#i imagine the eleventh doctor in this theory

[whatsanaskblog]

My Doctor Who/Onecest crossover theory

Buckle up bitches, this is gonna be a long one. (thanks to @thneedvillle for helping me form this theory!)

This thought occurred to Onecest-obsessed me while wondering how two versions of the Onceler can exist simultaneously. That made me think of one of my favorite shows, Doctor Who. In my theory, the Doctor accidentally traveled to another universe (the Lorax movie's world). While attempting to get back, he accidentally messed with the time in that universe and Oncie and Greed ended up in the same time stream. They fell in love without even realizing they were the same person, and at some point they found out but decided to continue their relationship. The Doctor knew they were the same person all along, but he wanted them to figure it out for themselves because they'd hate each other if they knew in the beginning. Oncie would hate Greed for what he's become, and Greed would hate how Oncie's choices created him. The Doctor wanted them to get to know each other first so Oncie's love could rehabilitate Greed (cliche, I know). The two ended up begging the Doctor not to fix the timestreams, and he carefully calculated it to see if two versions of the Onceler existing at once would be safe. After he realizes it wouldn't be, he compromised by taking Greed and Oncie to their own universe where they can live together without threatening time itself.

Once again, thanks to @thneedvillle for helping me come up with this! Bye my luvs, hope you enjoyed my theory.

[alwaysspeakshermind]

A-Z of Favorite Fictional Ladies C is for: Clara “Oswin” Oswald

Imagine my surprise the first time I got on the internet to check out the DW fandom, and discovered that a good portion of it cherished an intense dislike toward Clara Oswald. (Really, the surprise is my own fault. The internet tends to only like strong female characters in theory; in general, whenever it’s presented with a loud, bossy girl who’s clever enough to reasonably obtain most everything she wants through a combination of wits and self-made luck, it labels her either a bitch or a Mary Sue, no exceptions. while characters who bitch for no reason whatsoever are given free passes by fandoms and actual Mary Sues are hailed as Empowering To Little Girls! But I digress.)

I, however, am most definitely not the internet, and I disagree with all the Clara haters in the fandom. Clara is either my favorite or my second-favorite companion in Doctor Who, and I’m not embarrassed at all about that. In fact, if anything, it mystifies me how often I see people who praise characters like River, Astrid, Mme. Pompadour, and Jenny labeling Clara annoying and/or a lazy plot device. I mean, I’m a to-each-their-own type of person, but in what world is Clara or any non-villain Doctor Who character more annoying, contrived, or plot-device-y than River? And what makes any of those other characters better than the nanny/teacher who argues with the Doctor more than any character since my dearly beloved (but admittedly abrasive) Donna Noble?

Honestly, I don’t get it. I love Clara, and there is a less-than-charitable part of me that makes certain judgments about the confidence levels of people who despise her but, you know, that’s another essay. This is one in praise of my short little bossy bestie with an ego that rivals the size of the TARDIS’ interior, and an even bigger heart.

 Why she’s my girl:

So. Again. It may bug the heck out of everyone else, but I love the fact that Ms. Clara’s character shifts drastically between S7-S8 from thwarted dreamer with sweet-but-fierce-but-kind-of-scared tendencies to seasoned, bossy-bordering-on-shrewish traveler who becomes so angry and terrified (and all the angrier because she’s terrified) at the sudden loss of control when a lot of unforeseen changes are suddenly heaped on her that she cries in the middle of negotiating for her life.

Hate her all you want, call her ‘convenient,’ ‘flat,’ or ‘a walking plot device’ all you want, but Clara is the best all-around companion in ten seasons of Doctor Who, and it’s not even close. If Martha had gotten more than one season I’d probably be making a different argument but here we are and yes I’m still bitter about how dirty they did my girl. Justice for Martha and a pox on that witch from The Family Blood who challenged my baby’s medical knowledge. She’s quick-thinking, decisive, stubborn, kind-hearted, loyal, domineering, and a delightful, more-than-is-strictly-healthy amount of conceited—in essence, a natural foil for the Doctor. She strong-arms her way into the role of conscience when the Doctor forgets human constructs like sympathy and compassion exist, and even the usual ditch-the-companion-because-their-life-is-in-danger-if-they-stay tactics can’t get rid of her…she has to be tricked into leaving the eleventh Doctor, and it doesn’t even work the first time.

The TARDIS dislikes her at the outset, and she retaliates by calling it a “grumpy old cow.” She is the companion who finally mentions the first thing I would mention upon being told to get inside a random blue box—in all seriousness, why, why did it take 6½ seasons for someone to be like, “What exactly are you planning to do with me inside that box, because…?”

She is a born adventurer and loves being in charge, but is willing to put her heart’s desires on the back burner to help those she loves. She is often afraid, but hates being afraid so much that she combats the fear by standing up and confronting it almost recklessly. She cares deeply for the Doctor and keeps him on track, whether it’s reminding him to focus in their early days together, or reminding him he can’t just run roughshod over people in their later days together. She resents the fact he seems to take her company for granted, but can’t stop the part of her that gets excited every time she hears the TARDIS arriving. She pranks—and has allegedly kissed!!!—Jane Austen. She stays with the twelfth Doctor even after he runs off and abandons her multiple times in the days following his regeneration because her Doctor—the fez-and-bowtie-loving Doctor she trusted her life to—asks her to please not leave him. She struggles to balance her tame, ordinary life-commitments with her dangerous, exciting life in the TARDIS, and finds herself caught between the life she wants to lead and the life sense is telling her she ought to lead.  

I could go on about her for days, but the essence of it all is this: Clara is loyal, clever, and determined. She is never fearless, but she frequently pretends to be, and beneath her calm, cocky, put-together exterior lurks a girl who will always stay longer than she probably should because she is still not really over all the people she’s loved who’ve left her. 

Favorite quotes:

Too many to count, but some of the ones I keep coming back to are:

“Is this what you do? You just…crook your finger, and people just jump in your snog-box and fly away?”

“I am the boss.”

“And do you know what? Run. Run, you clever boy. And remember me.”

“Why do I have to be the witch?”

“Hang on. Three of you in one room, and none of you thought to try the door?”

“Are you trying to scare me? Well, ‘cause I’m already bloody terrified of dying, and I’ll enjoy a lot of pain for a very long time before I give up the information that’s keeping me alive; how long have you got?”

“I am not a control freak!”

“That’s the look you get when I’m about to slap you!”

“Is that what I look like from the back?” [“It’s fine.”] “I was thinking it was good.”

“Speak for me again, and I’ll detach something from you.”

“Let me be brave.”

[littlestsnicket]

7, 9, 11, 19, 31, 44, 69, 75, for the fic ask game?

i was almost done with this, but then i had to go watch everything, everywhere, all at once (which was very good, and very worth seeing in theaters if you have that option), and then i had to go to bed, and now it is somehow the next afternoon.

7. tell us about the plot of the first fanfic you ever wrote

so this is an interesting one, because plot is really hard for me. a lot of why i started writing fic was to have permission to write without having plot, so i almost exclusively wrote drabbles for doctor who and mcu, and they were all missing scene/character study type things. probably the first thing i “plotted” (it was still all vibes and character study) and then never actually wrote, was about amy and rory getting stuck in the third doctor era, and getting to meet the master and the unit fam. 

9. in an ideal world where you're super successful and published, would you want to see a tv or movie adaptation of your work?

absolutely. i am obsessed with the mechanics of adaptation. i would definitely be a bit apprehensive about someone who was *just* doing it for the paycheck adapting my work. but i'd be way too curious to see what someone else would do with it, and how it would change and evolve. i love when adaptations are really different but are still true to something significant about the original work, so it’s hard to imagine being disappointed by anything besides carelessness (but that does seem to be a real concern). 

11. what's something neat you've learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

i recently did a whole bunch of research on how to make gut strings, and know (strictly in theory) how to re-fret a lute. 

for the twin peaks fic i have been working on for literal years, i learned: pittsburgh used to have a vibrant chinatown but it was eventually replaced by the worst highway (is 380/bigalow blvd really even a highway? anyway, notably stupid fucking road in a city full of bad street design) (to be fair, racism and the overall population downturn had mostly destroyed the neighborhood before it became a highway) and paper bags with handles and indiglo timex watches didn’t exist in 1985.

i don't really worry, per say, about research and accuracy, but it's my favorite form of procrastination from actually writing. i also find that having more information to percolate through my brain does inspire me to write and having little, technically unimportant, details in my work thrills me. 

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

probably neil gaiman? there's both a clarity and a sense of whimsy in how he writes. and it sometimes has a toned down douglas adams vibe. i try to be vividly descriptive but only when necessary. i also really internalized e b white's style guide when i read it. i always do a pass of editing that is just... getting rid of words.

31. tell us about on of your characters who's an absolute joy to write

the thing that brings me the most joy is when i feel like the cadence of a characters' dialogue is exactly right, so i have the most fun writing characters that have really distinctive speech patterns. lemony snicket, dale cooper, the eleventh doctor, and jaskier are all great for that.

but also, recently, i just really really loved getting in ciri's head. there's so much going on in there. she's got layers, and she's growing into herself, but not in a stereotypical coming of age sort of way, which i often find kind of boring.

44. name three of your favorite fanfic writers

i tried very very hard not to overthink this and just wrote down the three that came to me first. copperbadge, whoslaurapalmer, limerental. there are so many fantastic story tellers in fandom, but they stand out to me in terms of prose quality. 

69. how do you write emotional scenes? do you ever feel what the character is feeling?

hmmm. i don't know if i do anything deliberately to write emotional scenes. usually, since it's fic, i'm trying to capture something i felt while watching or reading the source material, so i might go back to that.

i definitely get in the characters heads a bit when i'm writing, so i guess i feel whatever they're supposed to be feeling, but at a remove or dialed significantly down in intensity.

75. do you know how the story ends before you start writing?

not usually. i work things out as i write, but i don't write in order, and almost always write the end before i finish the middle. it helps for me to know where you’re going. sort of like writing a research paper in school--there’s nothing worse than getting to the end and realizing you don’t have a real conclusion. 

[beautifulterriblequeen]

I'm randomly curious, has runaan always been ur fav? What did u think when u first saw him? 👀👀

I had like ten paragraphs saved in a draft here because Runaan is an amazing, complex character and I will talk your ear off about him if you let me. But the short answer is yes. Uhhh and it looks like I’m gonna go ahead with a long answer, too. #sorrynotsorry

Runaan and Aaravos both caught my eye early on, because they’re visually my type. Aaravos is pretty and clever, but I would boot him into Garlath’s Furnace of Souls for one corn chip.

Runaan, on the other hand, has a husband, a stressful job, friends, a kid, and a crapton of angst and regret. That’s a real, relatable existence for me. He’s a mortal dude with a life he’s just trying to live the best he can. Even at the start, when it was just him and Rayla and a stressful mission, I saw that credits sketch of them and it really hit home with me. My oldest is Rayla’s age. Even before we knew Ethari, I really enjoyed and related to that parental-figure vibe from Runaan.

My autistic processing had its hands full when I first started watching this show back in February of 2019. I was taking in the 3D animation (ghghgh stylized reality), brand new characters (who are all these people omg), the camera panning thing (amazing but distracting), the gorgeous backgrounds (holy heck so pretty I kept staring and missing dialogue), the music (some themes popped for me and I totally missed others, music is weird for me), the accents (Rayla was worth adjusting to), the map (where the heck is everything pls I need spatial references which way is north), how pretty all the character models were (who designed these I bet they had fun with all these details), the plot lines I tried to piece together (half my theory posts come from frustration, lol), the character relationships (I start from allies/enemies and differentiate slowly), and so much more, all at the same time. Haha, I remember not really understanding that Callum and Ezran were half-brothers until the third time I watched S1--I thought they were full brothers at first, which, as you may imagine, confused the plot line for me quite a bit re: Rayla’s mission. 

I swear I’m not dumb, I was just thinking about everything at the same time. I have a very slow startup on brand new things, because it’s always like this. If you know the Lionsgate film company’s animated logo--the one with a ton of big metal gears behind the doors--that’s me. Crankity crank behind the scenes. But once the momentum is there, baby, the inertia is real.

My very first impressions of Runaan were very surface-level. He was pretty, dramatic, and badass. All very lovely things. But I remember the moment I genuinely went Oh over him: it was when his voice dropped an octave in the middle of “We take it, but we do not take it lightly.” I was all, Ohhh, he’s that kind of dramatic. Nice.

It was all the more impressive because I have the odd auditory processing struggle, but that whole speech, and that one line, hit me like a Mack truck. I’m a huge sucker for dramatic speeches. The Eleventh Doctor at Stonehenge, anyone? Yass. I guess it also helps when they’re delivered in fine Shakespearean form with a British accent. Can you tell I was an English Lit major? Yeah, I have types there too.

Anyway. Runaan’s always come across like a dramatic, earnest-but-imperfect, badass grownup. The more I rewatched the show, the more good and bad relatable things I found in his character, too. His future plot may take him in a direction that I won’t enjoy--I read Aaravos wrong before S3 dropped, so I might be reading things wrong about Runaan too, in light of future seasons--but I will always have these years when I thought he was amazing, and he was my favorite character in all the land.

