#about the doctor leading missy slowly to her death by making her a better person. which. that part they’re right about. if not for the

[quietwingsinthesky]

and of course essential to me in thinking about this that past!even gravitates towards missy and the doctor and future!even gravitates towards saxon. for a bit, anyway.

[celestialorcas]

and heres my reasonings (SPOILERS for a lot of the show, ESPECIALLY 12) Its.....long Narrator/9 - ehhhh...this was just vibes The Hero/15 - Ok also a bit vibes cause we havent seen much of him yet but he seems like a good voice of reason, done some healing thanks to 14 and is ready to go in with an open mind The Skeptic/1 - I may be off here cause I've not seen much of 1 but at least early on he does seem to be a bit skeptical and cautious about thing, oh especially in The Daleks, I could go on but this is already gonna be long-

The Opportunist/14 - Just...Wild Blue Yonder, I don't know if i'm alone here but watching that episode i can see that being the opportunist, also in The Giggle, talking to the Toymaker about going off together, very compromisey

The Stubborn/10 - Do I need to explain?

The Contrarian/13 - Of all of the doctors (that ive watched a bunch) she seems more the type to go "AND THEN WE THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW AHA!" and later go "ahhh shit" (ok yea vibes again)

The Hunted/11 - The Strategic nature is ofc a constant across the doctors, but his performance in Time of Angels sells it to me, "There's always a way out" when cornered by the angels, whole episode was surviving

The Cold/Fugitive - Seems very cold and harsh to me, i mean just left Karvanista behind y'know, love her but she's cold

The Cheated/12 - OK HERE WE GO....

Throughout twelves entire run he's always got a constant of cheating, his life begins because 11 cheated the system with the help of the Time Lords and got more regenerations, this leaves him with a struggle of someone who waited for death but found themselves alive unexpectedly, leading him down a whole arc of wondering if hes a good man. Series 9 is where it really takes form though, Ashildr/Me, he remembers back to Pompeii and has a huge speech about how he saves people and even though he feels cheated by the universe for having her die despite saving the village, he doesnt care and makes her immortal, kind of out of spite "And if anyone happens to be listening, and you've got any kind of a problem with that, to hell with you!" (The Doctor, The Girl Who Died). He was cheated by the universe, so he cheats right back, and it perfectly leads onto the next example. Clara. Face The Raven, Clara dies (rip) by something kinda small, just a simple mistake, a lapse in judgment from Clara during her self destructive 'i wanna be like the doctor' rampage. He can't believe something so small would take away this person he deeply loves (they were in love yea im a 12/Clara shipper, sue me [although Twissy ontop]) He. Feels. Cheated. And if that wasnt enough, 12 finds out it was all a plot by the time lords to get information out of him (not clara dying specifically but if they hadnt done this, she would be alive), so how does he respond? SPENDS 4.5 BILLION YEARS PUNCHING A WALL, just so he doesnt give the people who took Clara away ANYTHING, he cheats his way out of the system, rocks up at their doorstep and becomes President of Gallifrey in record time, all to 'fix' their mistake and try to bring her back, but cheating doesnt always win, Clara can't stay alive after being extracted, and so they have to play a game of chance to see who will forget the other, and he loses...

Cut to series 10 now wooohoo (12 is my fav can yall tell-) Theres a few things throughout, like the monks and his eyesight but nothing too concrete for me to write about until, World Enough and Time, The Doctor Falls, and Twice Upon a Time.

WOAT/TDF: Also not a huuuge amount, but like, cheated by time itself and missing Bill by a tiny amount of time "Ten years you spent up there, chatting. You missed her by two hours" (The Master, The Doctor Falls), and then the ending with wanting Missy to stand with him, his friend (and lover......O.o????) who he'd been slowly teaching to be better, and she says no, seemingly recorrected by her past self (yea shes lying to get Simm out of the way but the doctor doesnt know that, nor does he get to know!!!!) End the battle, dead, thinking Missy left him. Cheated.

And then end of TDF and Twice Upon a Time: He's ready to give in, after over 2000 years (not counting the confession dial) this run has taken in out of him, it takes his old self being ready to face regeneration head on, the returning of his memories of Clara, a heart to heart with Bill and Nardole, and the TARDIS talking him down, before he considers regenerating again. This man was born from cheating, and constantly was met by it throughout his time, after all he went through finally allowing himself to move on and stay alive, letting go of the past, Doctor I let you go...

The Princess/River - COME ON!! Not even the fact that shes the love interest in some runs, but also just how intertwined the doctor and river are, and how River is moulded to be different people and do things she doesnt want to do by Madame Kovarian, manipulative, deceptive, loving, scared, smart, they are the same person i stg.

