#ooh that was exciting to write

[variousqueerthings]

THESE ARE ATTACK EYEBROWS!

alrightalright new Doctor new Season and also confession that I cannot help comparing where I'm at with the M*ffat run with the new special and the Classic!Who I'm watching, which is perhaps unfair, but then maybe my guy should stop putting out overlong needlessly complicated Stuff

However consider: Peter Capaldi!

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 5/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 6/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 2/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 8/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 3/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 8/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 4/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 5/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 53/100 (if I can count….)

Alright alright, let's get this party going!

OBJECTIFICATION: this episode has one of my least favourite scenes of the whole of Doctor Who, because not only is it sexism, it's male gaze via lesbians, in which M*ffat really really sucks at portraying lesbianism that isn't partly a straight man's fantasy and partly weirdly het... the scene is of course when Vastra has Jenny posing in her corsetry... undergarments? idk what clothes are called, apologies, and Jenny thinks she's being painted, when actually Vastra just wanted to look at her being (uncomfortable) pretty while she was doing the important brainy work

she then dismisses Jenny's complaints about why in the world she's been posing for so long with telling her how she brightens up the room and that it's for "art" -- we'll get more into their dynamic in a biiit

PLOT-POINT: Clara is ostensibly the point of this episode -- new Doctor, new face, and she's unsure how to feel about it, because apparently she really fancied Eleven's pubescent charm. This reminds me of The Christmas Invasion in which Rose has a similar journey of figuring out how she feels about the new Doctor, except of course that Rose's internal and external life is a big focus of early Doctor Who, and she also had no idea that the Doctor could just explode and become a totally new body

also the Doctor was unconscious for a lot of it, and the question of what was going on + when you track the timeline the poor girl probably hadn't slept for a million years properly aside from fainting after having the Time Vortex in her head... she's going through it, we're seeing the journey, there's big aliens fucking about, she's stressed! it's all about relearning that trust and a new relationship, and while there's a subtext of romance, it's not pushed at you, so much as this was something deeply important and now it's been unsteadied unexpectedly

Clara's journey by contrast is one in which we met her family for the first time properly-ish an episode ago, most of her arc in her first season was being a mystery, her "fancying" the Doctor was likewise introduced in the previous episode, and crucially... she already knows the Doctor regenerates, because as per M*ffat's own writing she's literally seen all the previous faces (also Capaldi is objectively hotter than Smith, so jot that down, but I can forgive that, personal taste and all that)

there's also a whole weird little "test" scene between Vastra and Jenny that's ostensibly about tolerance but does that common M*ffat thing of having some good lines out of context that aren't really properly about what's happening right now. do I really like the idea of the Doctor as young in order to fit in/be accepted? unclear, need to think about it a bit, but maaaybe, considering how I read Eleven, who perhaps gets away with being a bit fucked up by Appearing Young, versus Twelve who's immediately got everyone going ahhh what is wrong with you bestie????

but it's muddily mixed in with the whole fancying thing + Vastra thinking Clara is hot or whatever, it's all... me not liking a lot of Vastra's dialogue generally, which feels like M*ffat trying so hard to be deep and mysterious (the one word test from last season as well)

there ARE a couple of things I like, in that I do want Clara and Twelve to reassess where they stand with each other, and I kind of like Twelve being a mess that's abandoning her because he has no idea what his emotions are doing or who he really is or what's going on... especially that last scene of Twelve having a little stuttery sorry, that works for me, look at this weird alien grandpa that speaks like a child at times, what do you feel about that Clara?

the build-up is... rocky, especially everything with Clara opposite Vastra, the latter of whom mainly seems to exist to extol the Doctor's godlike virtues and bully her wife/maid and sound clever

I ALSO like when Clara is facing the bad guy and is clearly very scared but still trying. I liked that from s7b Clara, who was often very openly scared, but still tried

COMPLEXITY: the problem with this episode is that it could be a standard 48mins easily and be better for it. there's nothing technically wrong with it, but there was no need for a dinosaur, no real need for a lot of the dialogue, and many scenes could have been trimmed

also after several episodes that are Quite Long that don't need to be, I'm beginning to grow tired of it. thank goodness we're heading into average episodes again at last

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: I mean, new Doctor. it's mainly the Doctor that's got some stuff going on, but again the last scene. reminiscent of End Of The World (chips? coffee and chips? I haven't got any money)

there's also a new character who's arrived... and it's The Master! and yes, she's got a bit of that M*ffat DNA, but man Michelle Gomez is so good, so so so good! Scottish Bastard Aliens let's do this!

