#The best Doctor imho

[weedle-testaburger]

hearing all my cishet friends say they loved the latest doctor who ep is lowkey the most validating thing for my trans ass

[thedinosaurprince]

And here's Ncuti's!

also while im sonic screwdriver posting. SO funny that the design of it is such a big deal now when the OG was, literally, just a torch. and i don't mean that it looked like a torch. the prop was a pen torch.

[littlespace-imagines]

Hiii! I love you blog so much!! Could you by chance do a Carlisle Cullen where he’s the reader’s caregiver? Lots of snuggles and some comforting reassurance for mental health struggles? Thank you🥺💞

Cg!Carlisle Cullen x little!human!reader

Headcannons

Contains: established relationship, CG/l dynamics, littlespace, Carlisle being the best, fluff

Carlisle would be the best caregiver for a chronically ill little honestly.

He’d use his position as a doctor to get you actually diagnosed and get you the accommodations you need.

He also just…. Loves to spoil his loved ones.

I could absolutely see him “prescribing” his little one regression time just because he can tell they’re overwhelmed and not doing great.

Is the best ever sippy-cup refiller. Keeps you hydrated even if you won’t do it yourself.

Very supportive of your clinginess. Literally will get a comfy pull-out couch for you in his work office for when you need him extra bad that day.

Gives those good, firm hugs where he rubs your back a little bit.

Fully supports you sitting on his lap for cuddles if you need it.

Keeps you fed on a schedule

This man buys you things just because he forgets you can buy things yourself

I think Carlisle would rather be called Papa than daddy imho

Carlisle is the type of caregiver to zip your coat for you if he thinks it’s cold

Also always holds your hand when going places

He really enjoys slow, comfy days in with you

Enjoys playing with you! Loves buying you play pretend toys so you can both play together

Loves seeing your imagination work

[many-but-one]

What's your opinion on this [https://www.tumblr.com/ratinacoat/764250900023951360/no-one-who-says-ramcoa-isnt-real-is-saying-that?source=share] (highlighted for convenience) post? I came across it and felt a little miffed by it. Though I do see where they are coming from, I suppose. I wondered what ya'll's opinion would be... I just don't feel it's an adequate reason for programmed systems to stop using terms that makes them feel seen and comfortable. Thank you for reading this.

Well Wishes,

Pomegranate O.L.

From what I can gather, they are boiling RAMCOA down to “ritual abuse” and “trafficking” but completely disregarding the “MC” part of the acronym. I understand where they are coming from, as the acronym was unfortunately created by people who are antisemitic, but that is hardly the survivor’s faults, imho. It sounds like they are conflating the MC part of the acronym with conspiracy, when MC is not a conspiracy, even though it is unfortunately riddled with people who are conspiracy theorists.

We’ve said it before and we will say it again—MC is not really done by hyper-secret government orgs, they’re done by the church on the corner, they’re done at daycare centers, they’re done by political cults, religious cults, familial units, and trafficking rings. MC is not complicated on the surface, it’s just conditioning taken to an extreme degree. Not everyone who has MC done to them will develop a dissociative disorder, and adults who go through MC who didn’t prior have a dissociative disorder can then develop one after going through MC traumas. This is OSDD-2, in the DSM-V. MC done to children who have the tendency to dissociate and have disorganized attachments to their primary caregivers will most certainly develop DID, and if they do, it’s not terribly difficult for MC abusers/programmers to learn how to negatively or positively trigger out certain alters to do undue harm to them and manipulate them to have certain beliefs about themselves and behaviors that the part will repeat when triggered out.

Those that wrote books about RAMCOA are shitty people who abused their patients and are antisemitic, but that doesn’t mean we should discount everything they learned. Like we have said before, we don’t discount all research in the medical and psychological field just because the studies or the doctors were abusive. Van der Hart was also a POS who abused his patients, yet his book “The Haunted Self” is one of the best written works for people with dissociative disorders and is consistently recommended to dissociative patients. I don’t know why we excuse him, the Axis powers in WWII (Germany and Japan), and all other horrific human experiments done in the name of science, but suddenly draw the line at RAMCOA researchers/therapists. Yeah, they were bad. Yeah, they are antisemitic. I’m not saying we should excuse their behavior. They were right to be removed from their positions. However, what they learned cannot be completely discounted. This shit isn’t black and white.

As an aside, we made a post about how planting false memories in patients is not possible and talked about why the False Memory Foundation and their supporters pushing this narrative is a detriment to survivors everywhere, but especially those who have been through RAMCOA traumas.

In addition, there is a new acronym out there (though it’s not my personal favorite) which is OEA, which means “Organized and Extreme Abuse.” I feel like it doesn’t quite capture what is necessary under that umbrella, but it is a viable replacement term and has a very broad umbrella that covers a lot of things. What terms survivors use is not up to anyone else but the survivor, and pulling the “conspiracy theory” card is getting old as hell. I do sort of understand where OP is coming from in terms of the origins of the acronym, but survivors are not at fault for where it came from and it should be up to the survivor to choose how they want to refer to it for themselves. My therapist uses the terms OEA and RAMCOA interchangeably because they mean the same thing. If antisemitism is the main complaint, then I think it would be beneficial to consider spreading the term OEA and encourage people to use that term instead rather than being angry at people using the term that they have a problem with and saying it’s all a conspiracy theory when it’s not.