Ok...that was a lot, if anyone actually read this far, thank you! get help <3 and im curious if anyone has any other thoughts about who fits who.

Slay The Princess/Doctor Who

OK- So here me out, i had an idea and thought "hmm, wonder if i can match some of the doctors to the character and voices in slay the princess and i think i popped off (not all doctors are here, nor are all the voices cause some just dont fit) let me know what yall think, and what youd change!

[mystery-redacted]

The Halloween fright

It’s Halloween and in tradition, Cole and all his creature friends go to the annual Halloween festival in the Creature district. But How will they feel when Cole invites a new person to join them? And wow, they sure upped the Haunted House this year.

Word count: 4963

Warnings: Contains mentions of Character Death, trauma, flashbacks and panic attacks

This happened every year. Cole chuckled, getting his costume together.

Each and every year, everyone gathered and went to the local Halloween festival in the Creature district. Roxie always told him it was because he always helped with the funding and so, he should at least be present for it. Bull.... Shit. He knew she just wanted an excuse to dress up and go with her brother. And who was he to say no? He found it good to hang out together without work or the high expectations.

So he put the final touches to his costume. He put his pumpkin mask on with it's little crown, a fluffy jacket and boots with heels. Go big or go home. He was the Pumpkin king, the king of Halloween and his mask even lit up!

He breathed in, straightening everything out before heading out. He lived in the Human district and so was walking against the crowd, all of them going to the other one, chatting happily. He sighed, Yes the human was bigger and fancier but..... If the creatures and humans did it together.... Even this little festival could be huge and magical.

His first stop was to Mike and Cammy's, since they were on the edge of the Human district since they were a couple.

They had all decided to walk, “It's be more fun!” Roxie had said, Alex humming in agreement. And no one was about to say no to Roxie or Alex. It took him a few minutes but soon he was there.

The apartment building was...... in a state of disrepair. It didn't look great, but considering it was on the edge, it wasn't that surprising. This building and its residents got a lot of hate from both sides. This was the place you went when most wouldn't accept you, he sighed. Cole was glad he had the mask, he wouldn't have to hold a smile in place, it got tiring after a while.

He pushed the buzzer and heard giggling from the other side. He chuckled, Cammy was definitely in the Halloween spirit, like he was each and every year.

“Boo!” The door swung open and there was a very happy Cammy, wearing a halo and angel wings, his whole outfit was white and very fluffy.

Cole chuckled “Won't you bow down to your pumpkin king?”

Cammy gasped, walking around him and looking at his costume “It is very nice on you Pumpkin King?” He bowed before giggling again and hugging him close.

Cole felt slightly awkward but gave him a few pats on the back, he still wasn't use to open affection.

“So where's the mate eh?” He asked

“Maybe you're just too tall to see him.” A robotic voice replied.

As soon as Cole turned his head down to him, he burst out laughing which angered the ant creature

“What are you laughing at?” The voice dead panned while Mike hit him lightly

Cole took a few minutes before replying “I just. Pffft.. I wasn't expecting such....Snrrk... Such a wonderful costume!”

It seemed Mike and Cammy teamed up on costumes this year, since Mike was wearing devil horns, had a devil tail and his whole costume was red. What Cole found so funny was that Mike was bald and 4ft10 next to his 5ft6 lover. Which made a hilarious contrast.

“You can stop laughing any time now.” His translator supplied.

Cole put his hand up in fake surrender “I apologise, you two are cute together!”

Cammy blushed and Mike clicked and chirped, Aww, Cole had embarrassed them.

Cole chuckled “Come on, We still got people to pick up! You two are only the first!” And with that, they started making their way to Roxie and Riley's. Cammy and Mike chatting away happily behind him.

Now they entered the main area of the Creature district, the flow of humans had stopped and more colourful creatures were out, all in costumes, most going to the festival. They smiled and waved, though most looked weirdly at Cole and Cammy, more so Cammy then Cole himself since Cole was mostly hidden by his costume.

They came to a nice little house in the centre and knocked on the door and who greeted them was a white sheet with two eye holes

“Booooo~” Riley said slowly before chuckling deeply

Cole rolled his eyes under his mask “Really Begonia? This is your costume?”

Riley chuckled “Bringing out the creature names, not sure if I should be honoured or insulted. A royal faux pas on my end!”

That was lead by a chorus of groans. Cole still didn't get what his sister saw in Begonia.

Roxie soon appeared in a pirate outfit, with Annie and Max “I thought we agreed on a pirate theme?”

