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brf-rumortrackinganon · 2 months

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Timeline: Part 8 - November 2017

For earlier timeline posts: click here or here.

The one where Meghan's hustle finally starts paying off.

Also, Meghan's PR loyalties begin changing during this month. By mid-December 2017, she's stopped leaking to her usual sources - Star Magazine, US Weekly, and E News.

And when the engagement is announced, you can watch the official stories of how Meghan and Harry met begin changing in real-time.

11/1/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

11/2/2017: Meghan teases an engagement with adoption of a royal wardrobe.

11/3/2017: Meghan's role on a 2009 TV show resurfaces. Samantha Markle reveals internal family racism towards Doria and Meghan, and William's friends reopen a nightclub that Harry used to party at.

11/4/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

11/5/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

11/6/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

11/7/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

11/8/2017: Soho Farmhouse announces expansion plans. Meghan merches beauty products and calls Kate a fashion copycat.

11/9/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

11/10/2017: A television program searches for a Meghan Markle lookalike.

11/11/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

11/12/2017: Remembrance Sunday for the UK. The press points out that Harry is breaking military code by keeping his beard whilst wearing a military uniform. Doria sells her high school photos to the Daily Mail.

11/13/2017: Meghan papped filming wedding scenes for Suits.

11/14/2017: Meghan papped again on Suits sets. She fuels engagement rumors by hinting she plans to leave the show (but technically she already confirmed it last month).

11/15/2017: Affair rumors about Prince Philip resurface, ahead of The Crown Season 2 release. Promos reveal that the season will focus on tension in Philip and Elizabeth's marriage.

11/16/2017: Meghan lays groundwork for a PR narrative that the royal family is jealous of her popularity by reminding everyone that The Queen and Prince Philip were angry about Diana's popularity.

11/17/2017: Meghan's body-double/Suits stand-in reveals Meghan is moving to London soon. Meghan moves her dogs to the UK and merches her boots.

11/18/2017: Genealogists discover that Meghan's ancestor was beheaded by Henry VIII.

11/19/2017: Meghan owes her celebrity to her father's lottery win. Diana's former lover, Hasnat Khan, announces his engagement.

11/20/2017: The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate 70 years of marriage and Her Majesty appoints Philip Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. The royals celebrate with a swanky party at Windsor Castle; Meghan is not invited (her absence is confirmed next month). Meanwhile:

Meghan is papped arriving at the UK airport.

Samantha Markle gives an interview declaring desire to be invited to the royal wedding.

Financial reports announce that the Royal Family has contributed 1.8 billion pounds to the UK economy.

A rumor begins that Prince George will make a special guest appearance on Fireman Sam.

11/21/2017: Meghan is papped in London doing her Christmas shopping. She leaks to US Weekly that she has officially moved out of her Toronto house, her furniture was put into storage, and her personal belongings have been shipped to the UK.

The Daily Mail fires a warning to Meghan about how the 'needy' King Edward trapped Wallis Simpson and made it so she couldn't leave him. The implication is that Harry is similarly needy and will trap Meghan in a similar unhappiness.

11/22/2017: Meghan merches her scarf.

11/23/2017: Meghan gets a facial and merches the spa, fueling engagement rumors.

11/24/2017: Revisiting Prince Philip's stag party. Kensington Palace announces William and Kate will attend the Royal Variety Performance. Meghan leaks to E News that she and Harry are "practically" engaged, fueling more engagement rumors.

11/25/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

11/26/2017: Meghan merches her facialist and her treatment. The Daily Mail scoops Buckingham Palace and reveals an announcement is coming. They also recap Harry and Meghan's relationship and reveal that both Doria and Meghan have received RPO security details.

11/27/2017: Kensington Palace announces the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and:

The Telegraph republishes its "Meghan Markle: The Making of a Hollywood Princess" story.

Meghan merches her coat, shoes, health tips, beauty, skincare, and boots.

They hint at receiving Sussex titles.

Revisiting all of Harry's ex-girlfriends.

Meet Meghan's besties and potential bridesmaids.

The Markle family comments on the royal engagement.

Meghan and Harry will live in Nottingham Cottage.

How Meghan Markle went from seedy LA tenement to the Palace.

How Catholic Meghan Markle survived her parents' LA divorce.

Meghan's life in photos

Meet the Markles

Meghan and Crown Princess Mary (of Denmark) are style sisters.

Mishal Husain was hand-picked by Harry to conduct the engagement interview.

Speculation about the wedding dress begins, with Meghan teasing an Australian designer.

Meghan leaks to US Weekly that she and Harry spent the weekend away before announcing their engagement.

Meghan leaks about her preparation and support from Harry to become royal.

Diana and Meghan would have been best friends.

Meghan retires from acting.

How Meghan tamed Harry

Royal fashion showdown: Meghan, Diana, and Kate

11/28/2017: Engagement coverage continues.

Violet von Wesetenholz is the royal matchmaker.

Doria gives a statement on the engagement.

Meghan's sixth grade school photos are published.

Meghan's sexy online photos resurface.

Quid pro quo: How Meghan supports her friends

Meghan and Harry merch Luckington Manor as a prospective home.

No, it's not Violet. The royal matchmaker is Misha Nonoo.

Harry papped at the gym in Chelsea.

Meghan did the calligraphy for Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's wedding.