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 44

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 44 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 44/? SUMMARY: Elise Smith is now a teenaged Timelord. In addition to losing the Ponds, the fields of Trenzalore are calling. But first they have to figure out exactly who Clara Oswald is.

[A/N - I am having so much fun with this! We find out some more about Elise’s backstory and our little Timelord is starting to bond with the Tenth Doctor.]

They were shoved into the cell.

The Doctor and Ten started fussing over Elise and she pushed them away. “I’m fine!”

“Ow,” the older Doctor muttered.

Elise looked over at him.

“I’m okay, my dear.”

“Three of us in one cell? That's going to cause some nasty anomalies if we don't get out soon,” Ten said.

The Doctor picked up a piece of metal off the floor and started scratching at a stone pillar.

“What are you doing?” Ten asked him.

“Getting us out.”

The older Doctor tried sonicing the door.

“The sonic won't work on that, it's too primitive,” Ten said.

“Doesn’t do wood,” Elise explained.

“Shall we ask for a better quality of door so we can escape?” the Doctor asked.

“Okay, so the Queen of England is now a Zygon. But never mind that. Why are we all together? Why are we all here? Well, me and Chinny, we were surprised. Elle has no idea who you are, but you came looking for us. You knew it was going to happen. Who told you?” Ten asked the older Doctor.

“Oi, Chinny?” the Doctor snapped.

“Yeah, you do have a chin.”

Elle? The Doctor had never called her that, so why was his younger incarnation calling her that?

“In theory, I can trigger an isolated sonic shift among the molecules, and the door should disintegrate,” the older Doctor said.

“We'd have to calculate the exact harmonic resonance of the entire structure down to a sub-atomic level. Even the sonic would take years,” Ten explained.

“No, no, the sonic would take centuries. Oh, we might as well get started. Help to pass the timey-wimey. Do you have to talk like children? What is it that makes you so ashamed of being a grown up? Oh, the way you both look at me. What is that? I'm trying to think of a better word than dread.”

“It must be really recent for you.”

“Recent?”

“The Time War. The last day. The day you killed them all,” the Doctor said.

“The day we killed them all,” Ten corrected him.

“Same thing.”

“I don't talk about it,” the older Doctor told them.

“You never talk about it. I have been with you for hundreds of years and you’ve never once sat me down and explained what you did that day,” Elise said.

“Because you don’t need to know,” the Doctor said.

She rounded on him. “Who says I don’t need to know! I am an adult! I’m not a child anymore! Quit treating me like one!”

Ten couldn’t help but smile. He’d missed her sassy personality (even when it was directed at him). It reminded him of Donna.

“I killed you. I killed the one thing that means more to me than anything in the universe. And then you died again while you were under my watch,” the Doctor whispered.

“You didn’t know who I was,” Elise told him.

“Doesn’t change the fact that I did it.”

Ten turned to her. “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“How did you escape the Timelock?”

Elise’s hearts froze in her chest. “How do you know about that?”

“It’s kinda obvious.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Ellie,” her father said softly.

If there was a time to come clean, now was it.

Elise looked at the three Doctors and sighed. “My father was on the High Council, so I knew what they were planning. I heard all the discussions and the arguments about what to do. I listened to them read off the number of causalities. Civilians and soldiers alike. They didn’t care. All they cared about was winning the war against the Daleks. They didn’t care who lived or died. Imagine being four years old and in all that time all you knew was death, destruction, and war? My father worked long hours. When he came home, all my mother and him did was fight. So what did I do? I quit talking. Why talk when no one will listen to you anyway?”

“But how did you get out of the Timelock?” Ten asked.

Elise knew it hadn’t happened for him yet, so she had to be careful what she said. “What my father didn’t know was that I was clever.”

“You ran?”

“I wanted off Gallifrey. I didn’t care how.”

“Sound familiar?” her father asked.

“Hey, if I knew what a TARDIS was, I would’ve stolen one of them. I was just working with what I had.”

“Did you ever count?” the older Doctor asked.

“Count what?” the Doctor asked.

“How many children were on Gallifrey that day?”

“I have absolutely no idea.”

“How old are you now?”

“Ah, I don't know. I lose track. Twelve hundred and something, I think, unless I'm lying. I can't remember if I'm lying about my age, that's how old I am.”

“Four hundred years older than me, and in all that time you've never even wondered how many there were? You never once counted?”

“Tell me, what would be the point?”

“2.47 billion,” Ten answered for him.

“You did count!” the older Doctor said, surprised.

Ten turned to his older incarnation with disgust. “You forgot? Four hundred years, is that all it takes?”

“I moved on.”

“Where? Where can you be now that you can forget something like that?”

The Doctor grabbed Elise and put her between them. “Because of this girl right here. She is the reason you move on. Because she’s the one you saved. After that, nothing else will ever matter again. Except her.”

Ten looked down at her wide emerald eyes and stalked away.

“I don't know who you are, either of you. I haven't got the faintest idea,” the older Doctor said, “No.”

“No?” Ten asked.

“Just, no.”

The Doctor started laughing.

“Is something funny? Did I miss a funny thing?” Ten asked him.

“Sorry. It just occurred to me. This is what I'm like when I'm alone.”

Ten started tossing his screwdriver in the air and the older Doctor pulled his out.

“Four hundred years,” the older Doctor muttered.

“I'm sorry?” Ten asked.

“At a software level, they're all the same device, aren't they? Same software, different case.”

“Yeah.”

“So….” The Doctor said, pulling out his own.

“So, it would take centuries for the screwdriver to calculate how to disintegrate the door. Scanning the door, implanting the calculation as a permanent subroutine in the software architecture and, if you really are me, with your sandshoes and your dickie bow, and that screwdriver is still mine, that calculation is still going on.”

The Doctor and Ten checked their screwdrivers.

“Yeah, still going,” Ten said.

“Calculation complete. Hey, four hundred years in four seconds. We may have had our differences, which is frankly odd in the circumstances, but, I tell you what, boys. We are incredibly clever,” the Doctor said, smiling.

The door suddenly swung open and Clara was standing there.

Elise had never been so happy to see Clara in her life.

“How did you do that?” the Doctor asked her.

“It wasn't locked.”

“Right.”

“So they're both you, then, yeah?”

“Yes. You've met them before. Don't you remember?”

“A bit.” Clara looked at Ten. “Nice suit.”

“Thanks.”

“Hang on. Three of you in one cell, and none of you thought to try the door?”

“It should have been locked,” the older Doctor said.

“Yes. Exactly. Why wasn't it locked?” the Doctor asked.

The door swung open a bit more and Elizabeth stood there. “Because I was fascinated to see what you would do upon escaping. I understand you're rather fond of this world. It's time I think you saw what's going to happen to it.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elizabeth led them deeper into the Tower dungeons.

The walls were covered in red pods.

“The Zygons lost their own world. It burnt in the first days of the Time War. A new home is required.”

“So they want this one,” Clara asked.

“Not yet. It's far too primitive. Zygons are used to a certain level of comfort.”

A Zygon walked up to them and Elise jumped back into her father and Ten. They both put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She’d never seen one before, so it was quite off-putting.

“Commander, why are these creatures here?” the Zygon asked.

“Because I say they should be. It is time you too were translated. Observe this. I believe you will find it fascinating.”

The Zygon placed it’s hand on a glass cube and disappeared into the painting they saw earlier in the Under Gallery.

“That's him! That's the Zygon in the picture now,” Clara said.

“It's not a picture, it's a stasis cube. Time Lord art. Frozen instants in time, bigger on the inside, but could be deployed as…” the older Doctor started.

“Suspended animation. Oh, that's very good. The Zygons all pop inside the pictures, wait a few centuries till the planet's a bit more interesting, and then out they come,” Ten finished.

“You see, Clara, they're stored in the paintings in the Under Gallery, like cup-a-soups. Except you add time, if you can picture that. Nobody could picture that. Forget I said cup-a-soups,” the Doctor said.

“And now the world is worth conquering. So the Zygons are invading the future from the past,” Clara surmised.

“Exactly.”

“And do you know why I know that you're a fake? Because you're such a bad copy. It's not just the smell, or the unconvincing hair, or the atrocious teeth, or the eyes just a bit too close together, or the breath that could stun a horse. It's because my Elizabeth, the real Elizabeth, would never be stupid enough to reveal her own plan. Honestly, why would you do that?” Ten asked as Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him.

“Because it's not my plan. And I am the real Elizabeth,” Elizabeth said.

“Smooth, Casanova,” Elise muttered.

“Yeah, shut-up. Okay. So, backtracking a moment just to lend context to my earlier remarks,” Ten said.

“My twin is dead in the forest. I am accustomed to taking precautions,” Elizabeth told him. She pulled out a dagger from underneath her skirts.

“That’s familiar,” Ten said, looking at Elise.

“These Zygon creatures never even considered that it was me who survived rather than their own commander. The arrogance that typifies their kind,” Elizabeth explained.

“Zygons?” Clara asked.

“Men.”

Elise snorted in amusement and then turned to her father. “You just love strong women don’t you?”

“Oh, shut-up.”

“And you actually killed one of them?” Clara asked.

“I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but at the time, so did the Zygon. The future of my kingdom is imperiled,” Elizabeth said, “Doctor, can I rely on your service?”

“Well, I'm going to need my TARDIS,” Ten told her.

“It has been procured already.”

“Ah.”

“But first, my love, you have a promise to keep.”

[the--highlanders]

Fusion

In which Zoe and the Doctor argue, and Jamie knows more about the future than they expect him to.

on ao3.

“So here’s what we’re going to do.” Swinging her arm in a wide arc across the table, Zoe scraped out a chalk half-circle. The shape was almost startlingly accurate, near-perfect in its evenness – but then again, Jamie thought, he should have stopped underestimating Zoe’s precision a long time ago. “If we assume the ships are spread out in a roughly circular formation -”

“Why not an elliptical formation?” the Doctor interrupted. “Surely that’s more likely. We know the fleet performed a slingshot manoeuvre from Zakhten -”

“But a circle would make more strategic sense,” Zoe argued. “If they were to fire on us from an elliptical formation -”

“Can we make that assumption in our calculations -”

“Listen,” Jamie said loudly, sitting forward to plant his hands palms-down on the table. “Listen!” The Doctor and Zoe paused, both looking over at him with a touch of guilt, like a pair of scolded children. “We don’t have time for this right now.”

“I, ah -” Clearing his throat, the Doctor tugged at his coat lapels. “I suppose you’re right. Do go on, Zoe.”

She scowled at him for a moment longer, but turned back to the table and the chalk in her hand quickly enough. “So,” she began again, her voice still sharp, “if we assume...”

Leaning back in his chair, Jamie folded his arms behind his head and let his mind wander as Zoe sketched out her thoughts. It was at times like this, he thought, that he was glad the Doctor and Zoe could be so fussy over their theories. Oh, they liked to think they were above being petty, both of them – Zoe with her logic, the Doctor with his certainty that he knew what was best. But they tended to end up at loggerheads somewhere along the way, and Jamie himself would have to step in and break up their more heated debates. That was his little bit of usefulness, the thing that kept him from feeling totally out of place between them. They might know more than he could ever dream of, but they still needed him to keep them on track.

They were bickering again now, though Jamie had lost track of the conversation for just slightly too long to know what had started it. The Doctor had grabbed a piece of chalk of his own, and was scribbling calculations over Zoe’s diagram, ignoring her tugging on his arm.

“Did you compensate for air resistance?” he was asking.

Zoe huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Of course I did. I do know what I’m doing, Doctor.”

“Ah – yes, I’m quite sure you do, Zoe. But something about these calculation still isn’t adding up -”

“I’ve told you, it’s because you forgot to put the constant in here -”

“They said it was an hour ‘til launch, aye?” Jamie put in, injecting as much boredom into his voice as he could muster. “It’s only been -” He glanced at his watch, then at the clock on the wall. “Twenty minutes? An’ you’re still no closer tae figurin’ out what ye want tae do with these rockets.”

Zoe threw him a withering stare. “You see, Jamie,” she said, in that slow, patient voice she knew perfectly well he hated, “this is rather important. So we need to make sure we get it completely right.”

“Aye, I know,” he replied just as slowly, glaring right back at her. “That’s why I think ye ought tae work together instead of jumpin’ down each other’s throats every five minutes.”

Startled into silence, Zoe glanced over at the Doctor, who simply shrugged. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do,” she murmured, though with too much sheepishness to sound entirely genuine.

Satisfied, Jamie sat forward, resting his elbows on the table and propping his chin up with his hands. He could just about make out the rough shape of the thing, though Zoe’s diagram was all but illegible now, covered in a mess of lines and numbers and shapes. They had settled on the ships ringing in the planet in a semi-circle rather than a half-oval, but Zoe had lost the fight over where the commanding ship was, and its location had been scribbled out and scrawled in a few times over. Twisting his head around, Jamie watched a new string of words emerge behind the Doctor’s chalk stub. Hydro fusion engine, he mouthed to himself as he read. Explode on impact.