Riley chuckled, taking off the sheet that hid his actual costume, a pirate one like the others and taking a hold of the shy Max, who was a lizard creature like his mother “Argh, you have me little missy, my plan did have a lot of.... holes in it”

And another chorus of groans. Including his daughter who was a butterfly creature like her dad, her wings fluttering.

Cole sighed “Can we go before I actually dip out because of your husbands awful puns?”

That's when he got two chorus of “Uncle Cole!” and two grabby hands towards him.

Cole chuckled, he did love his niece and nephew and ruffled their hair “Hi you two, have you been good to your momma?”

They both nodded excitedly with big smiles and Cole chuckled “If you two are good for the rest of the night, I'll be sure to get you something special~”

Roxie immediately hit his arm “Don't bribe my children!”

Cole chuckled “Isn't that my job as uncle? I'm pretty sure it is!”

Roxie rolled her eyes and started moving “Let's go before you get yourself in debt with my kids”

Cole chuckled, happily following her and chatting “So how have things been?”

Roxie snorted “I'm sure you saw me yesterday Cole.”

The Pumpkin King smiled under his mask “Well that can change easily, Do I need to get some itching powder on your husband again?”

Roxie raised an eyebrow “So that was you?”

Cole whitened a little, ah,  right, she didn't know that. Time to back pedal “I was just bringing up a suggestion” He shrugged

The pirate rolled her eyes “No, everything been fine. What is with you two?”

Cole didn't really want to answer, but luckily Alain's house wasn't far from Roxie's

The human pointed it out “Look it's Alain's place! Better get going!” And he rushed off

“Hey! You haven't gotten out of this Cole Inokke!” She shouted after him.

Alain's house was nice, nicely painted much like Roxie's, he was a doctor and even if he was a creature, that still got some nice things. He knocked on the blue door and heard a “Just a moment!”

Everyone had caught up to him when Alain opened the door. His face was painted green with black spots and what looked like part of his jaw missing, all his clothes were ripped and torn and he was even wearing contacts that make his eyes white. He was a zombie.

“Oh. Cole you don't have to worry about him eating you then. He only eats brains” A voice dead panned. Fucking Mike.

Everyone burst into laughter, even Roxie and Alain. Betrayal of the highest order! But he guessed this was revenge for his earlier laughing.

“Har dy har! A-holes! Just remember who writes your checks!” Cole responded after a good minute of them laughing.

There was a time where they would have stopped laughing then and looked down, apologising and avoiding eye contact. But they knew him better now, and so

“Yeah! Roxie does! which is why we're laughing!” Alain replied still chuckling. And another round of laughter started.

Cole turned and started walking, the chuckling followed before Roxie called out “Hey! Don't go! Come on, we'll stop!”

Cole chuckled and turned around, folding his arm and looking at the group. All of them smiling widely. He felt a smile cross his face, he loved seeing them happy.

Alain walked over and grabbed his shoulder “Come on, let's go to Alex's and then to the festival.”

Cole felt his smile drop, he realised he might have forgotten to tell them, he clicked his tongue and went “Ah.”

The creatures and human looked at each other, they knew that meant Cole hadn't told them something. But none of them could think of what that might be. Riley bit the bullet

“Ah?” He said, unsure

“Ah.” Cole repeated “So..... How does everyone feel about having another person with us?”

He was so happy for the mask, he felt the nervous smile cross his face and felt like he was sweating bullets. He had fucking forgot to tell them, fuck.

The creatures blinked and then chirps and chittering filled the air. Cole couldn't keep up with the conversation since they were talking so quickly.

Roxie coughed “Er.....Who is this extra person Cole?” She was nervous. None of them knew who Cole would be talking about

And Cole shuffling on the spot was not helping “Well.....” He started, looking at his feet. Everyone was starting to get on edge, Cole doesn't get nervous easily.

“....I invited Dane?” He finished, looking up at all of them. All of them were staring back blankly.

“Dane?” Roxie repeated “Part of the terrorist group C.H.R.A. Dane? Muscular bird Dane?”

And of course Cole did, what Cole does best when nervous, he rambles

“He's not part of C.H.R.A. any more and he seemed lonely and he helped us so much. He practically saved my life and I thought well, that you wouldn't mind and he said he hasn't been out celebrating since before the war and he seemed like-” Two hands went onto his shoulders stopping him.

“Cole, breathe, a deep breath” Cole followed Alain's instructions until he was back to normal

Alain smiled, stepping back “I'm alright with Dane joining if everyone else is.”

Mike nodded “He did help us out and who am I to say no.” Cammy agreed “The more the merrier!”

Roxie seemed nervous but sighed “If you think he's fine then..... He can come. He come near my kids though and he goes home!”