Actually, Markus Anderson is the royal matchmaker. (I believe this one; the source is US Weekly, which is a confirmed Meghan ally. The Violet and Misha stories are from the Daily Mail.)

Samantha Markle says Thomas wants to walk Meghan down the aisle.

Meghan leaks that she and Harry secretly visited The Queen after announcing engagement.

See? Meghan can do royal glam too -- 11 times she won the red carpet.

Meghan merches her fashion sense and style.

11/29/2017: Engagement coverage continues.

All about Meghan's genealogy (again)

Meghan reveals Bogart was too old to fly and was left behind in Canada. She also leaks that the BRF is forcing her to stop acting and that the BRF is also making her stop her private charity work.

Meghan the humanitarian

Ninaki Preddy sells pictures to the Daily Mail. The motherlode includes a photograph of Meghan posing outside Buckingham Palace.

Meghan expected to join the royal family at Sandringham for Christmas.

Meghan merches tongue massages.

Aaron Korsh, the creator of Suits, reveals that Meghan was written out of Suits in 2016.

Meghan leaks her expectations to be better than Princess Grace of Monaco.

Meghan merches her beauty routine again.

11/30/2017: New day, same story.

Meghan is on the cover of Elle France.

Meghan merches her nose.

Meghan's soap commercial resurfaces.

Meghan's sorority pictures are published.

Kensington Palace announces wedding will be in May.

Remember when Meghan was a fashion expert/consultant for the Today show?

Northwestern University remembers Meghan.

Meghan has royal ancestors.

How will Meghan become a British citizen?

#timeline #brf #sussexes #pr shenanigans

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timeagainreviews · 5 months

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Dance, Magic Dance: The Church on Ruby Road

With the return of Russell T Davies we were given a “new” Doctor Who logo with their revamped take on the classic diamond logo. The diamond logo is everywhere now. Books, web content, episodes, and more are stamped with it. Everything except for the “Doctor Who: The Collection,” blu-rays which continue to display the Jodie Whittaker era logo. The reason for this is simple- spines. Most people display books and physical media with their spines facing outward. If you were to change the font on those spines, they lose their uniformity. For some people, that shit is infuriating. It’s not just Doctor Who fans either. The infamous plastic Homer head box for The Simpsons’ sixth season DVD is still controversial. If Doctor Who fans can get upset about a blu-ray spine, then imagine how they might react if you were to change the Saturday time slot to a Sunday. Or even more brazenly, imagine changing the Christmas episode to a New Year's Eve episode. Should be super easy, barely an inconvenience. Right?

It had been six years since Doctor Who last aired a Christmas special. While I have come to appreciate the importance of a Christmas episode within the fandom, I argued in favour of the change at the time as I am not the biggest fan of Christmas. I have history with the holiday, like many of us do. New Year’s Eve also pertains to time, so it made some sense. And for as cheerful as they tend to be, Doctor Who Christmas specials were becoming a graveyard of regenerating Doctors. I get that Christmas is about renewal, but watching the Doctor die on Christmas isn’t my jam, especially if they’re surrounded by a bunch of tacky Christmas decor. Only one other time do we see a freshly regenerated Doctor at the beginning of a Christmas episode and that was David Tennant in “The Christmas Invasion.” It also consistently ranks as the best of the RTD Christmas specials. Though I believe “The Church on Ruby Road,” may soon challenge that.

Before I get into it, I want to preface this by saying I was on my third flute of Buck’s Fizz by the time the episode started. I don’t usually drink alcohol when I’m about to watch a film or TV show. I once went to see Terry Gilliam’s “The Brothers Grimm,” while drunk and it was a bad time on two fronts. But this was Christmas, I was feeling a bit jolly. I only mention this because I may be a bit fuzzy on the details. It’s funny then that the details are another reason I’m feeling a bit fuzzy. Last night, when I should have been asleep, I was researching runes, glyphs, and symbols in an attempt to identify the symbols drawn on the Doctor’s fingernails. That’s how intriguing this new era of Doctor Who is- it’s got me doing research into the early hours of the morning.

Where I first noticed the symbols drawn on Ncuti’s fingernails was in the below promotional image. They looked like some fan had put them there, but when I saw that it was official, I felt a stir inside. Part of me mourned for the kids who have parents like my mom who would see those symbols, call them Satanic and forbid them from watching Doctor Who. The other part of me questioned their function. I know Ncuti Gatwa is an avid follower of the zodiac, so I was braced for it to be that simple, but I had hoped it was something more. In my research, I had trouble finding an exact match for the two clearest runes in the picture. The character on his ring finger looks a bit like the number three in Psalter Pahlavi or like something from Linear A. While the crescent shape on his middle finger looked a bit like the alchemical symbol for platinum or the zodiac symbols for the Sun and Moon. When you’re a time and space travelling alien, your zodiac and table of elements must reach beyond our solar system. They could be alchemical symbols for Dalekanium or the zodiac symbol for Gallifrey. Maybe with this new magical Whoniverse, the Doctor now writes talismans on his fingers for protection.

It’s an enchanting prospect that we get to discover this new magic through the eyes of a new Doctor and companion. There’s a sort of levelling of the playing field for us as fans to come into this new chapter of Doctor Who slightly off our bearings. Who better to lead us through the chaos of magic than the Doctor himself? If his fingernails are a sign of this change, then he’s already got a leg-up on us, which is an exciting place to be as an audience. It’s so easy to be a pedantic know-it-all when the answer is always “Aliens,” but what about all those times a wizard did it, or in this case, the Toymaker?