Something about that sounded terribly familiar. Almost like he had heard it before – and not too long ago. But where?

Not on this planet, he was sure of that. It had been longer ago. Certainly not on eleventh-century Earth – and not the week before that, either, at that holiday resort on a meteor – maybe hunkered down in a snowstorm shelter on Zelius Minor, a few weeks ago now -

No, he realised. It had been none of those. It had been almost a month ago, on an uninhabited planet so remote that even the TARDIS had not known a single name for it. A galaxy liner had crashed there, blown off-course by something the Doctor called stellar winds. And, as it turned out, some great space-beastie that ate the dust from nebulas. They had landed in the middle of the crash response, and with a wince he remembered how his shoulders had ached after a few hours of carrying people out of the wreckage. It might not have been so bad had the crash not been radioactive. The paramedics had handed him a bulky suit that slowed his movements and grew stuffier and stuffier the more he breathed in it, but they had assured him it would be better than the alternative.

He paused.

The site had been radioactive, yes – because of the ship’s engines. And they were the same engines that these ships had.

The Doctor and Zoe were still arguing over some insignificant little detail. Pushing himself up to stand at the table as authoritatively as they did, he pressed his hands down on the wood again, inadvertently blurring one or two of the myriad calculations.

“Ye said it was a hydro fusion engine,” he said, nodding first to the Doctor, then to the spot on the table where those words were scrawled out. “A wee while ago.”

“Ye-es.” The Doctor spoke slowly, like he was trying and failing to figure out what might be coming next. “Quite common, in ships of this type. Nothing I -” He exchanged a glance with Zoe. “We didn’t expect.”

Zoe nodded – and they might have been missing his point entirely, but Jamie had to admit it was a welcome change to see them agreeing with each other again. As glad as he was that they needed him, brokering some sort of peace quickly grew tiring. “We’ve established that the rockets will cause irreparable damage long before the explosions reach the engines,” she added. “It doesn’t matter what type of engines the ships have.” But then she turned back to the Doctor. “I still think -”

“I’m no’ worried about that,” Jamie said hastily, leaning forward as far as he could until he was almost putting himself between them. “I mean – they’re radioactive, aren’t they?”

As one, the Doctor and Zoe leant back, blinking at him. “Well – yes,” the Doctor said eventually. “Yes, I suppose you could put it like that. They depend on the fusion of particles to release energy, you see, and – ah -” He faltered. “Yes, you could say it’s radioactive.”

“An’ anythin’ that breaks off them’ll be radioactive too,” Jamie pressed on. “An’ those pieces are gonnae fall back down onto the planet.”

“Ah,” was all the Doctor said.

Zoe was no more eloquent. “Oh,” she added. Her mind was almost visibly turning over – but her next words told Jamie that she had been pondering something else entirely. “Jamie,” she said slowly. “You didn’t even know what a tablet was, last week.”

“I figured it out when ye explained,” Jamie protested. “It’s just that everywhere has different names for them.”

She scowled at him, only frowning harder when he reached over to push at her shoulder. “How on Earth do you know what a hydro fusion engine is?”

Jamie opened his mouth to throw some joking answer back to her, but paused when one did not spring to mind as easily as he had hoped. The Doctor stepped in instead, sweeping his sleeve over the table and leaving behind a mess of white powder on both wood and fabric. “There’s no time to lose,” he said, hurrying over to pull on Zoe and Jamie’s sleeves and lead them out of the room. “We must stop the launch. If any of those fragments hit the planet – if they should hit a populated area -”

“The consequences would be enormous,” Zoe agreed. “But we have to do something. About the fleet, I mean.”

“Rockets first,” the Doctor said, his tone as brisk as his stride. “Something later.”

Huffing, Zoe turned back to Jamie. “But how did you know?” she said. “I mean, you can’t have been taught about them. Surely,” she added, sounding rather less confident.

For a moment, Jamie was tempted to lie, to say that of course he had learnt about hydro fusion engines as a child, who had not? But Zoe looked so earnestly baffled. And besides, the weight of their urgency was far too heavy for him to be able to carry it off for long. “I just remember it,” he said at last. “Ye know – a wee while ago, with that other ship. Ye an’ the Doctor talked about it. I don’t know what it does, or why it’s radioactive, just that it is.”

“But – you know about hydro fusion engines,” Zoe insisted. “And not about – all sorts of things. Simple things, things that were around decades before my time.”

Jamie tipped his head towards her. “’Spose so. I dinnae really think about it.” It would be odd, he supposed, if he were in Zoe’s place. Listening to someone talk about a sickle without knowing what an anvil was. “But it’s all the future to me. Doesnae really matter when it’s from. I know it or I don’t.”

“I suppose so,” Zoe parroted. She scrunched her face up, visibly mulling it over. “I just can’t imagine it. Not seeing how things build on each other.”

“I can see that, alright. Just no’ always – what’s buildin’ on what.”

“But that’s the point -”

The Doctor was halfway down the corridor already, and he turned, all but hopping from one foot to the other in his impatience. “Come on, you two!” he called back to them. “We don’t have much time.”

“We’re coming,” Zoe called back, pushing herself onwards a touch faster. Jamie matched her speed, striding on beside her, and watched as her expression softened, the confusion fading away. When at last she glanced over at him, it had turned to something more affectionate. “You’re one of the strangest people I’ve ever met, Jamie McCrimmon.”

He grinned. It was not often that Zoe looked at anyone like that, so freely and easily. Strange, perhaps, that she should be looking so happy when they were hurrying down a corridor to stop a rocket launch that would wipe out half a planet’s population – but maybe that was another thing that should not surprise him about Zoe. “Is that a compliment?”

She broke into a smile at that, taking his hand, and he squeezed hers in return. “Yes, it is.”

[timeagainreviews]

Reappraising Companions

Years after having watched every available episode of Doctor Who, I've had plenty of opportunities to rewatch episodes time and time again. As with most movies and television, I've found revisiting certain stories and eras has caused me to see them in a different light. A story I may have once reviled is suddenly more interesting. I even came to appreciate Peter Davison's performance as the Fifth Doctor for its subtle nature. But what about companions? Are there any companions I didn't care for at first, which I've softened toward over time? That is the question I wish to explore.

Below I've chosen a selection of companions of whom I had initially disliked for various reasons. They span across multiple eras and both the classic and modern versions of the show. With each companion, I have endeavoured to be fair in my reappraisal, but this doesn't mean I've changed my mind. I would also like to state that none of these appraisals are about the actors. My goal is to evaluate companions by the way they were written. The performance will come secondary.

1. Danny Pink

I chose Danny Pink to kick this list off because he is the reason I am writing this article in the first place. Recently, I took to rewatching a selection of Danny Pink episodes, in hopes that I may find something I didn't initially see. When Samuel Anderson was cast as Danny, I was excited. I've always been a big fan of male companions. They offer a different dynamic to the TARDIS that we don't often get to experience. However, in the wrong hands, they can be exhausting. Enter Steven Moffat.

When Steven Moffat took the reins of Doctor Who, he introduced us to Rory Williams. A smart, loyal, and combative male companion, not at all enamoured with the Doctor's mystique. At his worst, Rory was made to compete with the Doctor for Amy's affection. At his best, Rory held the Doctor accountable for the lives he brought aboard the TARDIS. With Danny, I felt like this is what Moffat was trying to do again, but this time, it wasn't as successful.

When we're introduced to Danny, we watch him and Clara fumble over their words like teenagers. It's meant to be cute, but their chemistry is non-existent. It feels like watching an episode of Coupling, in that it's painful and causes me to scan the room for exits. Their adorkable awkwardness is supposed to endear us to their relationship, but it seems forced. This is compounded when the Doctor enters the equation. Forcing Danny to fight for something very few of us in the audience believe in the first place.

Once again we find the male companion being forced to compete with the Doctor for the affection of a woman. But in this instance, instead of holding the Doctor accountable, Danny seems to hold the Doctor in contempt. Coming from his own history of military training and PTSD, Danny projects all of his inner struggles onto the Doctor. Which is unfortunate, as Danny's inner turmoil is his most humanistic trait. This wouldn't be the first time in Moffat's era where the Doctor's nature as a hero was called into play. The problem with Danny's appraisal of the Doctor as a general, barking orders, is that he's wrong. And we as an audience know it.

Not only do we know it, but so does the Doctor. The Doctor even gets a character arc over the identity crisis Danny gives him, wherein he realises Danny is wrong about him. Danny, however, never comes around to the Doctor's side. Even in his final moments on screen, he remains combative with the Doctor, in an exhausting refusal to grow as a character. We're supposed to believe he's come to some sort of character growth of self-acceptance by sacrificing his chance at a new life, for the life of a boy he mistakenly killed. Instead, he carries the same chip on his shoulder to his grave.

Danny is a companion wholly failed by writing. Even at his most heroic, it seems in service of making the Doctor look like a buffoon. His mimicking a soldier while yelling in the Doctor's face is embarrassing for everyone involved. Imagine this is your boyfriend meeting your friends. You would be mortified by his behaviour. Now imagine you have to lie about hanging out with your friends because it might make your boyfriend upset. Now imagine this friend is a very dashing person who constantly puts the lives of others before him. Danny and Clara's courtship is a romance by gaslight.

2. Clara Oswald

Clara is a whole other can of worms. I could probably dedicate an entire article to her character. I should clarify that my initial dislike for her character is somewhat mired in personal disappointment. By the time Clara was introduced, we had seen a string of modern human companions. We got the occasional tertiary companions from the future, such as Captain Jack or River Song. But we hadn't had a main companion from the past, future, or another planet. So when Jenna Coleman was introduced as Oswin Oswald, Junior Entertainment Manager of the starliner Alaska, I was very excited. Finally, a companion from the future! I was so ready for the Doctor to go on a quest to save Oswin from the cruel fate of becoming a Dalek. What an exciting storyline that was going to be.

And then we see her as governess Clara Oswin Oswald. Ok... Well at least she's still from a different era, right? Oh, she's dead now too? Oh. Much like Moffat's Dracula, all of this great promise was suddenly dashed against the rocks of a contemporary setting. Sigh. I was so excited. What we're given in “The Bells of St. John,” is a new character with less direction than either Oswin or the governess before her. So much that Moffat had taken to literally modulating her brain with an app. Maybe she's really good with computers now? Sorry friends, much like Rose Tyler's gymnastics and Peri Brown's botany, it's never going to come up again.

And this is the biggest issue I have had with Clara Oswald. She spends most of her screen time fluctuating between what character they're writing her as this week. The writers simply didn't know what to do with her while the Doctor tried to figure out why she's so "impossible." One week she's wacky, one week she's stern, another week she's bisexual queer bait. Her characterisation is all over the charts, which sadly, tracks with her entire storyline. She's a woman, fragmented across time, and so is her personality. And don't even get me started on that impossible girl nonsense.

Steven Moffat once said in an interview that one or two people usually guess his big reveal ahead of time, but that no one had guessed Clara's. Perhaps that's because nobody's fan theory was "It's going to be absolute shite." Instead of just being a woman who gets to be her own person, she has to become the most importantest companion. She has to save the Doctor by being planted throughout his timeline, saving him from the Great Intelligence. You know, by sometimes being born as herself, and other times being born as a Time Lord. Sometimes knowing who the Doctor is, other times having no idea whatsoever. Sometimes having a name that is a play on of Oswald, or Oswin, or Clara. And at no times did it make any kind of sense.

The funny thing is, that for me at least, Clara's character doesn't really become interesting until all of that nonsense is behind her. The Clara I find most compelling is the Clara in mourning. Clara post-Danny Pink is a Clara with focus. Her mood swings seem more from a place of destructive behaviour in the wake of great loss. Watching her hold the TARDIS keys hostage above a volcano was some seriously gripping stuff. Aside from the gross digs at her appearance, I found the Twelfth Doctor's relationship with Clara far more endearing than that of the Eleventh Doctor. It may have taken them until her final moments as a companion, but they did get her right, in the end.

3. Melanie Bush

Back in 2015, I had the opportunity to meet Louise Jameson, who played Leela, my all-time favourite Doctor Who companion. I also got to meet Colin Baker, who was all charm. Also in attendance was Bonnie Langford, aka, Doctor Who's Mel. After having gotten autographs from Louise and Colin, and having circled the convention hall a few times, I decided "Sure, why not. Let's meet Bonnie Langford. It's only 10 quid for an autograph." Upon meeting her, she was a very kind woman, and even still, I was racking my brain for something nice to say about Mel. To save face, I lied a very simple lie. I said, "I really liked you in Doctor Who." She smiled, said thank you, and signed my picture. And I walked away, taking my shitty liar mouth with me.