Cole nodded and breathed in. Riley hummed “Fine with me, I'll keep an eye on him”

Cole was happy that they were all okay with this. He breathed in again “He does live in the.... shadier part so.... Meet up at Alex's?”

They all hummed, and chattered a bit in Creature dialect before nodding again with Alain stepping forwards

“I'll join you.” He nodded.

Cole looked at them all and knew, he wasn't going to win that argument. They were all still a bit nervous around him. So he nodded and they went.

The bird creature was following behind him in silence. A Pumpkin king being followed by a zombie. The houses started getting harsher, dirtier and the creatures were thinning out. It put him slightly on edge. A human so deep into the Creature District. Even though he was for equality for creatures, he knew some still hated him because he was the very thing that oppressed them. He was human.

“Why did you invite him?”

The question snapped him out of his thoughts, looking at Alain

Alain was staring at him “I mean, he did help us yes. But...” Alain then broke eye contact “He seems dangerous. I know your position with creatures but still. We should be cautious.”

Cole hummed, he understood where Alain was coming from. This was a bird creature that had worked for C.H.R.A. For years, who had fought and killed humans for years but....

“....He really thought he was doing better. He understood where they stood when they tried to kill me. Because, I might be human but I'm doing good work. And..... Well...” He blushed under his mask

He could feel Alain staring at him, burning through the mask. Then there was laughing and a light bump

“Oh! Oh ho ho! Does Cole have a crush? Does he have a crush of the big bad bird?” He said teasingly

Cole felt his blush darken, he was so glad he was wearing the pumpkin mask. Yes, he found the bird creature attractive with his dark feathers and light blue eyes, his light cooing and strong muscular chest.

He raised his head and spotted Dane's house, it was run down with bordered windows. But heck, he'd take a white van to get out of the teasing. He went quickly and knocked on the door.

There was a grunt from inside and he could feel Alain shuffling behind him, looking around. This neighbourhood was giving him the creeps. This was where Halloween lived 24/7

The door opened slowly to reveal a dark cloak with a scythe. Alain immediately put an arm in front of Cole as he pulled the hood down revealing Dane.

He chuckled nervously “Er..... Too much?” He leaned on the scythe, giving a tilted smile

Cole felt his blush coming back full force before chuckling “Well, it fits! We got a zombie, pirates, a devil, an angel, death and of course the great Pumpkin king!” He spread his arms wide

Dane hummed “And what a handsome king you make”

Cole almost choked and quickly grabbed his sleeve “Come on! We're meeting everyone at Alex's, eating some cake and then going to the festival and getting stomach aches from overdosing on sugar”

Dane chuckled, letting himself be dragged even though they both knew he could easily get out of his grasp. Alain chuckled harder and followed behind them.

God, Cole had never felt so flustered in years. Actually, now that he thought about it. He doesn't think he's ever been this flustered around anyone. Fuck. His grip tightened. Yes, he did invite him because he wanted to thank him, because he heard that he hasn't been to anything like this with anyone since the war and that had been decades ago. But.... He also saw how Cammy and Mike or Riley and Roxie acted in those places, all..... in love. Maybe he wanted a bit of that for himself. There was one problem..... He wasn't easily scared. Maybe he could pretend? Just get them alone, act all scared and then-

“Er.... Cole?” He heard the deep voice practically vibrate through him

Cole blinked, oh, they were here. How long had he stopped walking and was just staring at the pink door? He let him go quickly and patted himself down

“Sorry..... I was thinking of..... Something else” Smooth Cole Inokke, smooth. He knocked then entered

And as soon as he walked in, he saw Alex's costume and died. He doubled over, laughing

“Are you serious?!” He laughed, while hearing the other two birds lose it.

Alex, who was serving some pumpkin shaped cakes, was dressed up as cthulhu. The octopus creature, was dressed, as cthulhu. He didn't know if that was lazy or brilliant.

It took a good five minutes for Cole and the two bird creatures to calm down. They all sat down, and chatted, turns out they all had broke down laughing at Alex's costume. They chatted and ate lightly, though Cole was slightly distracted.

They were all a bit awkward around Dane at first, but after Angel was happy enough to chat with him, everyone started warming up to Dane. His smile was amazing, the sharp teeth should have terrified him, but they didn't.

He loved seeing him happy, he loved seeing them all happy. Sure Alex's angler teeth were sharp and long, but that smile was bright and happy. Dane's and Alain's teeth were sharp as well, but it was all still a smile. Happiness. It was great, never feeling afraid, to see the happiness behind the chittering and chirping, the smile full of sharp teeth. He was sad that other humans couldn't see this. Couldn't see those smiles of happiness.