I wish people would stop policing what terms other people use and stop conflating MC with conspiracy, though I doubt that wish will come true anytime soon.

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia!

In response to your recent post, I have carpal tunnel and stretching actually does not help. I do try to rest my wrists and fingers a lot, but do you have any other tactics you’ve used that have worked for you? Not looking for anything to follow as proper medical advice, just curious for new ideas to try out!

Take this with a grain of salt (not a doctor, as we all know! Just someone who writes a lot and has chronic RSIs in both wrists) but the type of rest you do is really important.

For example, wrist splinting can be really helpful, but only in specific ways.

Soft splints are best during the day, but both hard and soft wrist splints can make the pain worse if you're someone who unconsciously compresses the nerve further by bending your wrist into the splint throughout the day. If you can train yourself to stop doing this, soft wrist splints during the day - esp during rest periods - can help a lot.

Hard splints overnight can be amazing, but only if you don't contort your wrists while you sleep. This one is tough. I am a chronic wrist bender at night, and have literally woken up with my hands completely numb because of it. So hard splints are out of the question for me. It's been suggested to me to wear them for the first hour of lying down because I don't fall asleep straight away, to give my wrist a solid chunk of time of pure rest and then take it off before sleeping. 30 minutes of hard splinting where you can stop yourself from bending into the hard part is better than 30 minutes without it. Ditto a soft splint.

Carpal tunnel can be brutal, don't rule out seeing a physiotherapist or physical therapist who specialises in hand issues, or an occupational therapist who does the same. And my grandma had surgery for her carpal tunnel (twice!) and doesn't regret it. I also believe cortisone injections can be helpful, but come with the downside that they're more likely to increase pain in the long-term due to how steroids act on tissues overall. So cortisone should be used cautiously imho. (As in, it's not a long-term solution. It doesn't cure anything. And it can actually make some things worse).

I personally found hot and cold soaks pretty helpful. I have some arthritis in my hands so this is part of it. Ymmv on this one. Cold soaks reduce inflammation, hot soaks increase blood flow. Both can help with nerve impingement and joint pain. There will be guidelines online as to the best way / how long to do these.

Keeping a log of the pain specifically in your wrist / thumb, or the discomfort or numbness. Rating it on a level, and writing down everything you did in the hours leading up to bad flares. For me, learning that cross-stitch was actually the worst thing I did for my ulnar nerve entrapment was the thing that has helped most in knowing what I need to stop doing immediately when symptoms flare. I thought it was my writing, and I was wrong. My writing set up is actually pretty comfortable for my hands (see below), but once the cross-stitch caused a flare, writing perpetuated it and I'd mistakenly think the writing was the problem because I do that every day. You might be surprised which things can cause your worst flares. (Or not!)

Rest is rest. This one is hard. When it's our hands, we use them for literally everything. Often when we 'rest our wrists' it means stopping doing the things we know are direct triggers, but nothing else. But it actually means near complete rest from cooking, preparing food, petting our animal companions, holding our phone or tablet in bed or at a table, etc. This is where soft splints come in handy, they show us just how much we're using our wrists by how inconvenient they are to wear re: daily operation. As a teaching device we see quickly 'oh shit I twist my wrist badly for brushing my hair, oh shit I contort it for petting my dog behind the ears, oh shit, I've been stirring this pot at a weird angle for 10 minutes.'

Imho I don't wear splints for showering / bathroom / food. But will put it on during complete rest (which I reserve for pain + numbness flares). I will give myself about 2 days of that, and I try to treat it as seriously as a virus or flu because I don't want surgery! And obviously surgery for nerve and hand issues runs in the family.

Look into the ergonomics of the things that cause you flares. Often carpal tunnel can be exacerbated by how you hold your shoulders and elbows when you're doing the the things that cause flares. Look at whether the size of your mouse is too big for your hand (most are), look into how your wrists rest when you type on a keyboard, all of these things when adjusted for can make a big positive cumulative difference.

Getting a small Roccat Kone mouse, while expensive comparatively, stopped some of the issues in my right thumb. Because finally I had a mouse that fit my hand. (Most computer mice are designed for AMAB hands, as a result most AFAB people who use them basically long-term hurting their hands without realising - the heel of your palm should be able to rest on the mouse pad, your index and middle fingers should comfortably always be able to reach the left and right clickers without ever stretching and the thumb should rest naturally in the thumb rest if there is one. Most mice don't let the heel of the hand rest on the mouse pad without stretching for most AFAB people).