Because the fact is, I didn't like her in Doctor Who. I found every moment she was onscreen excruciating. From her poodle haircuts, to her 80's disaster attire, to her fat-shaming the Sixth Doctor, to her constant screaming at every little thing, she depressed me. I spoke in my review of "Terror of the Vervoids," just how weird it was that we're never actually introduced to her as a character. Instead, Peri is written off, and suddenly, Mel is there, already chummy with the Doctor. You guys know Mel, she's the Doctor's friend, because we told you she was! Instead of getting to know Mel slowly, we're thrown into the deep end, forced to sink or swim within the curls of red hair piled high. Mel doesn't just come out of nowhere, she comes on strong. Fitness expert Mel here to get your fat Doctor Who loving asses into shape. Drink this carrot juice you geek pig!

Not even in Big Finish audios was I finding myself warming up to Mel. When Ace was introduced, they couldn't have pushed Mel out quicker. I found everything about Ace immediately refreshing. Here was a calm and collected badass rebel that I could get behind. It's ironic then; that it was in the Seventh Doctor era that I have begun to find something likeable in Mel. Much like Clara Oswald,  a changing of Doctors enriched my appreciation for her character. This appreciation didn't come immediately, mind you, it came about around my third or fourth watch-through of "Paradise Towers."

Perhaps it's the influence of Andrew Cartmel, but with the Seventh Doctor, I have begun to appreciate Mel in the snarkiest manner. Mel is best utilised as a commentary on the Doctor/Companion relationship. She's precocious to a fault, she chews scenery, she screams at the drop of a hat, and she is oftentimes a naive idiot. Yet in "Paradise Towers," it becomes hilarious. Like much of the 80's era of Doctor Who, there is a very "2000 AD," atmosphere to the stories, and I could easily see this as a setting for Judge Dredd to drudge through, busting skulls and filling bodies with bullets. Setting the sunshiny persona of Mel against this backdrop is so brilliant that I can't imagine another companion in this story. Where she would usually grate against me, her sharp contrast from the things happening around her is exactly why I began to soften toward her.

Not even the ire from the Kangs could shake Mel's confidence, which is oddly what makes her cool. Or "ice-hot," as they would say. For the first time, Mel's headstrong sense of self makes her a rebel. She doesn't need to follow a crowd to feel accepted. Sadly, very few writers were able to find this core to Mel, but it was enough for me to be able to look at her in a different light. I could finally look at Mel and say I did like her in Doctor Who. Even if it was just for a moment, and even if it was somewhat at her expense. From a very cynical perspective, Mel can actually be pretty fun.

4. River Song

I know a lot of you are probably aghast to see River Song on this list, but I assure you, I have my reasons, and they are not without consideration. I should begin by saying some good things about River. She's smart, she's competent, she's got a healthy grasp on her sexuality, and she's cool. Why then did I not like her very much the first few times I watched her? Well, if you hadn't noticed, the bulk of this list are characters written by Steven Moffat, and once again, it all comes down to writing.

We're first introduced to River in the Tenth Doctor two-parter "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead." At first, she's just one of a team of forgettable space scientists on an expedition. However, as she finds out the Doctor is who he is, her entire demeanour changes. Like Mel on steroids, we're given a heaping dose of "Who does this bitch think she is, being all familiar with the Doctor?" Only, instead of it lasting one episode, it's every interaction we have with her character beyond this point. Instead of getting to watch River and the Doctor grow as a couple, we're forced to watch them meet in opposite directions. It is the antithesis of "show, don't tell." Everything about the Doctor and River's relationship is implied. "You're going to love me someday," she promises. Couldn't we just see it play out naturally? Spoilers.

This idea is one that can only really be done on a show like Doctor Who, where things are wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. The problem is, this doesn't mean that the idea is worth exploring, or even successful. It's made even worse when the relationship implied is one deeper than friendship. The Doctor is famously chaste, married only to his TARDIS and what lies ahead. Because of this, the idea of a person the Doctor will someday trust enough to share his real name and eventually marry carries with it a sizeable amount of convincing. Such a huge shift in the show's dynamic requires a lot of character development. Sadly none of that is to be seen onscreen. Who is Jim the Fish? Who cares? Steven Moffat's joke of "I'll explain later," became painfully prophetic of his time as showrunner.

I've got no complaints about River being a Time Lord, or even her being the child of Amy and Rory. Those elements are fine, really. It's the way in which she is presented which I find most detrimental to her character. I never did buy into the idea that the Doctor loved her as a wife. Their wedding seemed necessary to save the universe, as opposed to a union made out of love. Any kind of enjoyment I've ever gotten out of River stems mostly out of my love for Alex Kingston's performance. Where the show fails to establish her, she more than makes up for in style and substance. I grew to like River Song, despite the show's failure to ground her properly. River grew on me as she always said she would, but by no effort on the part of the writers. River is cool because River is cool, not because it was inferred that she was.

5. Susan

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, you’ll know I’ve already mellowed on Susan. In my reviews of the First Doctor era, I’ve had mostly good things to say about her character. This doesn’t change the fact that I found her utterly irritating at first, and it feels appropriate to talk about it here.

My initial dislike for Susan is a lot like my intial dislike for Clara. A lot of it was wrapped up in my own expectations of the character. Susan is the Doctor’s granddaughter. She is a Time Lord, therefore she should also be brilliant. And we get a lot of that in her first episode. She is mysterious, she’s enigmatic, and she is brilliant. Even her teachers at school found her perplexing. But the show doesn’t continue down that line. In fact, there are times when they make Susan borderline stupid. But how much of this is clouded by my own preconceptions?

For starters, Susan wasn’t a Time Lord. At least, not then. She was just a young girl. She may have been smarter than her fellow students, but this played more into how she was raised. So when the show depicts Susan screaming at every little thing, grabbing her hair dramatically, it smashed apart my mental image of a Time Lord. I couldn’t appreciate that they had her act this way to help sell a bad effect. Oftentimes Susan, like many Doctor Who companions, had her character sacrificed to make the baddies scarier. It was a product of her time, and even still I feel her character suffers for it.

However, one of the things I have discovered through repeat viewings of the First Doctor era is the surprising amount of character development among the TARDIS crew. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan all go through deep character development that was sadly often secondary in classic Doctor Who. Before the nature of the Doctor and companions was transient, there was a feeling of a family bond forming. Through this, I have come to find Susan to be a rather deep and sensitive person.

When it comes time to say goodbye to Susan, I can’t say I exactly agreed with the method. The Doctor locking her out and deciding she was mature enough to set out on her own felt hasty. But I would be lying if I didn’t agree that Susan had gone from a little girl to a young woman at that point. When you stop expecting Susan to be the Doctor, and allow her to be a kid, she grows on you instantly.

6. Adric

Let's be honest; it's not really original to hate on Adric. It's nothing new to point out what a bad companion he is, but here we are. Something I constantly endeavour to do on this blog is to be fair. One of my biggest complaints about the Doctor Who fandom is the proprietary attitude people take toward the fandom. The "I don't like it; therefore you shouldn't like it," attitude spat with such vitriol is one of the worst parts about being in the Doctor Who fandom. So when you say "Adric is my favourite companion," I'm not devising an argument for how wrong you are, it's fine. Like who you like. This doesn't mean I'm not also thinking in my head "What? Why?" Because I honestly, without malice, do not understand.

The most I ever enjoyed Adric, was in his introductory story "Full Circle." Setting him against a group of fellow Alzarians dilutes his lesser qualities. In fact, when paired with Varsh, he almost seems likeable. Sadly, we have to say goodbye to Varsh, and it's downhill from there. We're forced to watch a contrarian boy genius butt heads with the Doctor while he waddles around in a toddler's outfit while showing off his pound shop sheriffs badge for "mathematical excellence," to anyone who will listen. Adric is so obnoxious that he makes Wesley Crusher seem likeable in contrast.

However, it's not just his contrarian nature that makes me despise Adric, he's also disloyal to the Doctor and his friends. He's so susceptible to bad ideas as long as they a presented logically, that I've dubbed him the Ben Shapiro of the TARDIS. He's a smarmy little shit who believes himself superior to women, and he's really got no justification for his ill-placed self-confidence. Constantly demanding respect while giving very little reason to deserve it, he's like a poster child for incels. To make matters worse, he's oftentimes wrong and easily duped into taking the side of evil, turning him into more of a liability than an asset.

Recently, the idea that the Thirteenth Doctor could save someone from sacrificing themselves by using the TARDIS at the last moment to save them came under fire. "Why didn't the Doctor do this for Adric?" they said, forgetting conveniently when the Twelfth Doctor did the exact same thing in "Into the Dalek." But yes, why indeed? Why would the Doctor ever let a duplicitous, argumentative braggart die by their own stupid need to solve a math problem? My headcanon is that the Doctor got better at flying the TARDIS. The real reason is that people hated his character. The silence over the credits after Adric dies isn't out of respect for the character. The real reason is that the BBC couldn't secure the rights to Kool and the Gang's "Celebrate Good Times," before it aired.

Listen, I am not unsympathetic toward Matthew Waterhouse. He never should have been given such a big role, considering his utter lack of ability at the time. I imagine it was his own insecurity that fuelled his on-set antics. Giving unsolicited advice to veteran actors is cringey, but also the actions of a young and naive boy, in over his head. I know I said I was going to try and treat the performance as secondary, but in this case, it goes hand in hand. He has the stage presence of a fake. Every moment he's onscreen is disingenuous. The fact that he is present at the death of my favourite Doctor, stinking up the scene is genuine pain to me. If he has been made better in Big Finish, I've not yet heard it. As of now, there is nothing I've seen of Adric that has changed my opinion. But I'm glad if he makes you happy.

[delicrieux]

hi!! for the au+trope+prompt thing,, could i plsss get college+fake dating+prompt 11 with eleventh or twelfth doctor and nonbinary reader?? your choice which! maybe they’re both teachers or something of the like ? thank you!!!

!!! Hope you like it, nonnie ✨💗✨ 

Ah, how exactly did you get into this mess to begin with? Well, it all started with an overly clever exclamation from a Professor of Theatre in your department, and you, a newby lecturer of Literature Theory had fallen into a terrible, comedic trap. You had seen his face around, laughed silently at his peculiar mannerisms and his curiosity for everything and anything; you had heard other teachers gossiping about him at the teachers lounge but never quite got his name, seen, in passing, his initials, quirked a brow at anyone who, confronted with this pressing question “What’s his name?”, answered only with a shrug and “He’s a private man and erratic man. A modern genius, though. We just call him Doctor. He has a lot of PhDs under his belt.” And lo and behold, you just had to say something equally clever to him though you never quite expected such a drastic turn of events: after a coffee break he had found you on your way to class and, sly as he always was, suggested to take part in a study he was conducting. Naturally, from such a peculiar and highly intelligent man you expected nothing but absolute professionalism, and accepted right away before even asking “What’s the study about, anyway?”

With a pleased grin he pointed at you, “You.” then at himself, “Me.” he then brought his hands together, “Us. I want to see how quickly the staff believes we’re dating.”

Naturally, you could have backed out and said “No!” as later you found out many of your colleagues did. You told no one of this experiment, though once, when the two of you were disscusing philosophy, a fellow lecturer strolled up and pulled you aside, “He hadn’t asked you to participate in his study, has he?”

Feigning innocence, you asked, “… What?”

Your colleague had narrowed her eyes, glanced you up and down, and then looked at the Doctor, standing at the other side of them room, clearly focused on a novel, “…He just… He’s a bit of an odd fellow. If he thinks you’re interesting he tries to coax you into some sort of pyramid scheme. Don’t ask why, I have no clue. Theatre people frighten me, honest.”

Things sailed smoothly from there: you had religiously pretended to be his significant other, holding hands, talking in hushed voice, helping him grade papers (this, he had said, was peak romance) and vice versa. Though all of this was strictly done in public, and he was nothing if not respectful in private. He never once made you feel uncomfortable or forced, on the contrary, this act had become quite enjoyable and exciting, like a comedic play.

Your colleagues didn’t buy it for a minute, though.

However, what was not as exciting was the realisation that your pretend feelings are slowly growing into real ones. He is most handsome, but more than that he is interesting and kind and you cannot for the life of you imagine why anyone else overlooked these important traits. He often looked you in the eyes and you thought the whole universe was within his iris, such an old, mysterious look; and he smiled softly when he held your hand, secretly almost, as if you were not meant to see. He was playing a part, of course he was, so were you, but you dreaded the moment when one day, when you slipped into his office, he’d announce, “The absolute fools, they are! We have successfully convinced everyone. You are a natural at this. Should’ve considered a job in Theatre. You’d be magnificent on stage.”

It was the third day of December and the two of you were walking the college grounds, hand in hand. The weather had been nice: clear skies, though a bit chilly. Snow crunched under your boots and a pleasant silence followed both of you. The only real twinge of warmth was your hand in his and the unmistakable rouge on your cheeks.

“You know,” He started, thoughtful, his gaze cast far away, “you have been a wonderful companion. It will be difficult letting go.”

His words pieced you like a needle through thread. There was tenderness in his voice, near wistfulness, and no one was around to heard his gentle tone but you. Alarmed, and quite hurt, you frowned, “Listen, I know it’s the thought that counts and all but it really didn’t sound like you thought through what you just said.” and how you said it, you wanted to add, but refrained. His words inspired hope. And hope was the last thing you needed - being turned down…you doubted you could take it.