Our introduction to Ruby Sunday was a bit surprising. Leaving her on a church doorstep felt like a page out of the Steven Moffat playbook of fairy tale magic. But also grounded in the character development we got with Rose, Martha, and Donna. Ruby’s backstory is a mystery, but her agency is not. Ruby has friends, a band, and a family. We’ve known her for 55 minutes and I already have a decent grasp on who she is as a person. She has a compassion for Lulubelle which goes beyond being kidnapped by Goblins. You can see she feels a kinship as a fellow foundling. She knows how it feels to feel disconnected from her history. Similarly, the Doctor can look at both Ruby and Lulubelle and see himself on their faces. He too was adopted after being left behind.

I enjoyed this aspect of the story as my own family is touched by adoption. My mother found out she was adopted after her adoptive parents died. Coincidentally, she had already adopted a little girl from China a year or so prior. I now have three adopted siblings and I love them all. It means a lot to me to see them portraying Ruby’s family as a realistic depiction of an adopted family. Her adoptive mother, Carla, is as good a mother as one could hope for. When she admits she was nervous about Ruby finding her biological mother, it’s understandable. She doesn’t want to ruin the beautiful family that started when Ruby came into her and her mother Cherry’s lives.

The Davina McCall scene may be the weakest part of the episode. Aside from the prologue, it’s basically the first scene, and much like the other opening scenes in the RTD2 era, it’s a bit wonky. The dialogue lends itself to Ruby’s nervousness being interviewed, but “foundled,” is a bit too close to fondled for my tastes. It’s VOR all over again. The main takeaway from the interview is that Ruby was the baby left at the church (no surprises there) and that Davina’s people are going to try to find her birth parents. Sadly, as we come to find out, Ruby’s parents prove to be untraceable. The interview is cut short when the mics begin picking up the sound of Goblins. I feel like the only reason they were Goblins is because pointy-eared mischief makers called Gremlins ruining Christmas was a bit too close to a certain ‘80s movie. Better to go for a story with musical numbers about Goblins who steal babies for the Goblin King. No ‘80s movies infringed there… wait a minute. I kid of course, there’s nothing wrong with paying homage to the classics.

Before we get too far from the interview scene, I want to talk about Denzel. No, I don’t mean America’s sweetheart, Denzel Washington, I mean the sound guy. Was I drunk, or did Ruby mention he asked her out? I’d heard rumours she was going to have a bit of a love triangle with her boyfriend and the Doctor. I wonder if it’s not him. It would be weird to have a sound guy with a unique name who gets mentioned again if it’s not going to come back into play. I think this might enter the territory of the controversial aspects of the season that Millie Gibson alluded to recently. It’s funny then that the part of me that finds any of that controversial is the part of me that hates the idea of the Doctor being romantic with companions. I’ve never enjoyed it. Rose and Ten? Blech. Yaz and Thirteen? Snore. Representation matters, sure, but what about asexual and aromantic representation? I get that people might fancy the Doctor, especially when they look like Ncuti Gatwa, but I hope the Doctor continues to ward off any advances.

Speaking of representation, I would like to take a smidgen of a moment to talk about Trudy. As a trans woman, it was nice to see her living her best life. Simply letting trans characters exist is better representation than what we got in “The Star Beast.” They didn’t even pat themselves on the backs about it in “Doctor Who Unleashed,” as I worried they might. Regardless, some cis people think that any trans representation is shoving it down their throats. They reject the reality that for many people, trans people are a part of their daily lives. If your average person took the time to learn people’s pronouns, they’d see we’re everywhere. We’re not trying to shove anything in your face. Trust me. You’re not our type.

As I said above, it’s nice to see Ruby’s life play out over this montage. You learn a bit about her life and what she gets up to. Though when I heard she had a band, I was hoping for something more punk than Christmas standards. Ncuti dancing on the dancefloor was joyous, a word which I find myself using about him a lot lately. I love the embracing of his Scottish upbringing with his kilt. When I read RTD’s Doctor Who Magazine article talking about the Doctor dancing, I worried a little bit. Sure, the Ninth Doctor proved the Doctor dances, but I worried the scene would make the Doctor feel too sexy or too human. The Eleventh Doctor’s terrible dancing garnered the name “The Giraffe,” because it was so unflattering. But the Fifteenth Doctor pulls it off in a way few others could. However, I do still take issue with one aspect of that scene and that’s Ruby leaving her drink unattended in a busy club. There are worse people than Goblins mucking about with drinks, Russell. Let’s make a good example for the young members of the audience.

The montage of the Doctor watching Ruby from afar was actually a note from Disney. Test audiences wanted to see the Doctor earlier, and I don’t disagree. In the words of Werner Herzog’s Mandalorian character- “I want to see the baby.” It also explains why we recently saw footage of Ncuti punching through a snowman head when principal photography had ended months ago. This, of course, was due to further meddling from the Goblins, who appear to be everywhere now. They’re like bedbugs who pass from person to person. I loved the line “A pram at midnight. Really?” Such a cheeky Doctor already. Gatwa gives vibes of previous Doctors throughout the entire episode, but the snowman head scene gave us one I didn’t expect. The Doctor telling the policeman to ask his girlfriend to marry him reminded me of the Eighth Doctor’s penchant for fortunetelling. Only this time, he’s not weirdly omniscient, but rather making a wild assumption after his sonic pinged a diamond ring, which is a thing it does now, evidently.