If you're using a laptop keyboard, stop as soon as you can and find a keyboard (ideally mechanical switch) that isn't high impact on your fingertips and use that. There are a lot of good, cheap bluetooth options these days. I cannot stress enough how bad laptop keyboards are for fingers and nerve issues in the hands. I type millions of words on my keyboard, I have callouses on all of my fingertips because of it. Trust me when I say you want something that will encourage your fingertips not to slam into the baseboard.

Don't get me started on if you do most of your writing on your phone. x.x The cramped positions we have to put our fingers in to both hold our phone and type is - to say the least - something younger folks get away with and older folks pay for. It's not healthy for our hands. Or wrists. Or elbows. Or shoulders. There's very few ways to make this healthy. Phones are just literally not designed to have a comfortable typing process re: cramping fingers and palms and wrists. They're designed for convenience, not carpal tunnel.

Be extremely wary of nerve flossing exercises that aren't designed for your specific issues. A lot of the Tiktok type ones are 'stretching in disguise' and can make pain worse. There's often no harm in trying them, but if the pain doesn't go away after a few days and/or gets worse, stop. I personally cultivated a curiosity atttiude. 'I'll try that for a few days and see.'

As always, professionals know more about this stuff! But make sure you're seeing hand specialists, otherwise you're likely to get more outdated information.

[willfrominternet]

Been a while since I posted here but I got a ping about this post where I talked about what I expected from Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor and their adventures with Ruby Sunday. After watching the season, I think I was right in saying the Doctor should be fun and their adventures should be fun.

This was, by all measures, a season which hearkened back to the first years of the Modern Era. It felt like watching Chris Eccleston and Billie Piper all over again. Both Chris and Ncuti played Doctors coming from great trauma and wanting to escape it, even if they did it in different ways (with Nine having to learn to rediscover love and Fifteen openly embracing it.) Both of them also had to face trauma at the end of their first season (in Chris's case, his only season): Nine dealt with the return of the Daleks, nearly losing Rose, and having to sacrifice himself just as he was starting to recover, while Fifteen had to cope with how death followed them everywhere, regardless of their longing for peace, positivity, and fun.

Ruby was very much just a normal girl like Rose, and I think her unexplained magic abilities don't take away from that. Rose also underwent a transformation in her second (and final) season, where she got locked in an alternate timeline and (sort of) became the Bad Wolf. I believe we'll therefore learn more about Ruby's abilities and see her character transform in her second season, as well as learn about Mrs. Flood and how she plays into the Doctor's timeline. (Early thoughts: River, another child of Amy and Rory, the Rani, another pre-Hartnell Doctor, a future Doctor, etc. etc. etc.)

Anyway: This season was definitely fun, but brought back the philosophical and historical bits which originally made Doctor Who at least somewhat educational and thought-provoking. I think this was what was missing from Moffatt's and Chibnall's runs on the show: It became more centered around the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey lore and less around tying the history/sci-fi to current issues. (The Capaldi era actually did this somewhat well, but I'm biased because I love Capaldi.) Here's the ranking of episodes from best to okay:

Rogue

Dot and Bubble

73 Yards

Boom

The Devil's Chord

Space Babies

The Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death

This first season did, in my opinion, feel too much like a taste of Doctor Who, or a "Season 1A." Series 7 was like this too, where we had so much left unresolved and underdeveloped after those first five episodes. (Not that the rest of Series 7 was much better, IMHO.) At least this first season for Ncuti felt a little more full, but now I'm even more excited to see what happens to the Doctor, Ruby, and whoever Varada Sethu will play in the next season. Perhaps that was the twist all along. Damn you, Russell! Damn you, Disney Plus!

Was this the finest season of the new incarnation of the show? No, but I would certainly give it a solid B. The writing was quite good, the acting was phenomenal, and the general vibe of the show definitely gave the impression that Doctor Who was back, baby. But the development did feel a bit rushed, and there were certain parts of the Doctor's character left over from previous incarnations which I thought they would have processed differently. Plus, I view other seasons of the show (Series 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10) more favorably. Call it bias, call it favoritism, call it nostalgia.

Whatever. Point is that Ncuti and Millie had a lot to prove in this semi-reboot of the show, and RTD had to show he still had his stuff, and by golly, they did it. I - as well as plenty of other long-time fans - haven't been this excited about the show in a while, despite how the season ended. And you're telling us we've gotta wait now for Christmas and then some time in the middle of 2025 for more? It's like I'm a high school fanatic raving mad in the middle of my bedroom again. What a wild feeling.

[inkher0]

How does Ticcimask work in your story? I don't know if you've talked about it before, or if you're tired of this question, I just wanted to ask due to how there are so many conflicting depictions of the ship.

Depends on what you mean? If you're referring to their ages, Origin is about Tim as a teenager. It'd be weird if it was Marble Hornets, Red Flannel Tim dating 15 year old Toby (STARES LOUDLY), but this is a prequel to MH, and they're roughly the same age. The love-hate dynamic that people associate with Ticcimask works better when they're the same age, imho, and that's always been how I've seen the ship. They're rivals to each other, rather than an adult bullying a child because he's Kind Of Annoying (and mentally disabled, which. Yikes).