He was quiet again, lost in deep thought. Alas, he nodded, “Of course. My apologies. I didn’t mean for… well, never mind now.” He then turned to you, a smile hiding his distress, “Hot chocolate?”

Despite the urge to reject him and be done with this toying of your heart (though you knew full well it was never his intention to do so), you caved in and allowed yourself a moment of content and happiness, “Alright.”

How and when this study shall end you didn’t know. It didn’t matter at the moment, either. You were just happy to be with him and, undoubtably, with you.

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Did Titan Comics link Victoria, Game of Thrones to Whoniverse?

I fell out of reading the Doctor Who comics back in 2017, so I never knew about this until it was pointed out to me by @praetyger​, who also provided the page image below. In an issue of Titan Comics’ then-annual crossover story arc, The Lost Dimension, in the chapter titled simply “Alpha”, we see Nardole answering the telephone in the Twelfth Doctor’s office at the university where he was based for most of Peter Capaldi’s final season. Here’s the page in question:

The middle panel is the one to look at. On the right side we see a framed image of a certain monarch - Queen Victoria. And it’s clearly based upon one of the publicity images of Jenna Coleman from the Victoria series!

For the last few years in my fanfic, I’ve played with the idea that Victoria was one of Clara Oswald’s echoes, and even though a different actress (Pauline Collins) played her in the Tennant episode “Tooth and Claw” and an image of Collins was used in Capaldi’s “The Empress of Mars” (which coincidentally guest-starred Ferdinand Kingsley from Jenna’s show), it isn’t a huge stretch to head-canon the connection.

What makes the presence of this image interesting is that, of course, at this time Twelve’s memories of Clara hadn’t yet been restored, and he had images of River and Susan on his desk - it’s interesting to think he had one of Clara (sort of) nearby, but never knew!

More difficult to explain is the fact the two other framed images are clearly of Daenerys and Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. I’m sure someone’s imagined a crossover at some point!

But there’s another possibility: what if those are actually images of actors Emilia Clarke and Kit Harrington? Maybe the Doctor’s a fan. If that’s the case, then the third image could well actually be of Jenna Coleman as Victoria. Which would semi-canonize another fanfic theory, that the Whoniverse version of Jenna was an echo of Clara. (I’ve written a story about that too!).

By the way, this isn’t the first time a bit of background detail regarding Clara has caught people’s attention: one of Titan’s Eleventh Doctor stories - set before the events of The Snowmen - revealed an image of Clara in a gallery of portraits Eleven had inside his TARDIS, even though technically they hadn’t met yet by that point!

[westphotolukedas]

Production Journal - The X-Files

251019

The X-Files is an American science fiction television programme that was influential on my development as a creative. The original pilot aired in 1993 and ran for nine seasons with 202 subsequent episodes. It had a cult following during my adolescence and my peers and I would discuss each episode in depth. During a hiatus in programming, two feature films were released - The X-Files (1998) and The X-Files - I Want to Believe (2008). A tenth season was aired in 2016 and an eleventh in 2018, this is suggestive that the fan base still exists and has remained loyal for decades.

The series leads are Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who both gained celebrity status from these characters. They are Special Agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and solve cases involving paranormal activity. The dynamic between the duo is the main draw of the programme. Mulder is a believer in extra-terrestrial life following the abduction of his sister as a child. His unorthodox theories align with The X-Files - a department dedicated to unsolved cases. Scully is the objective voice that counters Mulder. She is a medical doctor who is placed at the department to challenge her partner’s zeal. The interplay between a believer and sceptic allows individual story arcs to unfold, usually around a monster of the week.

John Bartley (Born 1947) was Director of Photography for The X-Files from 1993-1996 and the second feature film. I will draw from his techniques during the production of my staged tableau. He received a nomination in 1994 for Outstanding Artistic Achievement from the American Society of Cinematographers and an Emmy. He has continued to develop the cinematography for television series with similar premises such as Roswell (1999-2002), Lost (2004-2010) and Bates Motel (2013-2017).

Bartley developed the visual identity of the television programme, which was based around many practical effects. For example, in the pilot when an arsonist torches a motel room to destroy evidence, the flames were actually real. To Barley, darkness was a character on The X-Files and the interplay between light and shadow was critical. Mulder and Scully probed the unknown with their xenon flashlights in conjunction with lighting equipment that included HMIs, Dedolights, KinoFlos and MiniFlos. Light was implemented as a counterpoint to the darkness to emphasise aspects of the frame that the audience could not see. Beams of coloured back and sidelight were used to accentuate foreground shadows and slow moving steam added to the eerie feel of each scene. During an interview, Bartley commented, ‘We actually blend light and dark. Some things the audience can see, and other things they’re not sure if they saw them or not. It adds to the aura of mystery. I don’t use much fill. I started that on a series called Booker. With today’s films I’ve been five stops underexposed and have still recorded details in the highlights and shadow areas. I like to use the full latitude of the stock.’

The X-Files was conservative with colour during its first season. The nature of the content did not lend itself to vibrancy. For the second season, Bartley was more adventurous with the low-key lighting that he had established as a foundation. There was greater contrast and harder lighting than he had previously employed in addition with super-blue fluorescent tubes. ‘These tubes are so blue, you can’t even read them on a colour meter. Then I added just a little tungsten on their faces and a very hard top light overhead. It doesn’t have to look real or match anything. That makes things more interesting. I think it’s what makes The X-Files different,’ he explained. (Bartley, 1995)

Shane Harvey, Unit Stills, 2018

Fox Network, Dana Scully, 2018

Summary

It was encouraging to research the lighting design that Bartley established in television and draw commonalities with Crewdson and Starkey in stills photography. There is a great deal of overlap. Promotional material for season eleven was also worth my consideration and here are my summary intentions for the shoot.

The final photograph will be low-key with significant proportions of the frame depicting total darkness. All sources of light will be hard and appear to be the ambient illumination from an alien abduction. Gels will be clipped to barn doors for this to be achieved. The colour choices of purple for the key light and blue for the back light reference Bartley and Crewdson. Preferentially, these are my colours of choice for aesthetic reasons. They should complement each other and work independently in the composition. Finally, I found it fitting that season eleven features these hues as a recurring theme. The absence of a fill light means that dramatic shadows will form, which is another homage to Bartley’s lighting technique.

Bartley and Crewdson both favour practical effects and this is a challenge given my budget. I will position blinds held by a cross bar and stand in front of the key light. This will cast a shadow from the slats and light from the key light simultaneously onto my subject. In reference to Starkey, it should suggest that the setting of the photograph is in doors. A supernatural moody effect will be added with a smoke machine. Many scenes from The X-Files featured background smoke and it has become a trope associated with the series.

Actor Tashi Bullman is fully committed to depicting the character Dana Scully and I will do a test shoot with one of my classmates. A lone female subject is another parallel to Starkey’s work. Tashi has sourced a suit jacket and blouse that are in keeping with Scully’s wardrobe. If possible, a flashlight and FBI badge should feature too. These will pose a challenge due to being another source of light and a reflective surface respectively. The posturing and expressions of the character will be decided jointly between Tashi and myself on the day.

Production Notes

My classmate Gyorgy Englert was a phenomenal actor during my initial lighting experiments and for this test shoot. My lighting design was efficacious and there will be little modification needed for the final shoot. The equipment was set up as shown in the lighting diagram and the flash heads functioned as I imagined. I noted 5.0 stops for the key light and 4.0 stops for the back light. The camera was set to f/11, 1/125 and ISO 100. This aperture was needed to achieve a broad depth of field and this shutter speed is appropriate for the flash sync speed. Setting my digital camera to 100 ISO should give me some indication of the results that will be achieved with film of the same sensitivity. The shadows from the slats were only visible when Gyorgy was within inches of the blinds. A flashlight appears in my example shot; however, its constant light was obliterated by the power of the flash heads. I will remove it for the final shoot. The FBI badge was also sourced from an online fancy dress store and it does not look passable enough close up. I will have to come up with a solution for this when Tashi wears it. The final noteworthy point was that the smoke machine was temperamental. It needed minutes to heat up and then each burst varied in intensity. My timing was also crucial to obtain a photograph with the smoke engulfing the sitter and it was better to position it in front of the blinds.

Bibliography

Bartley, J. (1995). John Bartley Shoots The X-Files On The Edge Of Darkness. Eat The Corn. Available from www.eatthecorn.com/?itw=in-camera [Accessed 12/12/2019]

Lighting Diagram

Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

Test Shot, f/11, 1/125, ISO 100

[accio-spaceman]

VORTEX Magazine - Issue 87

May 2016

Download for FREE on the Big Finish website

  The Tenth Doctor Adventures

Matt Fitton, Jenny T Colgan, James Goss, and Russell T Davies weigh in on the new “The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Volume 1″ series.

Technophobia 

[Above Matt Fitton, Jenny T Colgan, and James Goss]

 Responsible for bringing the stories to life has been script editor Matt Fitton, who has written Technophobia, the first of the Big Finish Tenth Doctor stories, as well as working with the other scribes on the series. Jenny T Colgan has written Time Reaver, while Death and the Queen has come from the imagination of James Goss.

 (Full Article Under Cut)

Talking of this series, Matt says: “It had a long gestation period – when the licence first came through, we started thinking about different ways of doing Tenth Doctor stories.

“When it became clear we had Donna as well, we sent a pitch to be approved by the BBC, so we could give them a concept of what we wanted to do, story-wise.

“We decided to do something similar to the way they did things with the TV series. The first one was going to be a story set in contemporary London with a strange threat, so it was similar to a series opener of the era. The second story would be set in outer space, with something weird, wonderful and alien, and then the third story would be something possibly historical or a bit more emotional and based on Earth.

“These were the briefs that want out to Jenny and James, so they were able to flesh out their stories. We had lots of exchanges of ideas, back and forth.

“James is a good, solid, clever writer who you know you can rely on. I was really pleased to get Jenny involved as we were keen to have something of a name attached to the series, and she is such a good writer who loves her Doctor Who too. It’s great to have a Sunday Times best-selling writer with us!”

In order for Matt to get the feel for the era again, he had to dig out his DVD collection.

In Technophobia, the Doctor and Donna visit London’s Technology Museum for a glimpse into the future, but things don’t go to plan. The most brilliant IT brain in the country can’t use her computer. More worrying, the exhibits are attacking the visitors, while outside, people seem to be losing control of the technology that runs their lives. Is it all down to simple human stupidity, or is something more sinister going on? Beneath the streets, the Koggnossenti are waiting. For all of London to fall prey to technophobia...

Smiling, Matt says: “It was a question of going back and watching the episodes again, which is what I do with the classic series. You watch the episodes and how the characters work – the Doctor and Donna are just such vivid characters, as they are so full of life on screen.

“I suppose there’s an added pressure knowing you’ve got David and Catherine performing your lines. Everyone knows Catherine’s a brilliant comedian and some people forget just how great an actress she is too – you want to give her something to really work with.

“You know David’s so good and will be able to do anything you give to him.”

David Richardson says: “Technophobia began life as something else altogether. I’d been holding on to the idea for a story about sleep deprivation – what would happen if the whole world lost the ability to sleep? That was going to be our first episode. And then we submitted it to Cardiff, and of course Sleep No More was planned for series nine on television, so there was a clash. Matt Fitton rather brilliantly took the core idea and twisted it into something else entirely different but really clever.”

 “Everyone knows Catherine’s a brilliant comedian, and some people forget just how great an actress she is too – you want to give her something to really work with.”

– Matt Fitton

 Time Reaver

[Above Jenny T Colgan wearing an “I 'heart heart' Gallifrey” t-shirt.]

 The second adventure for the Doctor and Donna is Time Reaver. Although Jenny – an accomplished romantic comedy novelist as well as a prolific writer of Doctor Who fiction – has since written a play for Big Finish’s first River Song series, which was released earlier this year, she actually wrote her Tenth Doctor story first.

In Time Reaver, the TARDIS lands on Calibris, the spaceport planet where anything goes. The alien Vacintians are trying to impose some order over the smugglers and pirates that crowd the port. Soon the Doctor and Donna discover why. An illegal weapon is loose on the streets. A weapon that destroys lives... Slowly and agonisingly. The Time Reaver.

Despite having written for the Doctor several times in prose – including In The Blood, a new Tenth Doctor and Donna BBC novel being released this month to tie-in with the Big Finish audios – this was Jenny’s first script, a fact she was extremely excited about.

“I never believed that people actually jump for joy but I did actually hop around the kitchen a little bit. Then I was so terrified I’d actually tell someone I got horribly paranoid. But it was an extremely exciting moment.

“I pitched a few things and they chose the one they liked. Funnily enough, Time Reaver is quite traditional sci-fi – it’s a mechanical interchange planet, like a massive interplanetary King’s Cross – whereas my friend and colleague James Goss has written one about Donna getting married, so it feels a bit like we’re on each others’ turf!”

Jenny didn’t feel the need to go back to watch some TV episodes featuring the Doctor and Donna.