COMPANIONS MATTER: Clara kiiind of... so she doesn't necessarily do much, but there is that... thing. of her figuring out where she stand with this new Doctor, and that's quite important

the Paternoster gang do more actiony-based things and it's... I mean, fine, I guess. they're not companions, and they're mostly more sci-fi elements to all of the plot, rather than what A Person can do

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: I will say that Capaldi is instantly more workable for me. even some of the stupid hangovers in dialogue from the Matt Smith era flow better with him. I don't like the whole monologue at the dinosaur, it's pointless and this episode is an hour and 15mins (this fuckn dinosaur), and the Doctor designating humans as "pudding brains" for ages and the general dismissive "I'm so smart, you're so stupid" attitude... well I can buy it a little easier from Capaldi. also I know that Capaldi's Doctor eventually tones that down and I mean... it's giving Grumpy Old Man rather than Petulant Child

there's meaning, there's point, the Doctor feels more grounded than before. speaking of grounded, I like that the Doctor isn't all-powerful. a lot of this is surviving a bit on your wits, staying one step ahead, and there's also the bit at the end where we don't know if roboboy jumped or was pushed... it's perhaps controversial as choice, but I'm going to sit on it a bit more, especially with the tone this era has inherited of a more Alien Doctor that is trying to reground themself and their values

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: uuuuum so the thing here is that these droids are basically the same as the ones from Girl In The Fireplace. now, regardless of how one feels about some of the thematic handling of that episode, and the Thing M*ffat was showing early on of a preference for writing about "Important Monarch-Related People" and other such things, the droids were really fucking cool in my opinion, and the plot of them getting shit wrong in their brains and causing a massive disruption in one person's life, fascinating

it's a great One Off Idea

but we all know M*ffat's no good at One Offs so here we are doing a slightly worse version of it. M*ffat this is your own episode you're referencing, why are you beating this horse? (like the time M*ffat insisted on an actual horse jumping through a mirror even though it was very stupid and people told him to please drop it... oh wait, that was Girl In The Fireplace....)

“SEXINESS”: okay well aforementioned "art" scene I think is a lot of the Thing that irks me about the writing of Vastra and Jenny, where I wish I liked them more, but I cannot stop seeing the way they're written as an unexplored power-dynamic -- rich vs working class, powerful alien "simple" human, Sherlock Holmes genius rich type and simple maid (who, granted, sometimes gets to beat people up, we like the action stuff, even if I'm not a fan of the sexy leather and I feel like a traitor writing that M*ffat! you've made me dislike sexy leather lesbianism in something how?????), and while all of this is occasionally pointed to, it's only ever as a joke

this includes things like Vastra flirting with (at?) Clara in front of Jenny, when they're ostensibly a monogamous couple and Jenny isn't happy about it, or Jenny pointing out that it's weird she's "pretending" at being a maid in private and being brushed off

INTERNAL WORLD: it's Victorian London, but it's the "these kinds of episodes" Victorian London, which has never felt like much other than a bit of a backdrop. we're not really exploring Victorian London, it's just where the Paternoster gang happens to be and so we get big dresses and hats

also a big Dinosaur is there and that's unimportant and doesn't change things I suppose

POLITICS: it's so... there. as an episode. so not a lot of politics, but how does it write lesbians? eh, not the most horrible thing I've seen -- I genuinely like the acting of the characters and we do get one big ol' kiss this episode (scifi vibes, but this is a scifi show), which is framed reeelatively romantically -- we did have Jenny dying in the Name Of The Doctor and Vastra having many emotions about it (just remembered how her being emotional about her partner dying was an invite to getting harassed for being too emotional and silly just like a womaaaan) (I also still think about how Jenny still calls her Ma'am for some reason... like yeah, that could be a hot prolonged roleplay, but it definitely isn't, except for the way it is because of the guy writing it knowing that it doesn't make sense but it's kind of a hot prolonged roleplay... does that make sense, idk)

we're in Victorian London, some robots are stealing peoples bodies and it's not about anything really

also we had a baffling line from Vastra espousing her fighting the bad guys as "for the British Empire"???? what does she care about that???