In Origin, they're both obsessed with each other, but for completely different reasons, and those reasons change over the narrative as their ideologies shift.

In Tim's eyes, Toby is this captivating, all consuming flame. Toby doesn't languish over what's right and wrong, what makes him a "good boy" or a "bad boy"- he does as he pleases, and demands everyone witness it. He spits in The Operator's face and openly questions the nature of their rearing and their orders, even though that hurts his standing. Though that usually pisses him off, he can't help but find it a bit admirable. Toby is very compelling to Tim, in all aspects, and he can't help but want him around even though he finds him so antagonistic. Toby understands Tim's anger at the world, and- most importantly- he validates it through his actions and reactions. At the same time, though, he challenges Tim intellectually, which very few people do. Kate tells him "don't do bad things", but Toby asks him "why?"

When it comes to how Toby sees Tim... I fear saying too much. I kind of want it to be something you interpret yourself. But I'll say that for however intense Tim views Toby, Toby views Tim three times as intensely. Like, don't ever read Toby's mind when he's thinking about Tim, you will feel compelled to Call Someone (therapist, doctor, a priest, or all three). It's very hard to describe how Toby sees Tim without using some very heavy-handed biblical imagery, because from the start, Toby has seen Tim through the lens of believing The Operator is God. You can infer from there how he might see Tim- sometimes as a messiah, sometimes as Satan, and sometimes as both simultaneously. He wants to be close to that light, but he knows in his gut that there's something deeply Wrong about it.

Despite how they are obviously Aware of each other's dangerous faults and how badly things could go, they still choose to rely on each other. Simply because that, despite everything I said above, they get along horrifically well. When they agree on something, that thing is done with brutal efficiency. They are The Operator's Boys, and they're both his Best of The Best. They complete each other in the worst possible way- they're dangerous for each other, but deadly for everyone else. If things go according to The Operator's plan, they will be exactly as Toby fantasizes: Literal Kings, sitting atop a throne of bodies and ruling the humans on Earth like apex predators.

The thing is... is that really what they want? And are they willing to do what it takes to achieve that?

[wiredust]

like why do i kinda wanna write an au where the doctor solves a case with the dbda .. something something edwin and charles are on a case that on the surface looks supernatural, but isn't really. cue them bumping into the doctor in the middle of investigating, and it turns out whatever supernatural threat it is is an alien of some kind idk.

imho .. the best pairing would be the dbda with 12 and clara. don't ask me why (the codependency parallels)

[absolutebl]

Heyo! I have a friend I'm trying to get more into BL. She's watched KinnPorsche and I recently got her to watch 3 Will Be Free (I know, not BL). She's somewhat picky about the romance she likes to consume, so I thought I'd ask you which BLs you think would be best to get her started with the genre. Her specifications are 1) a good, solid plot (any type is fine); 2) slow burn; 3) and good chemistry. She also loves sci fi and fantasy. My initial thoughts are MoD, Not Me, and AToTS. Any additions?

BLs with: 1 Good Story, 2 Slow Burn, 3 Good Chemistry, 4 PNR elements if possible

I have not one specific list for you, but several! Many of these not updated so likely to recommend pre the 2023 madness. (Imma rag on some of your choices briefly: KP & MoD only satisfy one criteria - chemistry IMHO.

I did give you a final list of winners at the bottom tho!

1) BLs with the best stories:

2) BLs with best slow burn:

3) BLs with the best chemistry:

(by my definition)

4) PNR BLs (paranormal, sci-fi, or fantastical elements)

P'ABL did the math:

BLs that do or should show up on most of those lists:

Dear Doctor I’m Coming for Soul (Thailand) - the first one I thought of that satisfies all criteria. Good story, great chemistry, PNR & slow burn. By your friend's accounting, this should be the perfect BL. I'm a fan of this show and I have a full review here BUT I don't actually rec it often. Why? My quibble with DDICFS is that for dyed-in-the-wool BL or romance fans the ending may not satisfy, BUT that seems to be the one thing your friend is NOT - so this should be perfect.

Triage (Thailand) - good chemistry, frustratingly slow burn, def PNR, and good story. This was my second pull. It suffered at the time of airing from distribution issues and (perhaps more sadly) being up against KP. It's really good tho. A “correct the past” Groundhog Day plot, that has narrative baggage I normally do not like but is so clever about time loops, I have to forgive it my hang-ups. About a doctor who must save a boy to fix reality, but not in the usual way. 

Until We Meet Again (Thailand) - GREAT story, decent chemistry, very PNR, but not slow burn. It’s a perfectly executed fated mates reincarnation plot, fantastic well-seeded twists & reveals, and the only BL I would love to see adapted by other countries or read professionally translated. 