She explains: “I’ve written for four different Doctors and you do have to shake their voices out of your head a little bit, just to give yourself a bit of a mental shake up because they’re all so different. Matt Smith is nothing like Peter Capaldi who is obviously nothing like David, etc. The Tenth Doctor understands human emotions, whereas the Eleventh gets a bit bamboozled by them, and the Twelfth understands in theory but he doesn’t really care very much – although he’s learning...

“But I don’t need to go back and watch series episodes, I watch them all the time. I can recite Forest of the Dead off by heart (I shan’t, but I can). Silence in the Library is a real touchstone for me. I have two Tenth Doctor/Donna projects coming out in May: one is set just before Library and one just after Midnight.

“Here is a funny thing; my kids were watching Silence in the Library last week because the six- year-old is finally old enough to deal with the skeletons, and when River says ‘Have we done picnic at Asgard yet?’ (which I wrote this year for the Eleventh Doctor and River), they all turned to me and went ‘But how did you know?’ And then when he says ‘Why would I give you my screwdriver?’, they all went, ‘Because mummy wrote that you had a sonic trowel and the Doctor thought it was rubbish!’.

“It was just so, so very lovely to be able to play with all of that when you’re writing for Doctors past, and so very special to me.”

Death and the Queen

[Above James Goss holding a cat.]

 The concluding play in this first run of Tenth Doctor adventures is Death and the Queen, by James Goss. As we’ve seen in The Runaway Bride, and learned subsequently, Donna Noble has never been lucky in love. So when, one day, her Prince does come, she is thrilled to have the wedding of all weddings to look forward to. The Doctor isn’t holding his breath for an invitation, and her future mother-in-law is certainly not amused. But on the big day itself, Donna finds her castle under siege from the darkest of forces, marching at the head of a skeleton army. When it looks like even the Doctor can’t save the day, what will Queen Donna do to save her people from Death itself?

James explains how the conversation went when he was asked to write the play: “David Richardson: ‘This is obviously top secret and you can’t tell anyone’.

“Me: ‘I think I’ve just told a whole train carriage’.”

James is no stranger to writing for the Tenth Doctor – his BBC Audio play Dead Air, read by David Tennant, was voted 2010 Audiobook of the Year. The award was selected by voters visiting the Audiobook store. It beat other books nominated including Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years, Othello, Animal Farm, Shakespeare in Love and War Horse.

James wasn’t given much of a brief for this tale, as he says he was given: “Not much really. Just keep the Doctor and Donna together as much as possible and have them having a great amount of fun. Which I hope they do. “I had another idea which is also amazing!”

With the script having been finished months before it was actually recorded, has it been a nervous wait for James?

“Not really. So often these things are a tearing hurry, but this was a nice sense of it sitting on a shelf, gently maturing. I re-read it the night before the recording and sweated fear.”

And is he excited to hear the finished play?

“VERY. How else does anyone answer this? Donna Noble is getting married again. The Tenth Doctor’s trying to help. What could possibly go wrong?”  

 “So often these things are a tearing hurry, but this was a nice sense of it sitting on a shelf, gently maturing. I re-read it the night before the recording and sweated fear.”

– James Goss

 Russell T Davies

[Above Russell T Davies in the doorway of the TARDIS.]

 Another person who’s particularly looking forward to hearing the plays is former Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies. He created both the Tenth Doctor and Donna, and in his role on TV, he oversaw every single word which came out of their mouths.

In an exclusive interview with this magazine, Vortex asked him how odd does it feel, that a part of his time on Doctor Who is now being brought to life on audio by Big Finish?

He says: “Actually, yes, good question, because odd is the right word. Along with wonderful and exciting and brilliant. But I pored over every single word the Doctor and Donna ever said to each other – apart from Steven Moffat’s two-parter, I probably wrote most of their dialogue – so to not know what they’re going to say next is a little bit strange. Just a little bit! In a good way. But really, I can’t wait to hear those two actors riff off each other again. David and Catherine are such good friends in real life, there’s a genuine spark between the Doctor and Donna.”

Russell wasn’t involved with the storylines?

“Not at all!”, he says. “Well, they ran them past me in simple synopses, but it’s Big Finish, they know what they’re doing. And besides, you can’t make these things with someone sitting far away, trying to meddle. It’s a Big Finish licence, so it’s a Big Finish show, it’s their version of the Doctor and Donna. And that’s Big Finish’s speciality – recreating eras faithfully but always finding something new to say.”

And how excited is he to hear some new stories, being brought to life by David and Catherine?

“Very! Those two, back in action, after all these years, it’s an absolute joy. Just the other day, I was in Superdrug, and the woman at the till asked if I wanted a bag, and I said no, I’ll put it in my pocket, and she sighed wistfully and said, ‘Women don’t have pockets.’ And it made me think of Donna! I laughed to myself for about 10 minutes afterwards, remembering Donna’s line about getting her wedding dress from Chez Alison. It made me think how much I miss her. And bang on cue, here she is, back again! And I don’t think a single day passes without someone telling me how much they loved David as the Doctor. It’s an honour to get him and Catherine back together. Yes, I’m excited!”

 “Those two, back in action, after all these years, it’s an absolute joy.”

– Russell T Davies

– VORTEX Magazine, Issue 87, Pages 6-15

The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Volume 01 

Technophobia

London’s Technology Museum faces a revolution. Is it all down to simple human stupidity, or is something more sinister going on?

Time Reaver

An illegal weapon is loose on the streets of spaceport planet Calibris - and the Vacintians are closing in…

Death and the Queen

The Wedding of all Weddings comes under attack by a skeleton army. Can Queen Donna save her people from Death itself?

Written By: Matt Fitton, Jenny T Colgan, James Goss

Directed By: Nicholas Briggs

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Niky Wardley (Bex), Rachael Stirling (Jill Meadows), Chook Sibtain (Brian), Rory Keenan (Kevin), Jot Davies (Lukas), Alex Lowe (Soren), Sabrina Bartlett (Cora), Terry Molloy (Rone), John Banks (Gully), Dan Starkey (Dorn), Blake Ritson (Rudolph), Alice Krige (Queen Mum), Beth Chalmers (Hortense), Alan Cox (Death)

Available as deluxe five-disc box set, limited edition of 5,000, and as individual vanilla releases.

For full details visit www.bigfinish.com .

[the-barrens-are-ours]

I was just imagining how the Losers would all be HUGE fans of both “Doctor Who” and “Steven Universe”. And I was wondering who you think each of their favourite characters on those shows would be.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I’m so sorrrrryyyyyy this took foreverrrrrrrr!!!!! Please forgive meeeeeee.

BUT! Those are both quality ass shows and the Losers are definitely the type of nerds that’d love them so here’s my take on their fav characters.

Eddie- This sweet little boy LOVES Captain Jack Harkness. Lowkey his biggest celebrity crush, but David Tennant is also definitely up there as well. His fav SU character would probably be Pearl. His friends tease him because they think he probably likes her because she’s a stickler for rules and keeping clean and organized like he is, but really he just is inspired by how brave she can be and how she still sometimes struggles but prevails at the end of the day. He also deeply admires her love for her friends and how she’s willing to sacrifice herself and her happiness for those she loves.

Stan- The boy resonates hardcore with Lapis Lazuli. He constantly watches her episodes over and over again and he just loves her development as a character who still is trying to heal and find herself and be okay again. When it comes to Doctor Who, he’s personally a bit more in love with the older episodes from when it first came out, so his favorite character is actually the First Doctor. Can’t go wrong with a classic.

Beverly- While Beverly really does all the Ponds a lot, she goes HARD for River Song. A badass redheaded woman who’s also part timelord and goes around fucking shit up and kicking ass? FUCK YEAH. SIGN BEV THE HELL UP. Also, Donna Noble? Same deal. She will literally fight anyone who says she was a shitty companion (this is how she ended up accidentally breaking Richie’s nose once. She felt bad for a bit, but ultimately, no regrets.) And frankly, Bev enjoys nearly every female character, both in Doctor Who and Steven Universe. Some of her favorites from the latter include Connie, Garnet, and Sadie. Although, Amethyst also has a soft spot in Bev’s heart for sure.

Mike- This boy loves his characters soft and sweet. She may not have had a lot of on-screen time, but Mike LOVES Topaz. He just wants her to be happy and feel loved. He’s constantly annoyed that she hasn’t come back yet. And speaking of coming back, Mike also loves Rory Williams so god damn much and was ready to throw fucking hands when he watched Cold Blood for the first time, he could not believe that they were gonna kill Rory off. But when he came back at the end of Season 5, Mike vowed to treasure and appreciate Rory more from then on until Angels Take Manhatten. His favorite episode is lowkey The Girl Who Waited even though it makes him cry every time.

Bill- This boy personally is a big Danny Pink man. He’s constantly disappointed that he only got one season, but all be damned if he wasn’t incredible during every single second he was on screen. He’s also still a bit salty that he didn’t get to end up with Clara. His favorite Steven Universe character would probably have to be Stevonnie. He just really enjoys their whole character and stories and he gets super pumped whenever they come on-screen. He also lowkey really digs Greg as well, like whatta dad. 

Ben- Sweet Ben the romantic obviously loves Ruby and Sapphire the most. He just loves The Answer so much and when he heard they were getting married he cried a few happy tears. And when he actually watched the wedding, he cried way more than just a few happy tears. He just loves their love. And speaking of loving love, this boy freaking loves Rose Tyler, especially Season 2 Rose Tyler with the 10th Doctor. He was an emotional wreck for like, two weeks after watching Doomsday. It was just too much for him.

Richie- Richie’s super weird. We all know this. He’s loveable, yet weird. As such, he is constantly drawn to all the weird and lovable characters in the shows he watches. The big one in DW being Drax. He loves that funky little potato man. He also stans the Eleventh Doctor p hardcore. He definitely tried fish fingers and custard, like, that’s just a fact really. No debate. He did it, for sure. One of his favorite Steven Universe characters (besides the title man himself because frankly what a weird and wonderful guy Steven is) is Ronaldo. He loved all his outlandish theories and absolutely lost his shit when he realized they were all little bits of hidden foreshadowing. In addition to them, Richie also loves Onion, Nanefua, Jamie, and Peridot. He also digs Lars’ vibe, as well as Smoky Quartz because they’re both cool but hot messes at the same time. Basically, this boy’s just got a lot of love to give. 

Anyways, that’s my take on their favorite characters from DW and SU. Thanks a bunch for the ask! Sorry again it took so long!!

[lunawho47]

Inside Straight -- DW/Fringe Xover Snippet

I find interesting things on my hard drive when I’m putting off writing my final papers for grad classes, lol.  I came across this old idea I had of an Eleventh Doctor fanfiction that had a teenage Olivia Dunham as the companion.  The plot was going to have something to do with the Master messing with time lines, and Eleven was going to run into Rose Tyler at the Bad Wolf Bar and have to try and conceal his identity so that she wouldn’t know the term “the Doctor” when she met him a couple of years later.  And Olivia was going to come across an on-the-run con man named Peter Bishop and get into all sorts of craziness when the mob boss turns out to be the Master.  

This following portion was the only bit I managed to ever write of it, and it was the opening scene between Olivia and the Doctor.  Rose is not physically in it, but to anyone who has watched five minutes of the show and knows how to read between the lines, she is very much present.

Enjoy!

The Doctor sometimes despaired of ever succeeding in getting Olivia Dunham to smile.  She had been travelling with him for nearly nine years — a long time for a companion — and in that time frame, she had smiled exactly three times, and he had initiated NONE of them.  Oh, she had responded to him, but it was usually with eye-rolls, a glib comment or notable cold shouldering.  Apparently, Olivia’s smiles were restricted use only for small children, classic screwball comedies and B grade science fiction films.

The teenager in question was currently studying the TARDIS environmental readouts, her eyes taking in his native Gallifreyan language with unceasing interest.  It was a daily ritual with the two of them.  She would study the odd lines and circles, looking for some certain pattern, and he would tell her its meaning.  They were usually quite mundane — pick up dry cleaning, need milk, clean out stabilisation rotor and wormhole refractors, save Earth from scheduled invasion by Vogons — but the language still seemed to intrigue and confound Olivia, to the Doctor’s never-ending amusement.

The Doctor watched with pride as his young companion’s green eyes got that spark they harboured only when she had spotted a pattern in the madness.  “It’s my name!” she proclaimed, and the Doctor’s answering half smirk told her wordlessly that she was right, but not completely.  She was as correct as her alien driver would allow her to be, but no more.

“Alright, what am I missing?”

The Doctor’s smirk moved from one-sided to a full smile, and he quickly turned from being her friend to being her teacher.

“It is your name, Olivia,” he began, urging her closer and putting his arm around her shoulder to bring her closer to the symbols she had spent the previous nine years learning to decipher.  “But it’s so much more than a mere mess of sounds.  This particular line of shapes encompasses everything that you are – your whole life story (as far as I know it), all your personality and your potential to the universe.  These marks are your soul.”

He patted the post-it note fondly, and quickly scrunched his nose in disgust when the ink smudged.  On impulse, he went to wipe the residue off his fingers on Olivia’s jacket, but she wisely moved out of the way, her mouth going downward into a familiar frown.  

