule about the Doctor's origin is ... well, it's canon, in and of itself...

...which Chibnall completely wrecked, and I can't imagine why. Hubris? By all accounts, he was a fan. I thought Moffat was a dick for bringing back Gallifrey, but now, to me, my disappointment then vs now is like comparing a fart to a shitstorm.

Please excuse the scatological references, but I'm using it deliberately. It is a swirling turd, which I and many others wish we could flush down and forget forever.

In another RadioTimes article - which basically is the BBC - amongst the usual apologetics, Huw Fullerton drops this little gem:

“The glory days of David Tennant et al were in a different TV landscape, and if the Tenth Doctor touched down now it seems unlikely he’d command anything close to the ratings he did over a decade ago.”

Yeah, you can all take a break to have a hearty laugh. Or throw up. Whichever. Did they just hint that, basically, the incarnation of the Doctor who continues to get as much love (if not more) than Four, who still consistently gets thousands of butts in seats in conventions worldwide, and has made the BBC hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling in merchandising “wouldn’t command the ratings he did in 2008?”

As Gary Buechler of Nerdrotic said in his response to this article: “Actually, if David Tennant had been given as many chances as Jodie Whittaker, it would’ve had Game of Thrones-level ratings.”

And I agree. Not because I’m a Tenth Doctor stan, but because it’s just ... categorically true. His seasons consistently got average rating of 7.5 to 8 million viewers - and this in a time before BBCiPlayer, so 7-day catch up ratings meant nothing. It was butts on sofas then, which, to me, speaks of a massive, sustained interest.

But Huw goes on to say that such things mean nothing. And that the huge, telling sink in both overnight and 7-day ratings between the 11th and 12th seasons, and the dismal 4.69m 7 day ratings for The Timeless Children - the lowest for a NewWho finale since its reboot - shouldn’t be taken as a loss of interest from the fandom.

Then, pray tell goodman, what does it mean? Does it mean that fans are following the Thirteenth Doctor’s adventures in spirit? Ratings are tanking. Outside of the precious few who blindly tweet and write articles about the show solely based on its now female protagonist, people are notoriously furious, especially after the execrable season finale.

Yet BBC’s Piers Wenger, who once produced the show, says “I don’t think it’s been in better health, editorially. I think it’s fantastic and I think that, the production values obviously have never been better.”

Right. Okay. So, putting Tom Ford makeup on a pig makes it haute couture, huh? The writing is appalling, and after two excruciatingly painful to watch seasons, the Doctor has failed to appear - all I’ve seen is borderline sociopathic navel gazing from an ‘alien’ wearing a pastel duster.

How dare you besmirch the unfailingly cool reputation of the long coat, Chibnall? Jodie? How?? 

I will not let someone piss on my head and call it rain ... ‘because it’s a woman.’ Assuming I’ll accept it just adds insult to injury. Who do they think we are, as female fans? I will not cosign garbage to further an agenda that is ultimately damaging one of my favorite things ever, Doctor Who. I agree that politics, and a positive moral, have always been a part of DW, but at it’s best the writing was so good that it only added to the entertainment. Now, the BBC is feeding us all the bitter pill, without the kindness to hide it in a piece of tasty cheese. It gives the impression that they believe we are already so indoctrinated that we no longer need artifice!

Well, not only am I not indoctrinated, but I refuse to ingest.

I refuse to allow people to silence me because the Doctor is now a woman, and so am I. That, I shouldn’t say anything, or complain, because it’s an act of rebellion on womankind, not only in entertainment, but in general. Well, to that I say ... er ... I disavow.

Disavow. Disavow.