Old Fashion Cupcake (Japan) - slow burn, great story & chemistry, no PNR. This is a deceptively simple office romance that actually has a lot to say about life, love, maturity, and pancakes. It’s charming but also deeply moving and loving in its exploration of what it means to give up, and how connection can bring with it second chances. It’s also beautifully filmed and acted. 

Seven Days (Japan) - slow burn, great romance plot, good chemistry, no PNR. This is a pitch perfect elegant little YA romance that stays completely true to its yaoi roots but neatly avoids all the flaws of the genre. The story is deceptively simple but allows for angst and miscommunication to develop with VERY good reason, and is almost worth studying because of that. As a romance, it is elegant. I can see why it got stolen adapted.

1000 Stars (Thailand) - solid romance, very slow burn, okay chemistry, no PNR. All BL is romantic, but not all BL is a modern romance in the literary sense of the term, but 1k* is just that, an absolutely glorious slow burn gay romance that nods at BL but isn’t behooven to it. It’s just a really well executed linear romance story.

HIStory 3: Trapped (Taiwan 2019 Viki) - not PNR and maybe not exactly slow burn but aces everything else. (This was MY KP when it aired.) Taiwan often struggles with story because their BLs aren’t always long enough to really get stuck in, Trapped is different. It has a baby murder investigation that promotes conflict between the leads, so the romantic tension is between plot and character, it’s so smart. The leads did a GREAT job of showcasing mature chemistry. The side dishes in this series are wonderful too. The main couple has an amorphous ending, but like with Dear Doctor, that shouldn't rank under these specific circumstances.

My School President (Thai 2023 YouTube) - great chemistry, very slow burn, okay story, no PNR BUT you have to like YA. I know not everyone does. This is very youthful. GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Yes, we’ve seen it all before, but I still ADORE this. And there is a lot to be said for the classics being executed perfectly. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? Possibly too slow burn for some, we wait many eps for that pay out, and Tin's pining is NOT quiet, but it defines dorky and earnest, so when the payout comes? Lovely.

About Youth (Taiwan 2022 Gaga) - exactly the same criteria as MSP just Taiwan's version. A truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with a classic YA low drama but high angst and an earnest depth. I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. A weak seme/uke dynamic but tons of BL tropes (both rare in a high school setting but common for Taiwan) makes this one feel both sweet and colored by an almost real world queer authenticity and grit. Full review here.

See You After Quarantine? (Taiwan 2021 Viki) - it's short there isn't a ton of story development, but it's a nice nugget introduction to Taiwan's style. Great chemistry, def slow burn, and CUTE. This under-appreciated gem is Taiwan’s answer to Gameboys and is just as charming and adorable yet still quintessentially Taiwanese. It features a Japanese love interest and the cutest most confused disaster gay. Slow burn because the two have almost no actual screen time together and yet manage some truly amazing chemistry. How does Taiwan do it?

Why no KBL?

Fascinating but despite the fact that KBL tends to earn the highest ratings from me and occupies the most slots in my 10/10 BLs of all time, because they are so short they tend to fall... erm... short in the arena of story and slow burn. Also, until recently, not a lot of great chemistry.

So here are a few others I considered but ended up eliminating for not containing enough of your required elements:

He's Coming to Me (Thailand) - review here

Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korea) - this has a 12th Night meet Cinderfella feel to it, plus some great story tricks like a plot that requires a historical setting (I love it when narrative elements are codependent). 

Our Dining Table - It’s a quiet & cozy little parable of found family alleviating loneliness. Possibly too slow for some but definitely high up there for me with the best of what Japan can do, it’s only flaw (if I dare say such a thing) is that it is not really “romantic.” Lovely & sweet but the romance beats are being used to build a family relationship, not just couple intimacy, it’s OK with me, but not totally BL.

DNA Says Love You (Taiwan) - full review here

Ghost Host Ghost House - if your friend likes horror and culture immersion this might be a winner. Boys shack up with ghosts and each other. The story is weak but everything else is on point and it has some of the best slow burn HOT chemistry ever to hit our screens. No... really. The THIRST is real.

Semantic Error (2022 Viki) - Simple story, no PNR, not slow burn, but for Korea it’s some of the best chemistry the traditional studios have ever managed. It is flawless BL. Truly, perfection for the genre. If your friend doesn't like this, BL is probubly not the right genre. Full review. 

Light on Me - def slow burn but story is a little weak and while there is chemistry, it's not really acted upon. Also v YA and a little stiff. I love this BL unreasonably.

KP not tagged to protect me from the fandom. Don't troll me and prove my point. Remember I can has ban hammer and am not afraid to use it.