“Will the writing change as I get older?”

“Of course!  The story isn’t finished yet, after all.  Every writer has to make some edits.”

“And what about punctuation?  Is there a Gallifreyan equivalent of a period?  What mark do you make when my story ends?”

The Doctor felt one of his hearts stutter at her words.  Nearly 2000 years (although he often told Olivia he was only 1400, which she never believed anyway), and 300 of those in his current from, and he still couldn’t find it in him to happily accept endings.  While he had known some companions a long time – Romana, Leela, Sarah Jane, River, Ace, Amy and Rory had never been able to quite give up their love of adventure after leaving him and all had come back to travel for a while longer after *officially* moving on with their lives – Olivia was one of the few to stay for so long without leaving at all.  He often offered to take her to her mother’s to visit, but she always refused.  Her green eyes, a much darker shade than his, but with an identical sense of burden attached, always got hard at the mention of family.

It was why he had invited her along – a nine year old girl sitting on a Boston street corner, her teeth chattering with cold and not a friend or parent in sight. He had been following readings on the sonic screwdriver, but had lost the signal (the explanation for which he never did discover), but had found her instead.  When he had offered to help her get home, she had insisted that she didn’t have one.  When aliens had gotten the drop on him (as they always seemed to do, especially in his current body), Olivia had saved his life.  When it appeared she truly did NOT have a home to go back to, he had invited her to come with him.  

Over the years, he had managed to extract some little titbits from her as to her previous life.  She had a younger sister named Rachel, an absolutely perfect and wonderful mother, and a drunken, alcoholic and abusive step-father.  Something had happened (Olivia never said what), and she had been thrown out and could never go home again.  The Doctor was positive there was more to this story, but he refrained from asking.  When he had come across her in Boston, he had been desperate for something akin to friendship after losing Amy and Rory, and he was just selfish enough to not ask questions that would make him give up the one person he had come to care about in the seven years since he’d lost his only family.  And in the intervening years, he’d come to care too much for Olivia herself to want to delve too deeply into things she obviously didn’t want to think about anymore.  This selfishness would come back to bite him sometime in the future – of that he was positive – but after nearly a decade with Olivia Dunham by his side, he was too attached to give her up so easily.  She was one last piece of family that the universe would not take from him without a fight.

The Doctor took a deep, yet silent, breath and forced himself to answer her. “No, there’s no punctuation.  The story of a person never ends; not even when the person’s life does.  The universe carries it on.”

Olivia pursed her lips, and the Doctor could practically feel her scepticism without her saying anything at all.  “Careful, Doctor.  You’re starting to sound religious over there.”

“Everyone believes in something, Olivia.  Even science is a kind of faith.  Rules, principles, axioms, postulates, theories – they all require that we accept something as truth.  Because even something that’s a law – that’s proven with empirical data – all of it has exceptions to the rule.  Nothing is a law one hundred percent of the time, but we believe that when we jump gravity will catch us, even though we know that there are plenty of places where gravity doesn’t exist.  Now, I may not believe in gods or demigods or devils or anything like that, but I have my own faiths.”

“And what are they?” she asked, coming around to him from the opposite side of the console and staring at the monitor screen where a single Gallifreyan signature was circling on the screen.

“I believe in *that.*” He gestured to the symbol, which was a series of interconnected circles and lines that formed so intricate a pattern that the Doctor knew Olivia would never be able to read it.  Olivia’s name had been complex in and of itself, but there was a distinct pattern to it – her time lines were diversified, but had a central point. The signature the Doctor was currently showing her was far more elegant.  The time lines shown through it were twisting and turning, and the signature looked different from every angle the monitor used to present it.  It was both a work of art and a headache for the Doctor himself to view.  He couldn’t even imagine how difficult it was for Olivia’s eyes to take in.

“And what is ‘that’?”

“It’s just another name, Olivia.  And, just as with you, it’s so much more than a name.”

“Is it your name?” she asked, her voice taking on the curious tone it so very rarely donned, and her green eyes grew impossibly large.  The Doctor laughed at her almost childlike wonder.

“No. That would be ridiculous. Something as powerful as that; do you think I’d leave that lying around for just anyone to read?  No, this is something very different.”

“Now you’re just being intentionally enigmatic.  Let me guess: some long, boring Gallifreyan name that sounds even more pompous than the title of Time Lord?”

“Nearly, but not quite.”

The Doctor smiled.  Olivia wouldn’t stop guessing until she knew, even if it took her ten more years to guess it. But that was alright.  Olivia could keep guessing; after all, faith was supposed to be a private thing.  He’d been praying to the same goddess for 600 years, and it had been 300 since she’d last answered him.  But he kept on believing in her – in that name that stretched through time and artwork and endless museums throughout the galaxy – because he couldn’t do anything else. In his mind, that name was out saving the universe, even 300 years after he’d last said her name out loud, because if he believed otherwise it would all be over.  His faith would be lost.  And he was just selfish enough to hold onto it.

[yeonchi]

Kisekae Insights #2: The Doctors, Protags and Prototypes

These are the characters who form the core of the Kisekae Project. Of course, being a Doctor Who-inspired project, there is always the Doctor, but this Doctor is different from the Doctor you know on what I like to call BBC Doctor Who.

Introduction and origin story

Being the egotist I am, the other protagonist of the project is a character based on myself. He’s been through many incarnations under the same name, but in his final incarnation (shown above on the left), he prefers to be known as Hiroki Ichigo. He has a twin brother (on the right), who used to be known as Zhuge Liang, but for the latest revision of the Kisekae Project, prefers to be known as Parker Zhou. Imagine him as Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, but with black hair.

In my reviews of Resolution and The Timeless Children, I outlined my origin story for the Doctor and here, I will expand and elaborate on it. No, of course he’s not the Timeless Child.

During the Time War, the Time Lords were desperate for more soldiers and resurrecting their dead wasn’t enough for them. As such, Lord President Rassilon invented a virus, suspended in Mako energy, and spread it on Earth at some points in history. While the virus would have no effect on the infected, it would sometimes result in the souls of their offspring being harvested and transported to Gallifrey, where they would become new Time Lords. The human “shells” would be left with corrupted chromosomes and/or brain activity as a result. Other humans documented these genetic and neurodevelopmental disorders over the years, resulting in what we know today as disorders like Down syndrome and autism (though I should note that the Time Lords probably didn’t cause every disorder known to mankind).

At essentially the same time, the Shinra Electric Power Company worked on the Jenova Project, injecting a number of people with Jenova cells in the process. By chance, one of those people had a child with someone who was infected with Rassilon’s virus and also a twin that they were unaware about until its birth. Unfortunately, in the present-day view of the project, Shinra had already fallen and there are no plans for a “reunion theory”.

After the twins were born, they had to be taken to another hospital due to complications. In the middle of the night, the Time Lords were extracting the child’s soul (the other babies in the nursery were chanting an angelic prayer in the process) when the twin suddenly emitted a blast of Mako energy, causing everything to go silent. In reality, that soul was knocked out of the Time Vortex and landed on Gallifrey long before the Time War. That soul became the Time Lord who would be known as the Doctor. My backstory is that he was found by Omega and raised like any other Gallifreyan.

The child would later be diagnosed with autism. Uniquely, due to the Time Lord and Jenova DNA in him coupled with whatever remnant Mako energy there was (I dunno), the child also had the ability to regenerate, but it would create another body in the process and he was also susceptible to regenerating following emotional distress (like a broken heart or something, think Takotsubo cardiomyopathy). The child would keep on living as the “archetype”, while the new body created would take on a separate identity and live as a “prototype”. The process varies each time; either the child would regenerate into the prototype and the archetype (or real self) would manifest sometime later, or the child would regenerate into his next incarnation and the prototype would manifest later. As for the twin, well, everyone forgot about him because of the Time War, so he was put up for adoption as if he were an orphan. However, he did not share his brother’s regeneration abilities. In the story, they meet each other again and basically, all is well.

So now, let’s look at the different incarnations for the Doctor and the child. Now, both of them are subject to the 12-regeneration limit, but there are some points where more than one regeneration was used. There are a couple of exceptional circumstances regarding certain regenerations, which I will elaborate when I get to them.

The different incarnations of the Doctor

Remember that the Doctor in the Kisekae Project version of Doctor Who is different to the one you know from BBC Doctor Who. In this version, there are only five numbered incarnations of the Doctor, but by this point in time, he has used up all of his regenerations. The image of the five Doctors at the top of the page is only representative of each incarnation’s main counterparts; some Doctors may have influences from other Doctors. It should be noted that these versions of the Doctor look like children because they are played by children, with the exception of the Fifth as time passed.

First Doctor (1999-2003): Based off the BBC First, Third, Fourth and Seventh (for good measure) Doctors. This is interesting as I had two actors playing him due to “child labour laws” and as such, there are two stages to this Doctor. The first one played from the start of the series, showing his first adventure off Gallifrey, to his sentencing by the Time Lords for breaking their non-interference laws. The Doctor managed to escape his trial to farewell his companions, then had his TARDIS blown up. A regeneration was used up as a result. The second actor played the following episode to the end of this Doctor’s tenure. For most of that time, he was in exile on Earth and working for UNIT. He could technically be the 1.5 Doctor, but I prefer to just refer to him as the First Doctor, like his previous incarnation. The Doctor managed to fix his TARDIS and broke the terms of his exile, which led the Time Lords to search for him again. However, after the Doctor killed the Time Lords chasing him by tricking them into destroying a city, the Time Lords annulled his sentence and they left him alone. The First Doctor would regenerate into the Second Doctor either in his final story (which has now been retconned) or in his next story, the Doctor Who TV Movie.

Second Doctor (2003-2007): Based off the BBC Second, Fourth (for good measure), Sixth and Eighth Doctors. Originally, the Second Doctor directly regenerated into the Third Doctor, but because of the 50th Anniversary, it was retconned and he regenerated into the War Doctor.

War Doctor: Literally the same as the BBC War Doctor, down to the “played by John Hurt” bit. The War Doctor regenerated into the Third Doctor at the end of The Day of the Doctor and would forget what he did to end the Time War.

Third Doctor (2008-2009): Based off the BBC Ninth Doctor because we never skip Nine. Again, there were two actors playing the Doctor, but that was because the series changed stations (it’s a thing in my version). The second actor is the more commonly-known version of the Third Doctor, though the first actor did get to play him for a season, with influences from the Seventh and Eighth (for good measure) Doctors. This is the first Doctor where the series started spinning-on other franchises and implementing characters from them, with companions such as Fifi Forget-me-not and Angelina Mouseling (from Angelina Ballerina, in case you didn’t know). Like his counterpart with Rose Tyler, the Third Doctor regenerated into the Fourth Doctor after he took the Time Vortex into himself to save Fifi.

Fourth Doctor (2010-2012): Based off the BBC Tenth Doctor. This Doctor saw the start of the anime spin-ons as characters from Lucky Star, namely Konata, Minami, Misao, Kagami and Tsukasa, were featured as companions. Reimu Hakurei, along with Sonic, Tails and Amy Rose, were also companions of the Fourth Doctor. Towards the end of this Doctor’s tenure, a second actor had to come in and take over because the original actor was unavailable, though he managed to come back and film his regeneration scene. Oh yeah, the series changed back to its previous station. The second actor like playing this Doctor so much that he wanted to do it again, so he got a spin-off series to do so. That actor also played the next and final incarnation of the Doctor along with multiple other characters, including the other protagonist and his prototypes. If you haven’t got it already, that was basically me, and I was also the showrunner and main writer.

Fifth Doctor (2012-present): Based off the BBC Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, along with influences from the BBC Fifth and Tenth Doctors. This is, of course, the current incarnation of the Doctor and there are no further incarnations, not even a female incarnation. Eventually, this incarnation became cemented as the Infinity Doctor, though I still prefer to call him the Fifth Doctor. When the Fourth Doctor regenerated into the Fifth Doctor in The End of Time, it also created two pony versions of himself, a pony version of the other protagonist (my self-insert if you didn’t know) and separated two or three people’s souls from him. This was due to some machinations from Yuki Nagato which the Fifth Doctor later cemented as timeline splits.

You know, funnily enough, Zhuge Liang would become the Doctor in an earlier prototype of my project. It’s just as well that I like making retcons here and there, despite what I preach about artistic integrity.

The three new ponies created as a result of the Fourth Doctor’s regeneration are as follows (images to be revealed later):

Jee Gun, an Earth pony counterpart of the other protagonist. After ending up on Equestria and living a pony’s life there, he would later regenerate into Storm Dasher, a Pegasus.

Doctor Whooves, based on the Fourth (BBC Tenth) Doctor. In his final adventure he would have a meta-crisis regeneration (leading to the Doctor Whooves/Time Turner living in Equestria) before regenerating into another incarnation based on the Fifth (BBC Eleventh) Doctor.

The Pony Doctor, based on the Fifth Doctor. Though left unmentioned in the story, the one regeneration he could have used was sacrificed to facilitate Doctor Whooves’ regeneration.