(also Clara says they should call the police more often, which is kind of a joke, but also no you shouldn't)

FULL RATING: 53/100 (if I can count….)

the worst thing about this episode is actually that its story does not justify the runtime. it is so long and it is so average

Peter Capaldi is a wonderful wonderful actor. Michelle Gomez is immediately great: "He can be very mean sometimes. Except to me of course, because he loves me so much. I do like his new accent though. Think I might keep it" <- this could have been so eye-rollery, but she makes it work and makes me shiver and knowing this is The Master is sooo 👀👀👀

the story is so-so. Clara is still moooostly under-utilised/underappreciated but with some good moments that will (if I remember correctly) continue to thread through their relationship of Clara not being quite sure about this person, who is clearly a bit on-edge and confused: "The man I hope you are with, believe me he is more scared than anything you can imagine right now. And he needs you"

Clara's place in this story is still constantly buffeted by the wind. the things that do come up "person he knows the best (I guess, comparatively)," and "someone who fancies the Doctor" is kind of the weakest part of that, when actually what's going on is more interesting

[emry-stars-art]

Wow it’s been a whole week… the next chapter of the modern au is up 💕 impatient Andrew, Neil has news, more Wymack. What more do you need

Read here :)

[pierrotwrites-hc]

You got any secrets you wanna spill?? Any lil tidbits about some of your stories that has not yet been revealed?? Some wacky lil facts you’ve been holding onto??

spoilers in tags 🙃

[mobbothetrue]

Spotify prompt! Knuckles and tails, an 19 :)

Oh hoho! You managed to land FightSong by EVE (<- YouTube link), a song that by all rights shoulda been #2 (<- I refuse to pay Spotify money).

Hmm…. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything with Super Sonic Speed, but I always did intend to write follow-ups…

.•.•.•.

The city is unbelievably loud. They’re in what Sonic had called a shopping district, and it’s apparently very popular. Knuckles would kind of like to go home, a lot, actually, but Tails is flirting from one shop to another and he doesn’t have it in him to shut the kid down. Sonic is somewhere on the periphery of their little group— he and Tails had bonded, thick as thieves, and Knuckles— well, he tolerated the guy.

Tails gasps like he’s seeing the sun rise for the first time, excited enough that he’s lifting off the ground. Knuckles ambles over, grabs him by the ankle, and pulls him back down. He’s looking at some sort of… thing. Knuckles can’t make heads or tails of it, but it’s definitely saying something to Tails.

Hmm. He is, at least, familiar with the idea of shops. Chao liked to set them up, sometimes, selling fruit or handmade crafts for rings, but Knuckles has no idea if their idea of currency and everyone else’s aligns. Would the shopkeep accept a fruit? Most chao did. It isn’t like rings are a problem, so…

Knuckles turns, seeking out Sonic in the crowd. There he is— stiff as anything, glancing frantically back and forth between Knuckles and some other hedgehog, a pink one. One of his friends, maybe? They look irritated, maybe not. Knuckles steps away from Tails, invites himself into their conversation.

“and you just RAN OFF—“ the hedgehog is shouting. Sonic cracks his mouth open, a faint wheeze escaping.

“Hey,” Knuckles says.

“—do you have ANY IDEA how WORRIED I was—“

This looks like a battle Sonic is better off fighting on his own. Still, Knuckles needs his question answered. “Hey,” he repeats, slightly louder.

“—I mean, I knew you were alright because my cards said so, but—“

“Hey Knuckles,” Sonic manages to crack out, “this is Amy.”

Amy tilts her head at him, and then gives him a sharp, discerning once-over. “Are you one of his other friends?” She asks.

“Yeah, sure,” Knuckles says, and then “do rings work as currency down here?”

She blinks at him, as if this is a weird thing to ask. “Yes?” She says.

“Okay,” Knuckles says, nodding, “try not to scare him too bad.”

Any lingering confusion evaporates, and she whirls around to find Sonic trying to sneak away. “AGAIN!” she shouts, full of conviction, and Knuckles makes his way back to where he left Tails. He isn’t pressed up against the glass anymore, so Knuckles steps into the store. Yeah, there he is. Hovering— literally— over the same display.