The Doctor’s new sonic screwdriver has been a bit controversial, because what isn’t in this fucking fandom lately? I get the argument that it’s just not to your liking, that’s fair. But I’ve seen some monumentally dumb takes on the subject. I saw someone complain that it wasn’t shaped like a screwdriver. I hate to break it to you, but none of them have been shaped like a screwdriver. Show me on the Third Doctor’s where you fit the Phillips head. I’ve also seen people complain that it looked like tech from the early 2000s. So their biggest complaints are that it looks weird and out of time. How inappropriate for an alien time traveller. Regardless, I loved seeing Fifteen using his assorted gadgets. His intelligent gloves feel like a natural fit amongst his classic instruments and I can see them coming in handy further down the line. There’s also something about seeing the Doctor pull out the psychic paper that brings it home for me. It’s like seeing the Doctor square off with their first Dalek. It makes them feel complete. I know RTD said they’re giving the Daleks a rest for a bit, but I hope we do get to see Ncuti officially call one a “detty pig,” before he bows out.

The Goblin ship was a great way to introduce us to the new magical aspect of the Whoniverse. Not just because it’s fantastical, but also because the Doctor wasn’t able to use his shiny new screwdriver on it. Had it been a normal spaceship with metal and wires, he would only need to point and click. But this ship is all wood and rope, rendering the sonic mostly useless. The Goblins force the Doctor to learn the science of luck, but the ship causes him to learn the language of rope. I adored watching Ruby and the Doctor bicker while he was busy learning about the ship. They’ve not been together five minutes and they’re already getting tied up by baddies. They have an instant Doctor/companion relationship and it’s obvious why they were paired together. Furthermore, Ncuti’s detachment from the danger of the situation, coupled with an admiration for the Goblins’ tech was pure Doctory goodness. I could easily see Tom Baker fiddling with rope while Sarah Jane complained that he was goofing off.

Because of the charity release of “The Goblin Song,” many of us had become intimately familiar with it before the episode. What I doubt many of us were expecting was for Ncuti and Millie to join in on the singing. While I’ve not heard anyone complain about this, I’m sure someone has. To me, it worked. For starters, it’s a Christmas episode. Secondly, the Goblins have a band. It makes sense that the Doctor would try to win them over by speaking their language. It seems to work as the Goblins dance along with the Doctor and Ruby. Much of their logic seems dictated by whimsy. They sing and dance. They cause mischief. And they are attracted to coincidence. It’s not just that Lulubelle is a baby, it’s that she’s flavoured by happenstance. Both she and Ruby are foundlings left on Christmas Eve. It’s like the sound of a dinner bell for these little munchers. While the singing and dancing worked for both the scene and the Goblins, I hope RTD continues to use it sparingly. While I expect to see it return with the Beatles episode, I don’t want the concept to wear out its welcome. Doctor Who can afford the odd musical episode, but let’s not go crazy.

With Lulubelle saved, the Doctor and Ruby get her back home before Carla or Cherry ever notice she’s gone. This gives the family a chance to meet the Doctor, starting with Cherry. Cherry’s reaction to the Fifteenth Doctor was an understandably thirsty one. RTD kind of wrote himself into a corner by casting Gatwa. It must be exhausting to begin every scene with “The Doctor enters the room and people are immediately enamoured.” He exudes charisma in a way that makes you stop looking at David Tennant. Remember the bi-generation scene? Little known fact, but Tennant was also in that scene. Another enjoyable aspect of the Cherry scene was seeing the Doctor flirt back. I know I said I dislike a romantic Doctor, but it was nice to see it with someone more age-appropriate. I kid, but what I did like about the scene was that he spoke to her as if she were a young woman. Because for him, she is. And even further, it didn’t feel like that cutesy old people flirting like “If I were younger,” bullshit. It makes sense that a time traveller would find whoever a person is in the present the most important. You can travel to the past or the future, but it all pivots along you in the present. We stand outside past and future versions of ourselves. To me, this is why the Doctor is compassionate, he sees the pivot people are capable of making. Can you now pivot beyond a dark past into a bright future?

The meeting between Carla and the Doctor was less flirtatious. Carla seemed open to this eccentric Doctor while keeping a concerned mother’s distance. The ironic thing is that not only is the Doctor like Ruby and Lulubelle, but he’s also a lot like Carla. Both of them know the weight that comes with what the Twelfth Doctor would call “duty of care.” Like the Doctor’s long list of previous companions, the photos on Carla’s fridge tell a story of lives touched. This is why when things go bad and Ruby disappears, the missing photos on the fridge cut us to our core. Michelle Greenidge floored me with her performance here. Seeing her claim her life is great because she has no responsibility was harrowing. We’ve seen her real truth. She’s a centre point of light illuminating the lives of many, not this selfish woman in it for the paycheck. Even Cherry now feels forgotten in the other room, waiting out the clock. This is a reality the Doctor cannot tolerate.