The different incarnations of the child

Now let’s take a look into the incarnations of the child, the other protagonist. Instead of whatever I just did up there, I can describe some aspects of each incarnation’s personality (not that it would really matter most of the time), adventures and love life (it’s a theme in my project). Oh, by the way, each incarnation looks the same most of the time; there have been some instances where an incarnation looks different to the norm.

First incarnation: Curious, yet impatient and had difficulty socialising due to his autism. If he found something he liked, he would play with it for a long time. He had a tendency to push or hurt people in his way, which his later incarnations would generalise as “he liked to kill people”. Macabre indeed. This incarnation regenerated on a trip to Hong Kong. His father wanted to take a photo of him and his mother with the Beatles wax figures at Madame Tussauds, but he, being the curious boy he was, was too busy playing with Paul McCartney’s hair to even look at the camera. His mother slapped him and threatened to leave him there. He became heartbroken and regenerated for the first time.

Second incarnation: Similar to his first incarnation, but he had a flirty side. He had crushes on a couple of girls; the first never resulted in a relationship because she became repulsed after hearing of his insubordination, while the second only resulted in a short marriage. He was also easily-manipulated by others, which was how he first learnt how to swear. This incarnation regenerated when the two girls he loved plotted to kill him and he was forced to commit suicide at Honnōji to avoid being captured.

Third (2.5) incarnation: Following his regeneration, he managed to metamorphosise his remaining regeneration energy into ice, making him into a being similar to Elsa from Frozen, calling himself the Ice King. This incarnation was vengeful and strategic, with his only purpose being to take his revenge on the girls who plotted to kill him. He almost succeeded, but he died before he could fully exact his revenge. The ice powers changed back into regeneration energy, allowing him to regenerate again without using another regeneration.

Fourth incarnation: Though he was feisty, destructive and brooding, he began to mellow upon meeting Fifi Forget-me-not, who would later become his wife. He fought in a resistance army, but in a manner similar to The Night of the Doctor, he died after he failed to save someone from a missile attack. He was revived by the Sisterhood of Karn (might get into that sometime), who convinced him to regenerate into a warrior.

Fifth incarnation: One of the longer-lasting incarnations. Despite his warrior’s nature, he had a friendly and romantic side with him as he lived with Fifi for a number of years. When she and her friends had to go back to Flowertot Garden (as it was being assimilated into Never Land), the two parted ways. He later fell in love with another girl who would later become Akari Ichigo, but it would be some time before they got married. After having his heart broken by another girl, he regenerated into his next incarnation.

Sixth incarnation: Mellow and romantic, yet assertive when he needed to be. This was the incarnation where he started a relationship with Akari, but it would lead to his demise at the hands of her cousins who opposed the relationship. After using up a regeneration in a meta-crisis to save himself, Akari helped him regenerate into his next incarnation with a kiss (this was the proposal as well). This would mix up their DNA, resulting in subsequent prototypes being considered the offspring of the two rather than his siblings.

Eighth incarnation (skipped one because meta-crisis): Cheery and spirited with a case of wanderlust and a sense of nostalgia. He took Akari to visit people and places, both old and new in his life. His demise came at the hands of his parents, who were tipped off about his relationship with Akari. Following a Christmas Carol-esque nostalgia trip, he gets locked up in his room where he regenerates. There isn’t a lot to his ninth incarnation because he uses up three more of his regenerations trying to save his twin brother, Zhuge Liang, from the Voidstation. We’re up to 10 regenerations used up at this point. Oh, and he became a magical boy as well and scattered himself through his timeline. It’s complicated. I’ll explain later.

Twelfth incarnation (see previous): Similar to his eighth incarnation, but with a wanderlust for time travel. The Pony Doctor lent him his TARDIS for a while, but he stopped upon hearing that one of his old friends had died. He married Akari, but they barely got to start their new life when he was killed by Girl Power. He would regenerate into a female incarnation after accepting a deal from Walpurgisnacht.

Thirteenth incarnation: This was a female incarnation, played by Tavia Yeung and based on her character, Apple Lam Chung-yan (林頌恩) from the 2013 TVB drama A Great Way to Care II (仁心解碼II). This was the first incarnation who would have a different name from the original, having taken up the name of Momoka Mizutani (水谷桃花/ももか) to avoid suspicion from her enemies. Like the Ice King, Momoka was bent on revenge. With Akari being taken from her previous incarnation, brainwashed and placed in a family with his prototype and a Progenitor-created child, Momoka manipulated the family into visiting her restaurant so she can get closer to them. Unfortunately, her plans were sabotaged and she was killed in the process. To be honest, casting Tavia Yeung was a bit meh on my part because of her English skills. I was going to replace her with Dodo Cheng as an older Momoka, but I decided that it wasn’t worth it.

Fourteenth incarnation: Same as the thirteenth incarnation, but with Walpurgisnacht taking further control of Momoka. She became more vengeful to the point of killing people who had wronged her in her previous incarnations. This causes her to suffer from a traumatic post-regeneration crisis, where she became somewhat psychotic. After being convinced by Zhuge Liang and Violet to give hope to others in need, she commits suicide after coming to peace with the fact that she wouldn’t have a chance with Akari. Little did she know what fate would have in store for her. Momoka would survive a shot in the head for a while and join her previous incarnations (except the Ice King) in freeing Akari from her brainwashing. The original version of the story has Momoka regenerate directly into her next incarnation, but the final version (having been revised some time after The Time of the Doctor premiered) has Momoka reset to her previous male incarnation to see Akari for the final time before regenerating to his next and final incarnation.

Fifteenth incarnation: This is the incarnation that cemented Hiroki and Akari’s names into the story as they would be known by those names from that point on. Hiroki also gave himself a makeover as part of this, leading to him basically cosplaying Hanbei Takenaka from Samurai Warriors 3 and 4, at least for the Next Gen Series. During that series, Hiroki shared some personality traits from all his previous incarnations, making him a happy-go-lucky boy with a dark side that sometimes overcomes him and makes him irrational. He is also attached to Akari because she is the only person who can control his dark side (actually, she acts as more of a crutch). In the Moushouden Series, where he becomes Kamen Rider Decade, Hiroki learns to accept and control his dark side, becoming a calmer and more enlightened, yet still enigmatic person. At this point, he’s essentially like Tsukasa Kadoya.

The different prototypes

As I stated, with each of the other protagonist’s regenerations comes a new prototype. A couple of them are based off the incarnations from which they regenerated and a few of them are literally anime characters. Some of them may have had different names in the past, but the names listed here are the names they are now known by. You might also recognise those names from the Waifu Network Tumblr.

Prototypes are listed in order of regeneration.

Richard Yang (楊子深)

Zhuge Qiao (諸葛喬)/Hayato Kisaichi (私市颯人)

Natsuki Takara (高良夏希)

Kyōko Izumi (泉京子)

Takumi Kamijō (上条拓海)

Kumiko Hayashi (林久美子)

Yamato Kurosawa (黒沢大和)

Daichi Kurosawa (黒沢大地)/Nagi Kurosawa (黒沢凪)/Marco Wong (黃翔希)

Kyōya Shinomiya (四ノ宮京夜)

Momoka Mizutani (水谷桃花)

With the exception of the Kurosawa siblings, who went off and did their own thing, the prototypes formed a family with the two protagonists, thereby known as the Zhuge family. There were also others in the family who became members not by virtue of regeneration, but by the privilege of being close friends to them.

Zhuge Shu (諸葛虪)

Katsuki Hiiragi (柊克樹)

Kai Hirasawa (平沢海)

Terry Mizukoshi (水越テリー)

Kasumi Shinomiya (四ノ宮霞)

[notyoujamie]

A crazy idea came to me this morning while thinking about this gifset of mine: What if the Doctor has indeed been a woman at some point in his life? And what if Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor is not what comes after Peter Capaldi’s, but what was before him, before everyone, even before William Hartnell?

Obviously, this theory was shut down because of Listen. We see the young Doctor, a boy, hiding in the barn, and people referring to them as “he”. And English being a very gender-specific language, that was that. Until my wife said “What if the TARDIS translated it into English as a “he”? What if Gallifreyan doesn’t have gender-specific pronouns and the TARDIS just translated the only pronoun they have into the most general one always used when someone’s gender is not known?”

Let’s break it down.

A funny jab, yes. But is that it’s only purpose? Maybe not. We have seen the Doctor doesn’t give a toss about sexuality, gender, race, religion or anything our modern “civilized” society uses to determine who people are and how much they are worth. The Doctor often references people who have fancied him, be they men or women or Algae, and never shows any kind of disgust or emotion that would show he did not fancy them as well.

“Since the Cloister Wars. Since the night he stole the moon and the President's wife. Since he was a little girl. One of those was a lie.” Since we have already seen the young Doctor as a boy, we automatically assume the lie is the last one. Then we see this:

The lie is who the woman with him was: not the President’s wife but his daughter. So, the last one is true, then?

Again, a funny jab. The Doctor might have been in disguise or the priestesses weren’t in fact too bothered by the gender of the other priestesses, but let’s assume the Doctor actually was a female during his time as a Vestal Virgin, not pretending to be one.

And then there’s this moment. It is so beautiful, because it shows the Doctor has lived so long he doesn’t remember what or who he used to be before (see Heaven Sent and 4,5 billion years). Also, he doesn’t care. As he says, for Time Lords (even though they call themselves Time Lords), gender doesn’t matter. Perhaps they indeed have only one gender-neutral pronoun and refer to themselves as Time Lords, which in Gallifrey is gender-neutral as well, but can’t be translated into English (by the way, are we ever explained why the Doctor can speak English from the start without everyone he ever meets having been to the TARDIS and being translated to by her?).

Now, let’s go back to that moment in Listen and look more closely at the child in the bed.

We never see them too well. Their short hair and childish voice could disguise any gender! So, the only indicator is our knowledge that they are the Doctor and that the people talking refer to them as “he”. But taking into account that Gallifrey has it’s own alphabet, it most definitely has its own language which is definitely not English! Without analysing why the Doctor can speak English from the start and not some alien mumbo-jumbo, let’s assume this is the TARDIS translating a generic, gender-neutral Gallifreyan pronoun into its most generic English variant: he.

At this point, let’s talk about regeneration:

The War Doctor is included in the mix, like Eleventh himself says (so, technically Jodie Whittaker is the 14th Doctor, and Peter Capaldi the 13th). So, 12 regenerations, 13 personalities. And I really don’t buy Eleventh’s “number ten once regenerated and kept the same face. I had vanity issues at the time.“ Tenth himself says, “Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but soon as I was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to. Why would I? Look at me.“ Yeah, vain, but he also has the same personality. Same body, same character, same Doctor. And we know the Doctor can control the regenerations at least a little bit:

Look at the last one. He is so determined never to be someone else ever again he physically stops the regeneration process several times.

And this is going a bit off-topic, but requires attention: the Doctor we have now, Peter Capaldi, is assumed to be the first of the new regeneration cycle. He is supposed to be the first of the thirteen new personalities of the Time Lord we know as the Doctor. But we know he can control his regenerations. We know the Tenth Doctor who only used the regeneration powers to heal himself also had the same personality. He continued to be the same Doctor. So, Peter Capaldi’s Doctor would be the thirteenth personality, the last one in the first cycle. So, what if - and this is where we go back to my original hypothesis - Jodie Whittaker’s “13th” Doctor is not a new one but the original, the woman the child we saw in Listen grew up to be. This would mean that either the First Doctor was a woman all along OR (and I don’t think it really matters which) Time Lords can control their gender just as they control their regeneration: if they want to change something, like heal themselves or change their gender, they can do that without changing too much of their character as well.

What if the TARDIS takes the Twelfth Doctor back to meet the First Doctor to see where he started from? What if instead of remembering what he used to be and how much he has grown, he decides its better to go back altogether, to his own planet, to his own people, and see if he could do it better this time round?

So, maybe now that the first regeneration cycle is complete, it’s time for the Doctor to meet his first regeneration, something happens (as it always does), time fractures, and he goes back in time to where he started:

Imagine the possibilities this has! We could see the Doctor as they were before running away. We could see Gallifrey before the Time War (which is extreme fun, if you have watched the classic series, since Doctor always just waves bye-bye and goes off to have adventures, even though his superiors are knocking on his door). We could see the Master as he was; the Doctor’s best friend!

We might just see the Doctor, the original Doctor going around Gallifrey or time and space (who says they only stole a TARDIS once?) before growing scared of the Time Lords’ way of life, regenerating into the First Doctor and running away with Susan Foreman. Or we might see Peter Capaldi regenerate into Jodie Whittaker and hear her say, “Finally! Back to the original!”, and off she goes to travel time and space as the newly regenerated new Doctor.

If the Doctor hadn’t been rewarded another regeneration cycle in The Time of the Doctor, this would mean the beginning of an end: the Doctor going back to the beginning and starting the cycle again. But since this is Doctor Who, if Jodie is the original Doctor, something happens at the end of her era which will regenerate her into the first Doctor of the second regeneration cycle, ie. the 14th Doctor.

[movedtosalamoonder]

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