And soon, it was time to move. And so the happy party started moving towards the Halloween festival. It was really nice. The decorations glowed in the evening glow, pumpkins and skeletons. It was never that big, they barely got any funds. Which is why Inokke Labs always helped out. Because sure, they could donate to other things, which they do. In Cole's eyes, every child show be able to celebrate these little holidays.

There was a little speech, as there was each year. Ending with a 'And thank you to Inokke Labs, for helping with the funds to this year's Halloween event, as they do each year' They all asked for a speech which Cole reluctantly went up to do.

Seeing all the creatures looking at him with bright smiles. He made him relax, he was always much more relaxed around Creatures than Humans.

“Another year has passed and Halloween is here once again! And as the wonderful Pumpkin king!” He heard chuckles from the crowd and happy chirping from the kids “I declare this event started! Make your king proud and rain tricks and treats!” and with that, the crowd moved into the festival.

A dark cloak came up to him and bent down “You fund this event?” Dane asked quietly

Cole chuckled, the group starting to walk “Yeah, I do. Everyone should have a nice festival. A nice day for kids and such. Plus the Creature one is much more interesting then the Human one”

Dane chuckled and they moved forwards.

There was food and games galore. Of course,  it was much smaller than the Human one, but still, it was nice. They went through all of it, eating way too much sugar and playing a lot of the games. In fact they were just coming from Cole losing five games in a row.

“How does Cole lose so many games?” Alex asked, chuckling slightly

“Come on, they're so rigged!” He sighed “And these gloves are hard to play with!”

Mike clicked happily “I don't know, sounds like a lot of excuses to me” The translator stated

Cole groaned “Shut it Sequoia!”

They all burst out laughing then “Wow, the creature name coming out now, must really be on the defensive” Mike responded

“Who knew the Pumpkin king was so bad at games?” Roxie chuckled

“Well, maybe the power of Halloween has not awoken in him yet?” Alain smiled

The mocking went on for a few minutes and Cole decided to get his revenge

“And what exactly is the excuse of the pirate that lost the shoot out?” He tilted his head at Roxie

Dane chuckled “Yeah, if you actually become a pirate, I'm not joining your crew if you paid me!”

Roxie started blushing hard and spluttering as everyone else laughed before she pointed “Look, it's the haunted house!”

They all turned and saw the old looking house, covered in webs and skeletons. Speakers blasted thunder. And Cole chuckled, this looked like a good opportunity. He walked forwards and looked at the sign next to it, humming.

They had to go and find a key and escape through the basement. Simple enough. Then there was even a little back garden maze to finally escape. They hopped in line, chatting to each other and chuckling.

Roxie hummed “I think I'll stay here with the kids”

Riley chuckled “Ditto.”

Cole nodded and they split into twos. Cammy and Mike went first then after a good half hour, Alain and Alex went in. Cole waited nervously, shuffling on his feet while he and Dane waited for their turn.

When the doors opened, Dane grabbed his hand and smiled “I'll protect you”

Cole just chuckled lightly and followed Dane. Time to find the keys.

Cole was.... disappointed at the moment. It was set up so they had to go through specific rooms, he understood why, it was easier. But pretty much, it was walking into a room and someone jumping out, The bird creature jumped but Cole..... He couldn't even pretend to be scared or unsuspecting. He sighed, he knew where they were hiding because..... He was used to listening to bumps. His hearing was great. And whereas Dane might jump, he wasn't scared either. It seemed the haunted house was a bad choice for both of them.

Soon they entered a dining room, it had a grand table and corpses in every chair, like they had died there. Wine was split on the ground and the food looked repulsive, there were eyeballs and spiders and cobwebs, it was incredibly dim in the room, there was a dead spider creature, snake creature, dog creature, another dog creature, jellyfish creature and a fish creature. They had already been through the hallway, the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom and even the attic. Cole saw the key on the table and went over to pick it up.

As his hand gripped the key, it being nearest to the snake creature. Her hand grabbed his harshly, actually making him jump and look up into red eyes “Stay with us........ Stay with me, my son” She said in a raspy voice.

Cole gulped, starting to shake, tugging at her arm. The other creatures were raising up. So Dane moved forwards and grabbed the key, trying to pry the snake creature off of him.

“Son......... Stay...... With us......” She said with her rasp and a wide smile.

Cole started shaking harder, tears falling down his face, his mind flashing back. She was on the ground, the same red but on her head, not in her eyes “Stay with me Cole. Please....” Her voice had been raspy as well.

“Mother...” He said quietly, in a tear filled voice. This shocked the snake creature, getting her to let go and her face soften, she was about to ask something when Dane picked him up and ran to the basement.