Not only are the Goblins little baby-stealing monsters, but they’re also time-hoppers, whatever the hell that means. How it differs from time travel probably has more to do with a Time Lord’s concept of elegance than anything else. But like the Daleks, I doubt Goblins have much of a concept of elegance. If anything it’s a warped admiration for coincidence. And if a baby Lulubelle isn’t a viable meal option, then the other side of that coincidental coin, baby Ruby, would have to suffice. After all, I’m fairly certain if they don’t feed the Goblin King soon, he’s going to start wooing Jennifer Connelly at a masked ball. The Doctor travels back to that church on Ruby Road. Tears still running down his face, we see the mysterious woman leaving Ruby behind. Is it her mother? Is it a younger version of the mysterious Mrs Flood? Is it Ruby herself? The Doctor doesn’t have the time to go chasing after her. He has Gobbos to stop.

Floating above the church steeple like Bowser’s airship, the Goblins begin hauling Ruby onboard. The Doctor climbs to the church roof where he puts the last spark of power in his intelligent gloves to the test. Instead of climbing up to the ship, the Doctor begins pulling the ship back down to earth by its rope ladder. However, the ladder is more likely to give out before his gloves do. So in a last-ditch effort, the Doctor brings all of his weight down using the gloves’ ability to increase mavity (I know) on the ladder. The ship plunges onto the church steeple which stabs up through the hull and into the belly of the Goblin King. With his influence and magic now dispersed, the ship and all of its Goblins disappear with it, leaving baby Ruby in a freefall. No pressure. The Doctor of course catches her using the gloves to cushion her fall. It was all a pretty lucky gamble considering the steeple could have just as easily hit Ruby, but luck is now a tangible thing, so maybe it was lucky. You could say “The Doctor killed a guy,” but you could also say this was the Goblin King’s second chance, and as you remember- “No second chances.” It would appear that the Doctor is still that sort of man.

With the Goblins gone, neither Ruby nor Davina McCall will be plagued with bad luck. Davina even gets so lucky as to have the Doctor appear just in time to prevent her from being brained by a Christmas tree star. The pictures on the fridge are back, and so is the giant crack the Goblins left when they attempted to kidnap Ruby. It makes you wonder just how Carla and Cherry will fair with squirrels getting in through the roof while Ruby is off exploring all of time and space. Does insurance cover acts of Goblin? Who knows, maybe Kate Stewart will stop by with a restoration team. All the Doctor would need to do is make a call. Mrs Flood returns to commend the Doctor for a better parking job. Is it just me or was that a subtle hint of disability representation? A subtle reminder not to block the pavement for the elderly and disabled.

I liked that the TARDIS appeared to invite Ruby inside by opening her doors to her. You could say the Doctor flipped a switch, but he was busy doing his fourth costume change. I like to think she was giving her seal of approval. I never quite understood why the TARDIS didn’t like Clara. It seemed to come out of nowhere. The TARDIS was like, “I dunno why, but I don’t like this bitch.” I guess you could say the whole Impossible Girl thing made her competition, but now it’s just starting to sound like Moffat writing women. But the TARDIS and Ruby? Just gals being pals. Sisters before misters. Empowered women empower women. Yas queen.

In the end, we’re left with Mrs Flood comforting her neighbour Abdul after he sees the TARDIS dematerialise. She gives the camera a devious smile as she says “Never seen a TARDIS before?” This of course is the classic Davies Easter Egg. He knew the fandom would blow up. And dammit, after almost twenty years of saying it, it had better be the Rani. Some people have said Romana or Susan, but she feels a bit more sinister. Besides, if it’s Susan, I’m going to be disappointed because Carol Anne Ford is still alive. If it was Susan, we’re owed a flashback to her regeneration. The reason she feels slightly sinister is the way she gaslights Abdul about the TARDIS. She yells at the poor man like he parked the thing in front of her house even though she apparently knows what it is. Conversely, she could be nobody we’ve seen before. Perhaps she’s an Eternal or “the Boss.” Either way, I’m intrigued.

Ncuti Gatwa is finally the Doctor. It almost feels unreal to be able to say that. Not only have we waited a long time to say it, but what an exciting Doctor he is already. He brings an invigorated energy to the performance. He's full of charm and I can't picture many Doctors pulling off a curtsy as well as he did. I’m still waiting for him to get a bit scary, but his amazed reaction to seeing Goblins about to eat a baby shows me he’s capable of it. I would like to see them show his age a little, but there’s still loads of time. His conversation with Cherry gave us a glimpse at the ancient being behind his eyes, but I would like to see more. While the Doctor may still have hang-ups about his past, it would appear his time with Donna was a time of emotional healing. The Doctor isn’t afraid of his emotions and it’s been a bit of a revelation just how much I like that. This Doctor wears his hearts on his sleeves and it’s surprisingly refreshing. It’s a far cry from “I'm still quite socially awkward,” and I couldn’t be any happier about that. We have a new Doctor. A new companion. New rules. Is anyone else excited for May?

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blogger360ncislarules · 3 months

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For All Creatures Great and Small fans, some great, big news: MASTERPIECE announced on Friday that the series based on James Herriot’s iconic collection of stories has been renewed for Seasons 5 and 6.

Each of the two seasons will consist of six episodes plus Christmas specials, airing Stateside here on PBS.