(source)

[trillscienceofficer]

Icheb's whole speech at the of "Imperfection” is wild because on one hand he's not wrong, Seven would literally rather die than admit that she needs to rely on other people for survival (issue she will continue to have twenty years later), but on the other hand there is imho a scene in that episode where she is relying on someone's help and opinion, even if it's just a momentary respite from her troubles. It's wild that the scene in Engineering between Seven and B'Elanna exists at all; it's the one moment where Seven isn't pushing people away, and it feels kinda odd in conjunction to the “thesis” of the episode. I suppose it makes sense that in a fraught situation where Seven is staring at her own mortality from a close distance she would find it easier to strike a conversation with someone who she knows doesn't like her very much, rather than with the people who are fretting over her nonstop. But also, I don't know. It's a strange glimpse into an alternate universe where Seven's story isn't necessarily revolving around what Janeway and the Doctor think it's best for her. Obviously not the only glimpse—I've come to appreciate every interaction Seven has with Chakotay over the course of the show for the same reason as well. I still don't like "Imperfection” very much anyway (I think it tries too hard to be a tearjerker), but I suppose at least it gave me that one nice moment of connection between least favorite coworkers™ (affectionate rather than derogatory this time). Definitely will not stop considering this alternate universe where B'Elanna is one of the very few people Seven relies on even just to have a chat from time to time

[assless-chapstick]

BABY JOHN HEADCANONS

not like baby baby but like he's MY baby yk? my babygirl as a baby before he was babygirl when he was a little baby boy

• When the gang gets John - cuz let's be real, they get him the way one gets a puppy or a case of smallpox - he's fresh off that attempted hanging. It was more of a lynching than anything, an impromptu eye-for-an-eye killing after John shot a feller with his own god damned gun. What made a twelve year old mad enough, scared enough to kill, and how'd he manage to grab the guys gun? Kid won't say

• kid won't say much of anything, really. The gang had a disgraced doctor running with them at the time, a guy so hooked on his own cures and tinctures you wouldn't trust him to diagnose a hole in the head, and he said the noose had crushed John's larynx. Sure, the boy can still talk, but it ain't ever gonna sound the same and for the first lil while it'll be hard as hell, but he should be able to. So why don't he?

Doc says maybe the lynching, lack of oxygen to the brain made him go daft cuz just look at him, ain't a thought behind those eyes.

But Dutch, he has faith, he knows.

I think just the fear and trauma after the incident sent John to a pretty rough place and he went nonverbal for a space of six or nine months. Not right after, maybe, but in the following days and weeks - enough they got a name out of him, an age (he said 12 but he's got the stature of an eight year old, not nearly enough meat on his bones), a little bit of a story. "Where's your daddy, boy?" Dead. "And yer mama?" Dead.

• John was always told his ma was a lady of the night, knocked up on accident and dead in childbirth. He came out with the cord around his neck and his ma bled out before they could even untangle him.

There'd been a picture, though he'd never had the courage to ask his father about it, drunk and angry as he was. A young woman with round features and hooded eyes, long dark hair parted in the center and braided, his father's hand resting gently on her shoulder, both posed like a portrait.

(john is métis/mixed indigenous and you can pry that headcanon from my cold dead fuckin hands)

• in the winter john is so small and skinny he gets too cold at night and Arthur begrudgingly is like "FINE you can share with me" and so they share a bed until John is like 16 fjjfbfbf way too old to be sharing but imho John is a bit of a late bloomer and sort of, not a mamas boy but just kind of a baby yk?? Arthur is like "dontcha think it's time you got your own tent or something?" and John's like "No." and just walks away and Arthur is like "AT LEAST YER OWN COT??"

• john is reptilian in his search for heat he just wants to be warm ever since they got him he's crawled into Arthur's jacket whatever chance he gets

• during that first year especially, John was clingy and strange.... after a particularly terrible bathing experience (Susan is great but she's fastidious about personal hygiene and if water goes above John's navel he starts to freak) Arthur is just posted up by the fire with John sat between his knees, tucked into his jacket as they sit in silence mutually brooding... and John reaches up to rub the stubble on Arthur's jawline as a way of like, stimming n self soothing and Arthur would stop him cuz it's weird but he feels those boney little shoulders loosen and John says something, and he never says Anything so Arthur knows it's a big deal... so he just let's John keep doing it after that

• Susan is highly against taking in a child when they first bring John around - maybe because she thinks the main childcare duties will fall to her, or because she doesn't trust the gang to be a safe place for a kid - and this manifests as a little bit of short-temperedness towards him. it's not unusual, she's kind of a Bitch on the best days, but she's cold towards him at first... and I don't think anything Happens, per sé, no big event, just over time she sees he's a damaged boy in need of mothering and that's a part of herself she tried to kill a long time ago... but he brings it out of her. She nags him to cut his hair but brushes it out for him anyway; she'll share an apple with John if no one's looking, peeling it and quartering it and sneaking him a piece. She'll complain about the food - "God this stew is terrible what's in it? Rat meat? Here John, you finish it" - because sometimes good food is scarce and he's a growing boy and she sees his hungry frame, remembers how he used to steal and hoard food in the early days. They almost always have enough but she wants him to have more than enough. She reads to him, and then when he's learned to she gets him to read to her. A damp cloth on the forehead when he's laid low with fever, maybe a soft lullaby if she thinks no one's around...