And this from a woman who once criticized Peter Davison for saying that casting a woman was “a vital loss of a role model for boys,” taking it as a sexist comment when in truth, it was just a relevant narrative concern about gender-swapping the traditionally male-presenting Time Lord. Just changing a character from male to female doesn’t do anything but demonstrate a tone-deafness about the emotional and physical differences between men and women, which exist whether we want to address them or not. This is why genderswap reboots are terrible. They are trying to further the feminist agenda, while surreptitiously painting traditional, every day femininity as weakness, and something to be avoided at all costs. I reject the modern Hollywood representation of what a ‘strong woman’ is meant to be. I can be clever, yet sensitive enough to comfort a friend when they confide their fears about a cancer relapse. I can be funny, and not at the expense of the man in the room. I can be brave, but not at the expense of my friends. The mind boggles as to why they thought their current tack with the Doctor was going to be any good. The Doctor is a woman, but more importantly, she’s a Timelord. Where are they? Is the alien that we’ve known and loved for the last 60 years truly gone away, and Thirteen is from a whole different timeline? If so, I don’t want to know her. 

And it breaks my heart.

Why continue to support a corporation who thinks of me, the fan, as no more than a heartless, thoughtless consumer? A drone? A sheep who has no conscious idea of what I like or need?

I’m done. It’s been two seasons of absolute dreck, with absolutely no sign of a course-correction due to the overwhelmingly negative response. I may be many things, but I’m no masochist - even in the name of love. And Chibnall, knowing that many fans would go back to the classic stories to cleanse ourselves, went back to the beginning and took a giant shit there too. 

Oh, the cleverness! the absolute schadenfreude of not only tampering, but rewriting the Doctor’s origins! I suppose that tells me he truly was once a fan. But no longer. Even if it turns out that the Master is as full of crap as Chibnall and it’s all an orchestrated lie, I don’t care anymore. Every inexplicable, terrible thing that happened before has already exhausted my patience with the narrative.

As veteral DW writer and script editor Terrance Dicks said:

If you’re concentrating on putting forth a political message, rather than on doing a really good show, I think there is a danger, maybe, you can do both but it would be hellish difficult, and I think that there’s maybe a danger that the show wouldn’t as be as good as it could or should be, because you’re not looking at the right aims.”

It seems like all that has been lost in time. Big corporations are buying up beloved science fiction properties, and systematically destroying them by trying to mix their politics into the mythos. [see ‘the fandom menace’]

I say, don’t support things that make you unhappy, in the name of nostalgia. That’s how they continue to upset us, while lining their pockets with our hard earned money. Complaining amongst ourselves, writing emails, or making angry Youtube videos no longer works anyway. Now is the time to just ... let it go. No more special edition DVDs, novelizations, or pretty action figures. Hit them in the pocketbook. We will still have fond memories of better times. I will not let them hijack, retcon, and retool them too.

There is a telling paragraph hidden in the depths of the article, which makes my DW fangirl sink:

It’s not as simple as “the ratings are down so Doctor Who will be cancelled,” as for the publicly-funded BBC there’s an interesting question about exactly what ratings are for beyond bragging rights. Obviously they need to make TV that people want to watch – but which people?

Not us, Huw. That’s who.

[anywhere-in-time-and-space]

Before Big Finish

Everyone knows about Big Finish’s DW audio dramas, but how many people are aware of the very first Doctor Who audio productions? From a handful of official BBC radio dramas, to fanmade productions distributed on cassette tapes, here’s a rundown of Doctor Who audio productions from a time before Big Finish, plus links to listen where available!

Official BBC radio dramas 

Rather surprisingly, the BBC only issued a small number of official Doctor Who audio productions. Most of them were broadcast as radio shows while the television series was still running, and a few of them were remade into novelizations (most notably, The Ghosts of N-Space and The Paradise of Death, both by Barry Letts). Here’s a list of productions with links to listen and short summaries:

Doctor Who and the Pescatons (Internet Archive)

Featuring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Doctor Who and the Pescatons was the first original, officially licensed Doctor Who audio production. From the TARDIS wiki: “The Doctor finds himself in the capital city of London, where the population is bewildered and trembling beneath the violent onslaught of a merciless invader... This is the story of a dying Planet, of a Deadly Weed, and the merciless Creatures themselves. It is a Challenge to the Doctor—a frightening race against time...”