Also back for Season 5 are Nicholas Ralph as vet James Herriot, Samuel West as the mercurial Siegfried Farnon, Anna Madeley as the matriarch of Skeldale House Mrs. Hall, Rachel Shenton as the charismatic Helen Herriot, James Anthony-Rose as Richard Carmody, and Patricia Hodge as the wonderfully sophisticated Mrs Pumphrey (with her pampered Pekingese Tricki in tow, of course).

“It is such a joy to share the news of two more seasons of All Creatures Great and Small,” Susanne Simpson, executive producer for MASTERPIECE, said in a statement. “The MASTERPIECE audience has come to treasure this heart-warming series. We’re also particularly happy to welcome back Callum Woodhouse as Tristan to this incredible ensemble of actors.”

Adds Sir Colin Callender CBE, CEO of lead producer Playground: “Kindness and decency are increasingly rare qualities these days, so it is a blessing to be able to return to the sanctuary of Skeldale House and James Herriot’s beloved characters who represent all that is the best in us. There are no villains in All Creatures — just everyday folk trying to get through the day with dignity with the help of a supportive community, family and friends. It’s a lesson for modern times.”

#oh what wonderful news to wake up to!#all creatures great and small #pbs

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rose-pearls · 2 years

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Top Gun Masterlist

Welcome to my Top Gun and Top Gun Maverick Masterlist, requests are open and if you want to have a look at other fandoms you can go right here: Main Masterlist

Top Gun

Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell - Masterlist

Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky - Masterlist

Ron 'Slider' Kerner - Masterlist

Top Gun Maverick

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw - Masterlist

Robert 'Bob' Floyd - Masterlist

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin - Masterlist

Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace - Masterlist

Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson

Prompt for all of them:

Baby and pregnancy prompts

Everyday Prompts (Hangman, Bob, Rooster and Phoenix)

Specials:

Christmas list: Full of Christmas prompts with different characters from different universes

#top gun fanfiction #top gun imagine #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #jake seresin fanfiction #bob floyd fanfiction #phoenix x reader #tom kazansky x reader #maverick fanfic #beau simpson x reader

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fennecfiree · 6 months

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SO MANY HEADCANONS.

(copy and pasting some of my older posts btw)

ALSO! Ask me any of my other headcanons with the ask feature thingy, for example, creek hcs, clyde hcs, or anything like that. ill answer!

Stan: Blue eyes, short black greasy hair ( he never washes his frickin hair ) he has some acne, he's the 2nd tallest in the main 4, he's thin, has earrings, he has a slipknot pin on his hat, and has some eye bags because he never sleeps 😱 he's bisexual ( girl pref ) and Demi boy. He has autism, and asthma. special interest is bored games, he listens to Slipknot, MCR, deftones, Korn, his fav song is Duality. his fav food is m&ms, his fav video game is Roblox, he also plays RimWorld, terrified of snakes, his fav shows are Stranger things, The simpsons, Spongebob, and Rick and morty, cares more for animals than most people, gets annoyed when people talk to much. His phone is full of pictures of Sparky. whenever he's home alone he chugs some of Randy's beer 😭 his phone is always on do not disturb. still keeps in touch with the goth kids. he's very close with Tolkien, which Kyle got mad about since Stan was jealous when Kyle was making tiktoks with Tolkien. he gets B-. Loves horror games and movies and forces kyle to play them with him, paints his nails black. asks for a cat every Christmas, has a Bart Simpson sad pfp ( you know those.. ) really into creepy pastas. he watched TheOddOnesOut, and SomethingElseYT

Kyle: he has olive eyes, really curly short ginger hair, he has braces, and a bigger nose, he's pretty pale and has freckles, the shortest out of the 4, and he's chubby. he's bisexual and asexual ( he ofc found out when he's older ). he has type 1 diabetes (and is really embarrassed about it). anxiety, autism ( his special interest is ocean creatures ) and bad anger issues. he listens to AJR, Green day, The cure, Weezer, The offspring. his fav song is Pretty fly for a white guy. his fav food is stew, and and he drinks monster sometimes. His fav game is Minecraft and Fnaf 1. He's a giant germaphobe, he washes his hands after every time he goes somewhere. he's also scared of gore. he watches Gravity Falls, BfDI. Spongebob, Him and Ike watch Yo gabba gabba together 😭😭 He cant watch horror movies, and cant play scary games. He talks A LOT. He has a handsanitizer bottle on his desk. His favorite holiday is Halloween, he gets A+ most of the time, but sometimes he gets A-. he spends 2 hours doing his hair, he studies really hard, and gets furious if someone else in class gets a higher grade ( its usually Wendy ) he try's to draw good, and thinks he does, but its very poorly drawn cartoon drawings with detailed eyes. he try's to straighten his hair but it just looks very weird, and it made him sad 😓HIM AND STAN WATCH SPONGEBOB TOGETHER AND THEY LOAD UP ON EVERYSINGLE SNACK. he's insecure about his looks. he looks up to his dad a lot, he cry's when his teachers don't respond to him putting up his hand 😭. doesn't notice when he's raising his voice. sleeps with his orca whale plushie 😎 He watches Markiplier, Flamingo, and LS Mark.