• at age 12 John has a smoking habit. I don't know if this is unusual for the era or not and I dont know what the gang thinks of it but the kid loves his tobacco

• in fact John rolls his own cigarettes and, when he's young, that's primarily how he earns his keep - those tiny little kid's hands did a great job and he ends up getting the chore foisted on to him from everyone fndbbdf ( prerolled cigarettes had been invented only 7 years prior)

• at agw john also unfortunately loves to drink. I don't know if this was unusual for the era but I'm sure Hosea and Susan and even Dutch had something to say about it

and I think that's all I got in my head for now fellers.... thanks for reading mister....

[multicolour-ink]

As a consequence of recent discussions about Mario, I have since firmly convinced myself that Mario got a medical degree purely because someone told him they can't imagine him as a doctor. He'll admit in hindsight that this is a silly reason to go through the trouble of earning a medical degree but also believes he's learned plenty of useful medical information about the various species of the Mushroom World this way and can jump in if he ever finds himself in a scenario where one needs a doctor in a pinch.

I can definitely see Mario taking up a profession just to spite anyone who said he can't 🤭.

But imho I think it would also depend which version of Mario we are referring to.

Game Mario would likely just take up the profession for fun. He's a chipper guy who loves learning and experiencing new things. I don't think he would even consider if this would impress others.

Movie Mario on the other hand, despite trying his best, I think he would only manage to do a First Aid course - because he and Luigi studying plumbing and then trying to build the business would have taken up a lot of time. Plus, just based on what he says to Luigi ("I'm sick of being made to feel so small") he likely would not be treated so bad if he already had a medical degree.

Plus, I feel like Spike would not be as much of a bully to him, because he would have already seen Mario's degree on his job application.

[princesssarisa]

Once again, my attention turns to small, nitpicky details of staging in opera – namely, the question in La Bohéme of why Rodolfo doesn't see Mimí die. Nearly every production makes the moment of her death clear to the audience by having her hand fall limply to the side of the bed. It's easy enough for Marcello, Musetta, and Schaunard not to notice this, since they're busy heating up the medicine Marcello bought. But why Rodolfo doesn't notice varies between different tenors and different stagings.

Because I'm a romantic sap, I'll admit that my favorite is when he just happens to turn away a moment too soon. He stays by her side throughout her last words, and very briefly breaks into tears when the score calls for it, but then pulls himself together and goes back to watching over her, tucking the blanket more snugly around her, stroking her hair, and maybe giving her a gentle kiss as she dozes off. But then he turns to ask Marcello what the doctor said, and in that instant he misses the moment of her death. Luciano Pavarotti always played it this way; so did David Hobson in the Baz Luhrmann staging, and Ramón Vargas in the 2008 Met Simulcast, among others. This particular staging is, IMHO, the most redemptive for Rodolfo. Even though he pushed Mimí away in the months prior, at her deathbed he finally matures, and gives her his full attention and all the love and care she needs. The fact that he misses her final moment is just a fluke that he can't be blamed for.

Then there's a less sentimental option, which my heart doesn't like very much because it gives us a more self-absorbed Rodolfo, but which my head says is more powerful. In this version, when Rodolfo breaks down in tears, he leaves Mimí's bedside and goes to another part of the room, where he stands or sits alone with his back to everyone until he regains composure, and this is why he misses her death. In the famous 1982 Met telecast, José Carreras runs from the bedside, leaving Teresa Stratas's Mimí to pitifully raise her head and reach out her hand to call him back, only to expire before she can. Now, I know I shouldn't judge Rodolfo too harshly for this... men and emotion, after all... but it's like a final encapsulation of the ways he always failed her. He abandoned her because he couldn't bear to watch her slowly dying, and now, though he comes through and cares for her throughout most of her death scene, at the very end he once again "can't bear it" and walks away, too absorbed in his own grief to be fully there for her.

A third option falls in between the first two. Rodolfo doesn't leave Mimí's side, but once he breaks down crying he can't stop, and as he kneels sobbing into his hands, or into the side of the bed, or as he sits with his back to Mimí as he tries to regain composure, he fails to see her die. Gianni Raimondi in the 1965 studio film does the "sobbing into the side of the bed" variant; Rolando Villazón in the 2009 Robert Dornhelm film does the "sitting with his back turned" variant. At least in this staging, Mimí has the comfort of his presence beside her, but he still gets lost in his own grief, distracting him from her.

Of course, there's technically no reason why he has to miss the moment of her death – he just can't realize what's happened. The libretto doesn't call for Mimí's hand to fall to the side of the bed, that's just a tradition. It would be easy for her to lie in a slightly different position so that the bed supports her arms, and to just appear to drop off to sleep, as she did earlier in the same scene. This way, Rodolfo can be fully there for her and focus on her to the very end, just not realizing right away that she won't wake up again. This is what the libretto's original stage directions seem to imply.

These are small differences, but they each have a very different impact, or at least I think so.