Exploration Earth: The Time Machine (Internet Archive)

An educational story that used the Doctor Who format to present information about the creation of the Earth. It features the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith facing off against Megron, High Lord of Chaos, as they witness the formation of planet Earth. 

Slipback (Audible) 

Features Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant as the Sixth Doctor and Peri. From the TARDIS wiki: “The Sixth Doctor and Peri share an adventure on board a starship taken over by its dual personality computer, which tries to take the ship back to the dawn of the universe and start life again. Along the way the duo meet a couple of comedy policemen, an art thief and a captain who wants to infect his crew with one of his diseases...”

The Paradise of Death (Internet Archive)

A Third Doctor audio drama written by Barry Letts, The Paradise of Death features Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen, and Nicholas Courtney reprising their roles from the television series. From the TARDIS wiki: “When a horrific and inexplicable death occurs at Space World, a new theme park on Hampstead Heath, UNIT is called in to investigate. The Doctor is highly suspicious. Just who controls the Parakon Corporation, the shadowy organisation behind the running of the park? What is "Experienced Reality" and what are the limits of its awesome powers?”

The Ghosts of N-Space (Internet Archive)

The Ghosts of N-Space follows the events of The Paradise of Death, although it also functions as a stand-alone story, and was the final audio production to feature Jon Pertwee. From the TARDIS wiki: “The Brigadier's ancient great-uncle Mario seems unsurprised by the spectres which haunt his even more ancient Sicilian castle. But when the Doctor comes to investigate he finds himself faced with a danger as great as any he has yet encountered.”

The Audio Visuals

The Audio Visuals were a fan group that cropped up when Doctor Who was cancelled in 1989. They created a series of twenty-eight amateur, unlicensed audio productions (plus a pilot episode); many members of the group went on to work with BBV Productions, Big Finish, and the 2005 revival of Doctor Who. Below is a link to the entire series, uploaded to the Internet Archive: 

The Audio Visuals (Remastered) (Internet Archive)

BBV Productions

Some of the people involved in the Audio Visuals productions were also involved with BBV, a production company known for its “off brand” Doctor Who content. From the TARDIS wiki: “It was a commercial enterprise founded to serve Doctor Who fans who were starved of content between the broadcasts of Survival and Rose. Towards this end it heavily used Doctor Who actors and, when possible, characters. BBV therefore quickly gained the reputation for putting out content that was ‘almost official’ or ‘nearly Doctor Who’.” In addition to fims and video content, BBV released four “seasons” of audio content between 1998-2004. There are too many productions to link to each one in this post, but here’s an overview of the main series BBV produced: 

The Time Travellers (Internet Archive, first episode)

The Time Travellers, or Professor and Ace, is a 10-episode series featuring Sylvester McCoy as the Professor (later the Dominie) and Sophie Aldred as Ace (later Alice). Their characters are very similar to the roles they played in Doctor Who - so much so, in fact, that the BBC became worried about copyright and BBV had to adjust the characters’ names and personalities accordingly. The first six episodes are available on the Internet Archive; the tenth and final one is on Youtube; all of them are available to purchase on Audible. 

Adventures in a Pocket Universe (Audible, first episode) 

Adventures in a Pocket Universe is a two-episode series featuring John Leeson and Lalla Ward as K-9 and his Mistress. It was intended as a sequel to the TV serial Warriors’ Gate; however, while BBV was able to acquire the rights to K-9′s character directly from his creator, they did not have the rights to Romana or E-Space. The audios therefore follow K-9 and his Mistress as they travel through Ecto-Space. This kind of Doctor Who-adjacent content is a common theme in BBV productions, and allowed the company to release products for fans of the show while keeping away from copyright infringement. 

The Stranger Chronicles (Audible, first episode)

An audio series following the same story as BBV’s video series The Stranger; both series feature Colin Baker. There are two audio episodes, and the second one was remade as the sixth video installment. 