Cartman: 1 brown eye, 1 blue eye, short light brown messy hair, he has long eyelashes and some acne, he has a tooth gap, he's the tallest of the 4, and ofc he's a fatass 😭 he's gay, lactose intolerant and has heterochromia (left is brown, right is blue) He listens to Lady gaga, Britney spears, Taylor swift. and his fav song is Poker face. His fav food is Cheesy Poofs, and Pancakes. His fav game is Happy wheels and People playground. he has Trypanophobia. He watches Saw, The Human Centipede, and Happy tree friends. when he plays Minecraft with people he refuses to share a house with someone cuz it's gay, he scams kids in Roblox adopt me. Him and Shelly play smash or pass together with celebrities 😭 he has a Instagram account for Mr Kitty. He's an iPad kid 🤪🤪🤪🤪 goes on Omegle (let's pretend it's still up) and pretends to be a girl. Has an account on Twitter just for making fun of Kyle, listens to true crime. Collects stickers 😊😊 begs his mom to give him robux, he also has another Twitter account that's a Stan account for lady Gaga. Terrified of Wendy 😭😲 the coon is his fursona, he also pretends that he hates furrys but secretly is one 😭 Gets C-. reddit user.. says "MY CONTROLLER BROKE" when he loses a game, he's fluent in German. He's really smart, sometimes even smarter than Kyle, but doesn't care to use it for good, he just uses it for asshole shit. Sleeps with all 10000 of his stuffed animals. he hates fathers day. he watches Trisha paytas, ishowspeed, and shane dawson. 😭😭

Kenny: Blue eyes, messy blonde hair, he has a tooth gap, and his clothes are really dirty, he's the 2nd shortest of the 4, and he's pretty skinny, he's pansexual and genderfluid. he listens to Cardi B, Gorillaz, Vengaboys. and his fav song is Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! his fav food is Grilled cheese. His fav game is DDLC and FNF (he plays on butters pc) He watches Pokemon, MPL ( originally Karen forced him to watch it but he kinda likes it LMAO ) and Sailor moon. he falls asleep in class a lot. He gets B+. therapist friend, zones out a lot. He sometimes comes to school with pigtails that Karen gave him. He never fights with his siblings. Stan always gives him some of his school lunch. his clothes are covered in holes and stains. he loves playing truth or dare and always picks dare. he loves birthday party's and always take a ton of food to bring to his family. he wants a pet rat so bad. he likes Stan the best out of the main 4, he sometimes finds Kyle super annoying and cartman... well its cartman.. goes outside and burns pieces of paper for fun. he watches Mr Beast ( he comments on every video "please help me") Gawr Gura, Ironmouse, and Pokimane.

Butters: Blue eyes, very short blonde hair, a scar on his right eye. he's the same height as Kenny, slim, has a couple freckles but not NEARLY as much as Kyle 😨he's Bisexual. He has PTSD. He listens to BTS, Disney songs, his fav song is Butter 🙀 His fav food is Ice cream ( strawberry ) His fav game is Hello Kitty Island Adventure, and Roblox. He watches Hello kitty (ofc) MLP ( him and Kenny watch it together) and Spongebob. He loves pastel colors. VERY bad memory, likes the taste of milk, Bites his nails, He still has the Marjorine clothes and likes to dance around in them, HIM AND BRADLEY ARE PEN PALS. Has to sing the ABCs to know the placements Gets A-. He also cant watch horror movies or play scary games like Kyle. He starts celebrating Christmas in October. watches those boys vrs girls gacha life music videos. USES THOSE VERY CURLY STRAWS IN CHOCOLOTE MILK AND BLOWS BUBBLES IN THEM!!! He's an art kid. He watches DanTDM, and Stampy

PLEASE DONT FLOP THIS TOOK 5 DAYS

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bullet-prooflove · 7 months

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What I've Been Working On This Week: 4/11/23

Montana: Cowboy!Terry x Reader - Terry tries not to think about you (Holiday Bingo: Holiday Cards)

The Fight Before Christmas: Sam Abrams x Reader - You and Sam get into it when he discovers you've been keeping a secret. (Holiday Bingo: The Fight Before Christmas)

Stockton! Series Part One: El Cuchillo - Nestor Oceteva x Reader - You have a run in with Ramos from Stockton that has some unforseen consquences.

Stockton! Series Part Two: Always - Nestor Oceteva x Reader - Bishop keeps an eye on you until Nestor arrives.

Stockton! Series Part Three: In the Dark - Nestor Oceteva x Reader - You awake in the night to find intruders in your home.

Stockton! Series Part Four: Sierra - Nestor Oceteva x Reader (feat: Marcus Alvarez) - The feud with Ramos runs deeper than you know.

Stockton! Series Part Five: Maternal - Nestor Oceteva x Reader - You're reminded of the importance of family in the aftermath of the home invasion.

Stockton! Series Part Six: Times Are Changing - Nestor Oceteva x Reader (feat: Marcus Alvarez & Bishop Losa) - The events with Stockton lead Marcus and Bishop to discuss a change of rules for the club.