Knuckles takes a moment to properly observe, rooting around for the terms Tails would use, in an attempt to ensure he gets the right thing. There’s a looping track, and a few other gadgets on the sides. A switch, one of them looks like, and some barricade, and a few blinking lights. On the track itself is a… sideways cylinder, set on wheels, connected to a few boxes, puffing out smoke— or steam, maybe. Tails is absorbed enough in watching it chug along that he doesn’t even realize Knuckles is standing right next to him. Knuckles’ll just have to make sure he comes up for air, occasionally.

He casts about the rest of the store, vaguely lost. There are a lot of displays, and a lot of colourful boxes. Knuckles picks up one, flips it over, and realizes swiftly he is out of his depth. He brings the box over to Tails, handing it to him. Tails holds onto it for a full few seconds, watching with bated breath as the cylinder switches tracks, before he looks down. His fur all along his spine puffs up, and he turns to look at Knuckles so fast he has to wonder if Sonic hasn’t started to rub off on him in more ways than one. That’s the right box, for sure.

“Really?” Tails asks, voice breathy with excitement, and Knuckles ruffles his fur instinctually.

“‘Course.”

Maybe the shopping district isn’t that bad.

[lookwhatyoudidithasanxiety]

Kill code to be completely honest I agree when they say your a himbo but you are also a

DILF

Or milf whatever you prefer

-🩸

(no one but mungod shall know my sins)

Kill Code: A...dilf? Is this another term that I should search?

//Mun-God panics and urges Kill Code not to search it!//

//Kill Code: Then what does it mean?//

//...Dad in [a] loving family.//

//Kill Code: ...I am unsure if I am truly considered a father by all those I consider children, but I would agree. I am a dilf.//

//Mun-God is dead. There is no Mun-God. Only abject horror and embarrassment.//

Kill Code: If you would excuse me, I have some important matters to attend to.

//Kill Code copies and pastes another line of code, saves it, then starts to rifle through a box of papers.//

@im-tired-and-depressed

[gingerbreadmonsters]

Something strange / who are you gonna call? >:3 💖

ej's talking about this ask game (still open!) <3

EJ!! thank u for the ask <3 this was SUPPOSED to be done in time for halloween but i have been dying of university disease so it will probably happen in a little while hehe

Three out of the four were accidental - one was the result of a fall, one was the aforementioned issue with the roof, and I believe the other was due to an electrical fault. The fourth was the most recent - an altercation with an intruder during a break-in - but we’ve been assured by the local police department that this sort of thing is highly unusual for the area, and is very unlikely to happen again.  As she spoke, you’d felt a horrible feeling of resignation settle in your stomach. Of course the one place you can actually afford to buy is the one where tenants keep dying. 

How old were they, would you say? Some more clicking, and if her expression had been anything to go by, a spreadsheet that was loading a lot slower than it should. It looks like… um, it looks like most were in their mid-twenties, or thereabouts. Perfect. Of course they were. Were they living alone? She’d clearly been dreading the question, gritted teeth forced into a smile. I believe so, yes. The implied like you will be hangs between you, unspoken. The property has been vacant for about a year, but it’s nothing to do with that - it’s just come back to us from a private company who didn’t keep a tenant there, but I’m assured that everything’s been checked and it’s all in good shape. Well, then. Go and live alone in the terrifying empty house in Dahlia that’s been abandoned for a year, which nobody else wants and where all of the last four tenants died, or rent a safe (if eye-wateringly expensive) shoebox on the other side of the city. What choice could be clearer?

[belovedjeju]

Ooh I just had a SICKENING thought that won’t make sense until much much later into the mafia Bada AU OOOOOH

[mossy-rot]

emotional magic truly is the magic system ever. struggling to keep your emotions under control, watching as it lashes out of you. being so despaired that you can't even make your magic do anything. letting your emotions quite literally eat away at you, consuming you whole until there's nothing left.

[raayllum]

I wanted to thank you for posting abt tdp almost everyday these years!!!! My attention span and my memory are shit but your analysis and fics helped them <3

Btw THE BLADES SCENE FKSKFKSKCKDKXK FUUUUUUUCK

Omg you are so welcome!! I'm glad it was useful and I'm already tentatively thinking of making a recap thread on twitter for folks who don't have time/energy to rewatch and remember but still wanna watch the new season. (i'm sure tdpo will have a franchise recap the way they did after s2, but until then, i suppose.)

My hyperfixation remains strong

[ghostzzy]

wip game: red

good one thank you anon!!!