Faction Paradox (Internet Archive, first episode)

From the TARDIS wiki: “The Faction Paradox series is a standalone collection of audio, prose, and comic stories set in and around the War in Heaven, introduced in Lawrence Miles' 1997 Eighth Doctor novel Alien Bodies... By the year 2000, BBV Productions had agreed to produce The Faction Paradox Protocols audio series. These audios introduced several concepts that would later become staples of the Faction Paradox range, such as the Faction's shadow-weapons and alternate names like "Great Houses" for the Time Lords or "timeships" for TARDISes.” Six episodes were released, beginning with The Eleven Day Empire; all six episodes are available on the Internet Archive.  

BBV released a handful of other audio dramas, featuring characters such as the Rani, Zygons, Cyberons (BBV’s off-brand Cybermen), Sontarans, and Krynoids. Check these pages for more info: 

BBV Official Wiki 

TARDIS Wiki 

Bill & Ben Video - Wikipedia

[intuitive-revelations]

DEEP DIVE: How E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Doctor Who both agree that Star Wars is set in the Andromeda Galaxy

Based on evidence connecting each of these universes, there are two possible ways of deducing the location of the galaxy in which the Star Wars franchise takes place. First we examine the connections E.T. and Doctor Who have with Star Wars, then we look at what these connections can tell us. 

Star Wars and E.T. the Extraterrestrial

This is quite a well known one. First, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial featured a Star Wars easter egg in which E.T., upon seeing a child in a Yoda Halloween costume, recognises it from “home”.

In response, George Lucas later included a cameo from E.T.’s species, the “Asogians”, in The Phantom Menace, as part of the Galactic Senate. This name actually originates itself from the book sequel E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet, which reveals one name of E.T.’s home-world to be “Brodo Asogi”.

HoloNews Net, a Legends tie-in publication promoting Attack of the Clones, later hinted at a direct link, with the headline stating that the Asogian Senator Grebleips (yes, Spielberg backwards) was funding an extragalactic survey - implying it was through this survey that E.T. found himself in the Milky Way.

Star Wars and the Whoniverse

Perhaps the most direct link between Star Wars and Doctor Who comes in the Tenth Doctor novel Forever Autumn, in which the Doctor calls the Binks clan “very hospitable” and claims that George Lucas came up with the idea for Star Wars after accidentally receiving a telepathic message. Apparently Episode IX was, however, way off the mark. Whether the Doctor is referring to the real Episode IX or Lucas’s outline for it is unclear.

Martha may have thought the Doctor was joking, but other in-universe links to the Star Wars universe have continued to leak into Doctor Who. 

Aurebesh can actually be seen during the last scene of Nightmare in Silver, on the flagship of a human emperor. It’s difficult to translate, especially as much of it is hidden, but what’s visible doesn’t seem to spell English words, although what’s there could be evolutions of real words (eg. I believe the bottom right and left spell “AWESHEOM”, a possible corruption of “AWESOME”).

In Face the Raven, we again get to see Aurebesh, this time on a poster in a street of alien refugees. The poster spells out “Delorean” next to an image of a flux capacitor, but that’s a whole different story...

According to the Ninth Doctor in Supremacy of the Cybermen, the TARDIS has also raced the Kessel Run.

Hyperspace also exists as a method of interstellar travel in the DW universe. This isn’t itself a Star Wars reference (in fact hyperspace appeared in the Doctor Who expanded universe for the first time as early as 1964, and first appeared explicitly on-screen in 1973), but it’s worth mentioning anyway - especially since the most recent depiction in The Ghost Monument appears inspired by the precise hyperspace exits seen in modern Star Wars.

References to Doctor Who in Star Wars seem to be fairly thin beyond fairly simple connections (eg. the sonic screwdriver exists in the SW universe, both as a tool and as a popular cocktail) One possible example, however, occurs in the fan favourite Clone Wars “Mortis” trilogy. The father describes his son showing Anakin Skywalker his future as Darth Vader as breaking the “Laws of Time”. 