Fireworks: Taza Romero x OC: Ben Harrison - Taza finds out the reason Ben doesn't like fireworks. (Holiday Bingo: New Years)

Traditions: Angel Reyes x Reader - Angel goes a little crazy when it comes to Valeria's first Christmas. (Holiday Bingo: Decorations)

Special Delivery: Tig Trager x Reader - Tig's babymoon doesn't go as expected. (Holiday Bingo: Winter Cabin)

Gingerbread: Bishop Losa x Reader - Bishop helps out in the midst of a crisis. (Holiday Bingo: Baking)

Heaven In Hiding: Mike Duarte x Reader - You discover Mike hiding out in the copier room during the office party. (Holiday Bingo: Holiday Party)

Home Alone: Priest!Joe x Reader - You surprise Father Jose on Christmas Day. (Holiday Bingo: Spending Christmas Alone)

Past Mistakes Part Twenty Two: Perfect - Mike Duarte x Reader - Joe gets a postcard and a very special invitation. (Final Part)

Syria!Series Part Four: The Bullet, The Bottle or This... - Beau Simpson x Reader - Beau faces up to his current reality.

This is the Year - Juan 'Juice' Ortiz x Reader - Juice decides to take his New Year's resolution seriously. (Holiday Bingo: Resolutions)

Candy Cane - Filip 'Chibs' Telford x Reader - Chibs get distracted whilst helping you wrap. (Holiday Bingo: Flannel PJs)

Underneath It All (NSFW) - Riz x Reader x OC - Riz and you give comfort to a friend in their time of need.

#terry bruno #michael riz ariza #mike duarte #joe velasco #bishop losa #sam abrams #nestor oceteva #chibs telford #juice ortiz #tig trager #beau simpson #angel reyes #taza romero

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pudding-parade · 6 months

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@echoweaver

Figured I'd do this this way instead of adding to the comment pile. :) I should've made a separate post with my whining, but…meh. What's done is done.

But yeah, not so much "medical drama" as just…stuff. I had a liver transplant in September. I haven't specifically talked much about it here because...I don't know. I guess I thought if I didn't talk about it it would be less...I don't want to say "depressing," because I'm not depressed, and I don't want to conflate being temporarily down in the dumps with depression. Maybe "difficult" is the right word.

Anyway...I've needed a transplant for about 10 years, my original having been badly damaged by asymptomatic hepatitis C that I unknowingly had, until the damage started making me really sick. I probably originally contracted it from a blood transfusion I had in the 80s, before they tested donated blood for Hep C. Medication as well as a special diet and supplements helped with the symptoms of a failing liver for a while, but this past spring things started to go downhill more quickly and the meds, etc. weren't helping as much.

I had a matching living donor, a relative of my husband's, who wanted to do it and who was finally approved for it. (She'd been deemed too young before.) And I was at the point of, "Do it now or else you won't be healthy enough later to survive the surgery/recovery." So, I did it. And like I said, I know it will be good in the long run, but right now it just kind of sucks. (Though it is nice to be not quite so yellow. I actually have eye whites now, yay! And I look less like a character from The Simpsons. Also also, I can legitimately say that I'm part Mexican now. LOL )

I'll spare you/everyone the gorier details, but I spent almost three weeks (as opposed to the one-week-or-so that's normal for transplants) in the ICU due to rejection issues (which is why my immunosuppressant dose was very high), and then once finally released I was under a "no contact" rule. As in, no contact with anyone but my husband, who was also not allowed contact with other people or else he wouldn't be allowed contact with me. (Thank goodness DoorDash exists now or I don't know what we would have done for food.) The only time I could leave this place was to go directly to a car to be driven directly to a doctor's office where they have a special process/set-up for people in my situation, and it's just nuts. People who went batty during covid lockdowns had it easy compared to this.

So it's been….rough. I don't really care about not being able to see people so much, frankly, but I do not like being cooped up inside. My latent claustrophobia has become not-so-latent of late. At home, I can sit out on the deck or I can wander about or ride my horse for miles in the wilderness without seeing another soul, but not here in a city. Cities suck. If I'd had more time to arrange things I would've at least rented a place with a patio/balcony, but since it was very short-notice, what we have is the best we could get, and it's not very good.

The good news is it's getting better. My immunosuppressant dosages are being lowered and I have no signs of rejection yet, so… *fingers crossed* And I'm down to twice-a-week appointments instead of literally every weekday. So, as of this past Friday I'm now allowed incidental contact, which means I can walk the streets or be at outdoor venues if I stay away from people, especially children (because they go to day care/school and tend to carry all sorts of interesting illnesses), as much as possible, but I can't be indoors for long periods with lots of people, so no stores, movie theaters, restaurants, etc. But this is why we're considering a zoo trip tomorrow. My doctors probably would consider it more than "incidental contact," but at least it's outdoors, close by, and it shouldn't be too crowded since it's winter and the kids aren't out of school for Christmas yet. They also have wheelchair or scooter rentals, so I don't have to walk the whole thing, and I would just be happy to be out in an environment other than a doctor's office for a day. So, I'm pretty sure we're going to do it. Because fuck it.

But anyway. Yeah, I'm trying to be more active online. It was hard for a while because with a giant healing abdominal incision and bruised-up everything, sitting up for long periods of time was a no-go, but I'm doing much better on that front. I've actually been playing No Man's Sky more than Sims, just because it's a space exploration game that makes me feel more like I'm "out there" than Sims does. But, I'm also trying to get back into the simblr momentum. I want to get back to playing the Random Legacy I started, because I can post about that more easily than the weird-o saves I usually play. LOL It's just hard to feel motivated right now, I guess. But we'll get there.

And you know what? For a movie that's supposed to be a comedy, Lilo & Stitch makes me bawl my eyes out. And that scene that I quoted is the "worst" in that regard. But it's still one of my favorite movies. :)

#non sims #replies

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