There was a shuffle and the sound of a radio going off. But nothing else. Dane opened the door and put the key in the box outside. They were now in the maze portion.

Cole immediately came down and ran into the maze, he really didn't want to be seen right now. He went left and right, going back and forwards, until he couldn't hear Dane. He sat down in a dead end, taking off his mask and breathing harshly and curling up.

He soon felt a hand on his shoulder and he flinched, looking up into Dane's concerned face. Of course he found him, he's a runner, he can run much faster than him. Especially being a falcon.

“Are you alright Cole?” He asked lightly

Cole breathed in deeply, rubbing his eyes “Not really no.... That snake freaked me out” It was a bit of a lie, but he didn't feel like delving into his past right now.

Dane hummed before picking him up in his arms, guiding Cole's head to his chest and just sitting against the hedge “Shh.... It's alright. I'm here, I'll protect you.”

Cole sniffled but leant against his chest, hearing his strong heartbeat. He felt Dane's hand going up and down his back lightly. The other stroking his hair lightly. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling. Then he heard a growl from Dane

Looking up at his face, he saw that his teeth were bared “Not now. Later.” He growled out, Cole blinked, going to turn before having his head shoved back against Dane's chest.

The growling went away and he was just about to ask what brought out the hostility until Dane answered himself

“It was just some workers. Don't know if they just came here to scare us or to check up on us, but I wasn't having any of it”

Cole nodded and leant back, listening again to his heartbeat and feeling the soothing stroking motion of Dane's stroking. Humming lightly, getting his breathing back under control and calming down.

The blue bird creature leant down near his ear and whispered “Are you feeling better now?”

Cole hummed in reply, nodding lightly. They hugged each other for a few more moments before Cole got up

“Come on, we better get going unless you want the others to search for us and get lost in the maze”

Dane chuckled, standing up and handing over the Pumpkin King mask which Cole put back over his head. Dane grabbed his hand and started walking with him, looking back and smiling.

It took a few minutes to find the exit, the workers had seemed to back off of them, not trying to scare them. Cole felt a little bad, they were just doing their job and then he just had to freak out and get Dane growling at them.

When they returned to the group that were out, there was excited chatter about the haunted house and whining from Angel that she didn't see it. Honestly, Cole just wanted to go home, his little panic attack took a lot out of him. But he didn't say anything as they went off again to play more games, Cole just didn't play any, saying that his ego was still bruised from the last few.

He was leaning up against a pole, looking at the ground and trying to think of the best excuse he could make to be able to go home, when a plush pumpkin cat was thrust into his face.

It was bright orange with glowing eyes to imitate that of a carved pumpkin, it was adorable. Cole looked up to see a slightly blushing Dane on the other end.

“I er..... I won this at the.... Shooting gallery and well..... Thought you'd... like it” He muttered into his chest.

Cole smiled, lifting up his mask so that Dane could see and accepting the pumpkin cat from him. It was very adorable and though normally he would give any plush prizes to Angel or Max, it warmed his heart that Dane gave it to him.

“Thank you, that's nice of you.” He smiled before lowering the mask again “The Pumpkin king can only have a pumpkin cat!” He chuckled lightly

Dane chuckled alongside him before it tethered off, leaving silence between the two. It stretched and stretched, though it didn't feel uncomfortable.

“You er.... Seem tired” Dane finally said after a minute of silence

Cole hummed, running his finger over the bumps of the pumpkin cat “Yeah, that er.... Experience at the haunted house took...... Took a lot out of me.”

Dane hummed before reaching out a hand “Want me to take you home?”

He tilted his head and coughed “I.. er... I live in the Human district.”

The bird chuckled at that “Then let me rephrase, want me to make a good excuse so that we can go home?”

Cole looked around, making sure there were no eavesdropping creatures before nodding “Please.”

The bird nodded and grabbed one of his arms, dragging him back to the group “As much as I've enjoyed this outing. I need to get back before it gets dark, plus I need to show Cole a little something for er.... Next time there's an.... incident.”

The group looked unnerved, looking to Cole who nodded “It's alright. Have fun! I'll probably head home since by the time Dane is finished it'll most likely be late.”

They all nodded, each saying their farewells with hugs before Dane and Cole made their way to Dane's house.

The walk was made in silence again, as Cole stuck closely to Dane, right up until he was at his front door, looking through his keys to open it

“Er.... Thank you.... for getting us out. Both in the haunted house and of the festival”

Dane chuckled “No problem. It's okay to be afraid, and you seem like the type of person that'll do anything for anyone else, even if you're uncomfortable with it”

He hummed, nodding slightly, he guessed he could come across as that type of person. He could see why Dane would think that way about him. Maybe.... Maybe one day he could tell him why he was afraid?.... Maybe.... He didn't know if he was looking forward to or dreading that day.