In Doctor Who, the Laws of Time were set by the Time Lords. In particular, the First Law, also known as the Protocols of Linearity, forbids interacting with one’s personal past or future - the law the Son broke in the episode. As far as I am aware there are few, if any, other franchises that use the specific phrasing “laws of time”.

So how is Star Wars set in the Andromeda Galaxy?

Proof via E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

This is relatively simple, and you may have seen it before on the internet. As laid out above, E.T. seems to originate from the Star Wars galaxy, being a member of an extra-galactic survey that visited the Milky Way.

The tagline and supplementary material for E.T. the Extra Terrestrial states:

“HE IS AFRAID. HE IS TOTALLY ALONE. HE IS 3,000,000 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME.”

Star Wars, as commonly depicted, takes place in a large spiral galaxy of a similar order of magnitude to our own.

There is only one other large spiral galaxy in our local group, the Andromeda Galaxy, approximately 2.54 million light years from Earth, which can easily be rounded up to 3 million light years (especially if one assumes that Brodo Asogi, which is canonically quite far from the galactic core, is on the far side of the galaxy at the time of the movie).

Proof via Doctor Who

In Doctor Who, it is quite common to hear galaxies referred to in numbers, such as “The Twelve Galaxies”, or “Galaxy 4″. The reason for this numbering has yet to actually be confirmed, but it seems to follow the expansion of human civilisation throughout the universe. These names generally, if not always, tend to be references to real-world galaxies. For example, Galaxy 7, the home galaxy of Skaro, was revealed in The Eyeless to refer to the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy. (I’ll shortly be posting a full analysis based on this numbering system.)

When the Sixth Doctor believed he was on Spiridon in the audio story Brotherhood of the Daleks, he described it at different points in the story as being “in a galaxy far away” (which may sound a bit familiar...), “in the ninth galaxy”, and in the “galaxy of Antares”. That last one is a bit odd as it seemingly refers to the star Antares, which is actually in our own galaxy, apparently contradicting the other names.

Except it turns out that there is one other case of a star named Antares, a fictional one from... the Star Wars galaxy.

Galaxy 9 was previously mentioned as the “ninth galactic system” waaayyy back in 1965′s Mission to the Unknown where it was, similarly to E.T.’s home, referred to as being “millions of light years” from the Milky Way and a place where, like Spiridon, a number of planets were being occupied by the Daleks.

That would have been enough on its own to theorise that the Ninth Galaxy, home of Spiridon and Antares, is the Andromeda Galaxy. But, even better, this is actually confirmed in the novelisation of Mission to the Unknown where references to the “ninth galactic system” are directly replaced with mentions of Andromeda!

Problems with the theory and their solutions

Some have raised issues with this theory. One example points out that, in the grand scheme of the universe, the Andromeda Galaxy isn’t exactly “far, far away”. In fact it’s practically next door. 

However, I think it’s a bit of a stretch to instantly reject this theory based on these terms. After all, 2,540,000 ly is, even for an interstellar species as we might see in Star Wars, an extremely long distance. And while Andromeda might be the closest large galaxy to us, there are many much smaller ones in-between. (In fact, according to From a Certain Point of View, the phrase “far, far away” was actually contested between the Whills during their writing of the Star Wars Saga.)

The main other contention with this theory is that the Andromeda Galaxy doesn’t perfectly match what we known about the galaxy Star Wars is set in. For example, the SW galaxy is something over 100,000 ly in diameter, whereas Andromeda has been measured to be about 220,000 ly in diameter. But, I’d argue that this could be a semantic difference, based on what is considered ‘part of the galaxy’. After all we have some conflict on defining the expanse of the Milky Way in real life, taking the diameter to potentially be anything from 100,000 to 200,000 ly. It’s reasonable to assume that sentient species living within Andromeda could have similar debates. Other differences, such as the predicted number of stars, can be explained away in a similar way.

[lirlovesfic]

4, 7, 21, 25 ? 😀

This is in response to this ask.