Dee stood in the doorway of KW’s room and told herself she was simply catching her breath. But it was here she’d seen KW for the first time: handcuffed to and bent halfway off the bed, dangling by the sockets of her shoulders. Her hair was dark and shaggy, covering most of her face, but as Dee came in she threw her head back and bore her teeth. She had no fangs, but there was no mistaking her for human. The blood vessels in her eyes were red from screaming, and her irises were red from hunger, and as she fought her restraints, Dee thought she’d never seen someone so devastated before, except maybe in the mirror.

[bonvoyagenoona]

So I've been working on BTS Case Conceptualizations, in which I use psychological frameworks to talk about my observations of the members. But I think I just had a life moment in which I used some of that good ol’ psychology on myself.

When I am writing a scene, I see a multitude of possibilities for how that scene will play out in my head, like jumping through alternate universes. I use those possibilities like screeners for a focus group. I think through all of them and figure out what I think each possibility ultimately conveys. I pick the scene that gives me the most visceral, emotional reaction.

And then, I dig into why I had that reaction.

This is a bit stream-of-consciousness-y, but I've been thinking about intentionality. I've been reflecting on how purposeful and deliberate I try to be with each of my actions. I reflect on that a lot when I'm ideating, coming up with a way to express what I'm analyzing. But the confidence with which I make those decisions doesn't always come first. With the big things that I want to say, I have to earn it.

So, I did a bit of a case conceptualization on myself. Just now. Not more than an hour before this appears on your phone. I sat in a scene, and I had whittled it down to two options. When the second option played out, from start to finish, I started to cry! I felt something unlock in my body, and I full-on cried, haha! The mix of angst and release that I felt was a bit worrisome, but weirdly healing.

I decided that YN is going to have a Guinness.

And I decided that I am going to have a Guinness, too.

(source: AlexaRenae92)

[madigoround]

Guess who now has an official ao3 account!!!

[internetbanality]

I now fully understand those fanfic posts that are like, "damn what's the author going to write next?! (I am the author)" what AM I going to write next?!

[eowima]

Helloooo everyone!

So, I know I said I'd be back with more writing in July buuuuut yeah I failed. The thing is, we moved, and then we found out that I'm pregnant with Baby 3, and now my body thinks it's funny to yell at me "OMG DUDE CHILL WE STOOD UP SO FAST RN I CAN'T HANDLE THIS" every five minutes even when I'm lying very still on the couch so 🤣🤣🤣 it's been impossible to write I'm afraid 🙈 I'll come back to it that's one sure thing, I always come back to writing, but yeah don't hold your breath too long I'm sorry 😬

Hope you're all well ❤️

[burningthegallows]

Fic: Arrow to a Wax Wing

Fandom: Love Like the Galaxy

Word count: 7700

Cheng Shaoshang/Ling Buyi

Summary: Huo Zisheng doesn’t travel to Anyang expecting to find her there. He doesn’t mean to follow her into the garden. He certainly hadn’t meant to throw himself off of a cliff and destroy both of their lives.

Notes:

This piece is largely unfinished and a bit odd because of it. It was inspired by the prompt “fucking to forgiveness,” and because I wanted to write some angry fooling around. It’s pretty much just 3500 words of exposition and then arguing. There’s some sex sprinkled in at the end.

Title taken from the bends by doomtree because I couldn’t stop repeating the line “Cause I got a few miles to go before I concede.”

Dubious consent warning: Cheng Shaoshang repeatedly silences Zisheng while making out. The language used is deliberately violent (she shoves him backwards, slaps her hand over his mouth; he wrenches her around by the arm) to call attention to their mental states, not because they intend to harm. Both of them would consent, as long as the other did first, but neither does.

—

So much love for everyone in this fandom. Come hang out in the comments and scream about these assholes with me.

[buggerup-busters]

(don't wanna) Give You All My Pieces

part 2 of The Best Worst Years Of Your Life (Widdershins Highschool AU)

With Wolfe's encouragement, Mal goes to English for the first time in a while, and soon remembers why he usually doesn't. Meanwhile, Ben's in big trouble and only has until the end of the day to sort it out. // Friendship is a risk. Are you willing to take it?

school AU continues, still mostly Mal & Wolfe but with some Ben/Eliza too now!

DofE is a significant plot point lol

now with more side character cameos!

everyone has a crisis. yay!

going to be about 19.5k long

Read it here on Ao3 :)