“But anyway, thank you for inviting me! I had a lot of fun. And it was nice to do something.... normal”

Cole chuckled “It's no problem. None at all”

Dane hummed and they both just..... stood there. Dane leaning against his open door frame, Cole just looking at him, the silence stretching. There was so much to say and yet, nothing at all. They just kept staring. It lasted minutes upon minutes before Cole finally decided to step away, starting to walk before turning back.

Dane had been leaning slightly forwards and had a bit of a surprised look on his face

“Don't be a stranger to the labs okay? And.... actually...” Cole gulped and brought out a pen and paper, he couldn't believe he was doing this. He scribbled on it and gave it to Dane

Cole coughed “My.... personal phone number. Don't be giving it out, call me if you want to.... you know.... hang out again.” And with that Cole started backing away, finger gunning Dane before moving down the street for his way home. But not before hearing a

“Don't worry, we'll see each other again Cole” And a door closing.

Cole's heart felt a little lighter as he made his way home to his apartment. This Halloween wasn't so bad after all.

[sheilacwall]

L-FRESH the LION, Tones and I, Tkay Maidza: the best Australian music for September | Music

L-FRESH the LION – Born to Stand Out

For fans of: the Neptunes, Childish Gambino, Missy Elliott

“I’ve never been one to just integrate,” spits L-Fresh the Lion as he kicks off this celebration of individuality. Over a Neptunes-style slinky beat, L-Fresh asks: “Why blend in when you’re born to stand out?”–  a slogan lifted from a hoodie the rapper says he bought five years ago and wore to the point of disintegration. A trippy vaporwave bridge slams this inspiration song to a halt mid-track for a comedic conversation about a Sony Discman. It rings a little like one of those obligatory skits on early hip-hop albums – an odd touch, but perfectly in line with the theme of the song. A solid contender to make the crossover to commercial radio – it would certainly be a welcome addition.

For more: L-FRESH the LION tours the east coast of Australia next month

Even – Mark the Days

For fans of: Ice Cream Hands, Bob Mould, Redd Kross

One of Australian music’s finest and most under-appreciated rock bands are touring this month to celebrate 25 years since they formed. To mark the occasion they have casually pumped out a new single that easily sits among their very best work. Mark the Days sounds as though it was spawned in Minnesota in the 80s and dragged through the Melbourne suburbs throughout the 90s, with plenty of time spent in pubs hammering together the riffs and sanding down the rough edges. The production is warm and rounded, sonically landing somewhere between Big Star and Teenage Fanclub, while the song swings confidently from hook to hook, suggesting that Even have some of their finest work still ahead of them.

For more: Listen to any of their seven albums, or catch their 25-year anniversary tour, which starts in late September and carries through until November

Tones and I – Never Seen the Rain

For fans of: the Jackson 5, Hanson, Macy Gray

Last month Tones and I became the first Australian artist to top the singles chart for more than a year, with the infectious Dance Monkey. The song hit the top spot a few weeks after Toni Watson’s festival-stealing performance at Splendour in the Grass, where a crowd of 20,000 gathered at noon to watch her play the opening slot. Dance Monkey is still sitting at No 1, where it has been for five weeks now. Never Seen the Rain is an even better tune. And, while this is going to sound like a back-handed compliment but it is meant with the utmost respect: this song sounds a hell of a lot like Hanson. Watson’s voice is a dead-ringer for a 15-year-old Taylor, and skips deftly across a sprinkling piano and drum-machine claps like the Motown singers of old. It’s breezy and economically produced, the chorus sounds like a gospel rave-up, and it’s one of the most interesting and infectious songs I’ve heard this year.

For more: Tones and I tours the country in September and October

Tasmanian band Luca Brasi. Photograph: Ian Laidlaw

Luca Brasi – Tangled; Content

For fans of: Jimmy Eat World, the Starting Line, Yellowcard

Tasmania’s finest are back with a slice of mid-tempo emo that sounds as though it belongs on the mix CD in Seth Cohen’s starter pack. Open-hearted punk rock is hard to master without sounding adolescent or cloying, especially after four albums, but Luca Brasi have honed their songwriting to a point where they can channel and command nostalgia without wallowing in it. “It’s not the length of the years / It’s the length of the days,” Tyler Richardson sings, echoing the US author Gretchen Rubin’s self-help edict. It’s a story of living for the moment, if only in order to later pore over every detail. This song is so well-crafted, it asks the question: can Luca Brasi’s forthcoming fifth album be their best yet?

For more: Luca Brasi headlines the Til the Wheels Fall Off festival in Launceston, November 1-3.