4. What made you start writing fanfiction? 

Basically a brand new obsession with David Tennant and an idea for a story (The Slow Path series) that wouldn’t let me alone. I used to watch Doctor Who when I was a kid, but had been away from it for a very long time. I actually started watching again in 2011, AFTER he had already left DW, but the second I saw him come out of the TARDIS in The End of Time (I actually started watching backwards, a story in itself) I knew HE’S the Doctor. After I’d finished reading all the BBC novels with the Tenth Doctor, I started searching out things on the internet, found fanfiction, read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on, and it got to the point where I said to myself, I wanted to do that too. Basically, take one sexy Scottish boy, add in a new OTP, a newly found obsession with fic, and a story idea that insists it be written down, shake well, and you’ve got a new fic writer.

7. Favorite type of au? 

Honestly, I don’t usually read AUs. The ones I do like though are usually long, complex stories with characters that feel “in character”, (which describes what I like in any fic, tbh). When I do read AUs, I usually read ones that @kelkat9 has recommended. In a way, she kind of screens them for me. If she recommends it, I usually like it. (She may be finding that out now, lol.)

21. Your biggest strength? 

As a writer? Probably coming up with complex, plot-heavy stories. Not necessarily writing them down, but coming up with ideas? That I can do.

25. Of all the fics you’ve written, which is your favorite? 

For a long time it was Part Human. It was the first long story I’d ever written (I actually started it before I wrote anything else), and it’s about Tentoo (whom I absolutely adore), so that story still holds a special place in my heart.

But now it’s probably The Choice. (And I swear I’ll finish it!) I have matured a little as a writer, and I think that even though it’s ungodly long, it’s better written than Part Human. Plus I really like the complexity and the storyline of it, and it has both Nine and Ten. And I really love Mickey Smith in it. His storyline was always there in the back of my mind, but I had no idea how much I’d love his growth as a character and the interplay between him and Ten.  Plus it has taken up a great deal of the last 6 years of my life, so I’d better like it!

But as an honorable mention, one story I really love is Out of Order. It’s not a perfect story (there’s one thing in it that even 7 years later still nags at me and someday I might fix), but it was really fun to write, and I still like reading it.

Thanks so much for the ask!

[lefae]

22, 8 and 6 for doctor who ask :)

Questions from Doctor Who Ask Thingy [meme]

22.  Least favourite Doctor (why?)

The War Doctor. There is no good reason why Eight couldn’t and shouldn’t have been the one to actually see the Last Great Time War through to the end. If anything, it probably would have been an even bigger impact, given how his regeneration started out and the unfortunate reality of his repeated bouts of amnesia. But between that and the regeneration into the War Doctor just… really sits wrong with me in ways I haven’t fully figured out yet because I haven’t finished all of Eight’s Time War series and into the War Doctor’s yet (audio processing issues suck).

8.  OTP?

Does Brax and his ego count?

But seriously, I’m a bit of a chaotic shipper. Sometimes I ship a pairing, other times I don’t, even for the same pairing. It really depends on my mood, though more often than not I actually ship platonically or queerplatonically more than anything else.

In terms of shippy ships, my favourites are Braxiatel/Romana, Leela/Narvin, the Gallifrey OT4, and very occasionally Braxiatel/Bernice.

Otherwise, my favourites are the Doctor & Josie Day, the Doctor & Donna, the Doctor & Osgood, the Doctor & Benny, Benny & Ace, Brax & Benny, Brax & Leela, Brax & Ace, Narvin & Ace, Benny & Ruth, Benny & Ruth & Jack & Brax, and I could probably go on with more but I think you’re probably catching on.

6.  How much EU have you seen

Okay, so… for starters, I got into Doctor Who as a very young child, so some of the stuff I may not have watched, read, or listened to in years. I’m currently working on going through as much of it as I can get my hands on again, but needless to say, that’s a massive undertaking, especially with any hope of actually doing pretty much anything else if you’re hoping to do it quickly.