[thealogie]

Martha was one of the best written companions imho. And dare I say I actually liked her better than Rose. If I were to make a list (excluding the classic DW era) I'd put Donna first, then Martha, Rose, (Clara, and Amy... but you still haven't watched those seasons yet so we are waiting for you girl).

Martha’s the character I find most interesting but…just last night I was trying to mentally rank the companions so far and I literally just cannot do it. Every time I went to rank one first I felt like I was betraying the other two. The doctor would agree. he’d be like I love all three of my best friends equally: rose, donna and *checks smudged writing on hand* margle

[aemoglobin]

isekai recs part one

My roomie asked for isekai recommendations so here is a list of my faves, with the disclaimer that just because i like it doesn't mean it's good but also i have exquisite taste so i think you should trust me <3

I like slow life & food-centric series so this list features a lot of those! i tried to include ones i think are still 'popular' but i'm not generally into 'popular' isekai so ymmv.

These are all licensed in English (unless otherwise noted) and a fair few of them also have an anime series but I do not keep track of those, so this is for manga/light novel only. Links lead to Mangadex!

From Far Away (manga; het; THEEEEE BEST ISEKAI EVER, IMHO, i love it please read it (illegally because Viz won't reprint it))

Log Horizon (manga/anime/ln; a huge fave of mine)

By the Grace of the Gods (mc has fairly unique skill set)

The Savior's Book Cafe in Another World (adult leads; het)

The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent (manga/ln; adult leads; het. fl has a fun skill set)

Otherside Picnic (slightly more portal fantasy than true isekai; GL; i like the light novel more than the anime and manga)

That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime (can vouch for s1 of the anime)

Grand Dwarf (unlicensed; adult mc; unique job/skill)

Isekai Izakaya 'Nobu' (leans toward portal fantasy, features food!)

THE ISEKAI DOCTOR (unlicensed; doctor mc)

Campfire Cooking in Another World (light novel/manga; adult mc; features food. another fave because i love pathetic men)

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (manga; yes it's by CLAMP and yes it's still good)

Welcome to Japan, Ms Elf! (manga; het; i started reading this one recently and i love the magic system)

The Mochi I Drew Is Tasty Today, Too (unlicensed; unique skill set)

A Gentle Noble's Vacation Suggestion (manga/anime announced; bro it's platonic i swear :eyeroll: they're gay your honor)

Reincarnated As A Sword (manga; what it says on the tin!!)

Forsaken Saintess & Foodie Roadtrip (unlicensed; adult mc; features food)

Gensou Gourmet (unlicensed; complete; het; features food; really fun worldbuilding!)

Purification is Basic! (unlicensed; overpowered mc & slow life)

Handyman Saitou in Another World! (manga; i Think this one is het but i did not finish it, so idk; mc with a unique job)

[eighthdoctor]

hello! so I've been following you probably since I got on here in 2013, but I've somehow managed to never really get into the EU (I mean, I did lose interest in dw in like 2015). now I'm finally going to be getting into it, but there's so much. any recs/any to absolutely avoid? I have looked through your blog but there's also a lot.

I'm pretty much interested in absolutely everything lol. and if you don't have the time or whatever, is there anyone else I could ask? thanks 💜 (I also have a decent list (hopefully) from someone on reddit for the VNAs, VMAs, & EDAs, and was looking at your propaganda for a lot of books in the poll. haven't gotten to the audios yet in my list)

-cracks knuckles-

Here is my #1 advice for the DW EU: Pick something that makes you nutty. Focus on that first.

As you have already noticed, there is so much and you will get so overwhelmed. The EU started right at the beginning and has grown exponentially without pause. So which doctor are you most interested in? What sort of story makes your brain vibrate? Do you want more fucked up time travel? More weird aliens? Romance? Porn??? DEEPLY fucked up torture?? Extensive worldbuilding? Canon welding?

For Eight: The audio onboarding points are either Storm Warning (Charley, Main Range) or Blood of the Daleks (Lucie, Eighth Doctor Adventures--which I tend to abbreviate NEDAs to avoid confusion with the books). In theory Dark Eyes was supposed to be another entry point but it hits so much harder if you come from Lucie/the NEDAs.

The best EDA to start with is Vampire Science. In theory this is #2, however #1 is The Eight Doctors which is just bad. All you miss is that Sam sneaks onto the TARDIS while running away from drug dealers who she was trying to snitch on to the police. Start with Vampire Science instead.

For non-Eight: Because everyone else has actual TV runs, their EU is much more fragmentary. All Eight by default takes place between the TV Movie and Rose, whereas, say, Seven's stuff could happen in between (or during) any given serial or after Survival.

The upshot to this is that you tend to be able to pick and choose more readily; there's some EDAs that make no goddamn sense (...end of sentence) without the books before them, but that (imho) doesn't tend to be true to the same extent for other Doctors.

That being said there is a Five/Six/Seven audio arc that I haven't listened to all of, but there's a list of those here.

Does that help?