Putting the rest of this under a cut because I got wordy af…

So, tv wise, I’ve seen most of Classic Who (I won’t say all, because even if some of the episodes aired here in the States, I probably don’t remember them that well if I haven’t been able to watch them more recently), the 1996 tv movie, and all but one episode of New Who (s12e08 - The Haunting of Villa Diodati, due to potential trigger issues right now).

Audio wise, as I mentioned above, I have difficulties processing audio, so it’s a bit slower going as I have to listen to them several times over before things really start to stick. But that said, of the series I’ve completed:

Gallifrey (plus the first 2 series of the Time War)

Bernice Summerfield (up through The Story So Far)

Faction Paradox (series 1 & 2 - it’s the Osirians that drew me in)

The Tenth Doctor Adventures

The Eighth Doctor Adventures

Eighth Doctor - The Time War (maybe? most of it at least)

I’ve also listened to Dead & Breakfast (of course 😉), as well as some of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, bits of the Main Range (mostly involving Eight), UNIT: The New Series, and Torchwood. But tbh, a lot of what I listened to to start with was anything and everything Brax was in, because I hyperfixated like mad when I was stuck for 3 months without any form of internet access.

Novels… dear gods, keeping track of what I’ve read is not my strong point because I’m a speedreader, so I end up sometimes finishing two or three books in a single day if all I do is read. That said, I’ve read everything that is listed on the TARDIS wiki where Brax makes an appearance, along with any books that were needed in the process to make sense of wtf was actually going on (like the Dellah era stuff). 

I’ve mostly been cherry picking when it comes to the novels as well, so I’m reading a lot of stuff out of chronological order (as much as you can have chronological order in DW). So I’ve read some of the EDAs, some of the various novelisations, random Doctor stories bouncing all over the place, etc. One of these days I might get adventurous enough to try to make a list on Goodreads, but I tend to forget to update it, so…

And then there’s the comics. Titan Comics have been far easier to get a hold of, so I’ve read Eight’s miniseries with Josie Day, as well as Ten’s series where he’s travelling with Gabby Gonzalez after losing Donna. I’ve read a few of the multi-Doctor specials as well, like Supremacy of the Cybermen, the Lost Dimension, and The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor.

That’s… probably not even everything, given how shite my memory is. Eventually I’ll sort out just exactly what I have and haven’t seen yet, but given just how much of everything there actually is, it’ll take a while.

[waywardfeathered]

1. is there a muse that you wish got more attention? and 9. why were you drawn to each one of your characters?

ooc meme // @thesetales

is there a muse that you wish got more attention?Jillian, probably. But we all know what it can be like with female OCs. After Castiel, I usually have the most muse for her, but very few threads.

why were you drawn to each one of your characters?Trying not to write a novel for Castiel but he just ---- I have never before connected so profoundly with a fictional character, until him. We are very different on surface level but very similar on character level. I have not found any other character so easy to write or think of meta and hcs about. I have over 220 threads on him and I have never felt overwhelmed writing him.

Jillian is my only active OC, and the idea for her was her story before her personality, being the hopping from one universe to another thing. Then I found an fc for her and Aubrey Plaza and the air she has kind of affected her also. I wanted an OC who would know of different characters as fictional and to play with that, because I love doing that on my canon muses, if others know them as a character, I used to do that a lot on my Doctor. She is not self inspired, though, even if that sort of really sounds like indulgent fantasies :D Her personality is the farthest from mine out of all my active muses. Or the second farthest maybe, River being number one.

The Eleventh Doctor has a funny little origin story. I started to roleplay on tumblr on spring 2013 on a Doctor Who OC and Rose Tyler and was writing a lot with a Tenth Doctor who kinda got me into roleplaying on tumblr. Drabbles were a thing back then, like instead of memes you sent drabble prompts and ended up writing for the both of the characters. So I wrote something with Iris and Ten, and the mun of that Ten told me that my portrayal of him sounded like Eleven instead ---- I had not yet watched Elevens era of DW by then. So I kind of just “oooh I want to try writing him once I watch his era”. To this day, I write Eleven way better than I write Ten or Thirteen although Thirteen is my fav Doctor and Ten comes second. Today is the five year anniv of my Eleven blog, by the way, spooky.

River Song was just an impulse. I have always liked her and always disliked how she was portrayed in canon with the Doctor (I love her but I hate how her and the Docs relationship was done most of the time) and never really thought of writing her but one day I just what iffed and made her blog. I like playing with her life being both defined by the Doctor and her love for them and her high independence and strength.

Charlie Bradbury is a bean lesbian nerd, need I say more. I need a geeky girl as a character to play with.

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Doctor Who Tag Game

Tagged by @dreameater1988​

Tag Game: Doctor Who Edition!! The Rules are simple - answer the questions, then tag other Whovians to get to know each other better/find new people to follow, message, etc. If there are any questions you don’t have an answer for, feel free to skip it!

Doctor you started with: Four (in 1985)

Favorite Doctor: Twelve (previously Three)

Favorite Companion: Clara Oswald (previously Donna)

Favorite Episode: The Raven Trilogy (Face the Raven/Heaven Sent/Hell Bent), which I consider to be one epic story. (Previously Listen)

DW OTP: Doctor and Clara (although most of my attention is with Twelve and Clara, I consider it a continuation and evolution of Eleven and Clara. It’s all one.)

Favorite line/quote: “What a wonderful butler, he’s so violent!” and “There’s no point being a grown-up if you can’t be childish sometimes.”

Favorite Character that isn’t the Doctor or a companion: Brigadier

BrOTP: Three x Master; Eleven x Strax; Ten x Wilf; Two x Jamie 

Favorite DW fic (if you have one): "Tomorrow is Yesterday” by @euripidean​(aka ThisIsMyPlayground) is the best single Doctor Who novel ever, in my opinion, even though it is still a work in progress (one final chapter to go). I also always enjoy the writings of @universe-on-her-shoulders​ (especially her Chronicles of Impossibility series and Tuning into You AU novel), @dreameater1988​ (a great writer of AU’s; two of my favourites are The Parenting Adventure and All Inclusive), @infiniteregress17​ (The Thief and the President’s Daughter) and many others I could also name.

Favorite DW fanart/blog (if you have one): @randomthunk, @staypee, and @marshcap​ come immediately to mind. But there are many others. Also a shoutout to Titan artist @rachaelstott whose work on the (far too few) Series 9-era Twelve-Clara issues was very much appreciated.

If you could pick anyone to be the next Doctor, who would it be? (Why, if you feel like explaining): David Harewood is my favourite for the role. He’s been playing a very Doctor-like character on Supergirl for two years and he was reportedly in the running a few times for the Doctor (he played Joshua in The End of Time too). I like his style, he’s great with the fans, and it’s been a while since we had a Doctor who could throw a Cyberman across the room.

If you could pick anyone to be the next companion who would it be? (Why?): I don’t have any actor specifically in mind, but I really loved the dynamic between the Tenth Doctor and Wilf Mott. Having an older fellow accompanying the Doctor for a while would be interesting. Alternately, with today’s technology I can’t see why they couldn’t create a fully CG character to accompany the Doctor, giving us a chance to have on TV a fully non-human companion like we’ve had in the comics for years. (That said, I draw the line at Frobisher the talking penguin, Kevin the talking robot dinosaur and Jata the talking horse. And yes, those were all real comic companions at some point - Jata replaced Clara in Doctor Who Adventures’ comic strip and you wonder why I’m grumpy at times!)

Favorite fan theory: As it is officially, for now at least, a theory, I have to say the overriding theory about what Clara said to Twelve in the Cloisters (of course we all know she just confessed to stealing his clockwork squirrel...right? 😂)

Other fandoms: The Prisoner, Star Trek, Bill Haley (yes, it is a fandom)

Tagging: Rather than name anyone specifically, any follower or visitor who wants to jump in, feel free!