Tkay Maidza – Awake

For fans of: Nicki Minaj, Santigold, MIA

Musicians are prone to insomnia. The combination of travel, blurred timezones, hotel pillows and periods of intense boredom, interspersed with rocketing adrenaline and varying states of sobriety lead to less-than-ideal sleeping patterns. “I don’t even know how to be tired,” Maidza claims in Awake, returning for the first time this year with a huge, hypnotic home run. Technology looms large in lethargic lyrics, with a woozy and warped trap beat adding a dystopian drone to the insomnia-riddled lyrics – the aural equivalent of a screen-induced headache. A minute-long barrage from the Baltimore rapper Jpegmafia peppers the listener with violent imagery quite removed from the song’s theme but it still works a treat. A beautiful bridge floats in and threatens slumber at one point, but the dream is stillborn.

For more: Listen to Maidza’s singles Flexin’ and Ghost, and catch Jpegmafia at the Listen Out festival in late September and early October

Alex the Astronaut – I Like to Dance

For fans of: Josh Pyke, Kasey Chambers, Dolly Parton

I Like to Dance will make you sigh, make you angry, make you cry. One of the most heartbreaking and visceral songs released in years, this tale of puppy love slowly soured by violence is told bluntly and steadily, never couched in easy metaphor or reliant upon clever wordplay. The escalation of events is sickening and rings all too true, iwth details unspooling and being related in a casually muted way. “I’m mostly like everyone else,” the protagonist quivers nervously, the use of the qualifier being perhaps the most striking moment of a breathtaking song. Towards the end, she lists reasons not to leave – financial, parental, fear-based – but also allows herself to imagine a life free of domestic abuse, where she could be a doctor, an artist, anything she desires. Tragically, it sounds a lot like like wishful thinking.

For more: Alex the Astronaut is touring nationally from September

Kate Ceberano, Steve Kilbey and Sean Sennett – Monument City Lights, 1973

For fans of: the Church, Pretenders, Nancy and Lee.

This is late-night driving music: wind roaring in where the windows should be, green and red lights reflecting in the rain, a lost highway, a Lynchian mood. The Church’s Steve Kilbey and Kate Ceberano didn’t meet during the recording process, instead they transmitted their voices to each other. Both are much richer vocalists now than they were during the 80s, and here they follow in the tradition of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, lazily harmonising then sliding into unison, and delivering rich, cracked and wonderful textures over a chugging rhythm. This recalls the best elements of Australian rock: chiming guitars, thwacking drums and a dark propulsion that threatens to soar over the cliff into the abyss at any given moment. “It’s tight jeans, bad skin and kissing in dark places,” explained Ceberano of the nostalgic air of this track. “An indelible tattoo on the psyche.”

For more: The trio are now recording their debut album. Maybe they will meet in person. Stay tuned

Julia Why?

Julia Why? – Holden On

For fans of: the Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive

Halfway through this MBV-indebted slice of cloud-skipping shoegaze, a surprising one-liner comes out of nowhere and slaps the listener across the face. It’s a relatively depressing scenario delivered in a dreamy deadpan and repeated ad nauseam for the rest of the song, as if to indelibly print the image on to the inside of your eyelids. I won’t spoil the surprise aside from warning you to expect one, but the shock of it somehow lifts this dreamy dirge closer to heaven. Along with this majestic left turn, there is plenty else to love here: luscious layers of Julia Wylie’s vocals, blasts of infinity guitars, earworm melodies, reverb on reverb on reverb.

For more: The second Julia Why? album Hysteria! is out now

Holy Holy – Maybe You Know

For fans of: Echo and the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears, late-era Death Cab for Cutie

This is perhaps the slowest-burning Holy Holy single to date, which might not bode well for a generation of streamers who demand immediacy, but it will be richly rewarding for those willing to indulge the band with more than a single listen. There is the hypnotic sway of the falsetto vocals, subtle synths and guitars that bleed together into an unholy wave of noise. There are subtle drum pattern shifts that masterfully change the momentum of the song, an urgent vocal crack on the line “and it felt like nothing”, a satisfying sonic build that creeps up like a killer – and the final pull of the rug just as you feel the track is about to engulf you. What a delight.

For more: Holy Holy’s third album My Own Pool of Light is out now; the band tour nationally in September and October

Sui Zhen – Matsudo City Life

For fans of: M83, Spacemen 3, Animal Collective

Matsudo is known as a “bedroom community”, a Japanese city filled with hotels frequented by businessmen who use them only to sleep in between work shifts. It’s a stark and unsettling image: a city of sleep pods. Sui Zhen, who recorded her forthcoming album in one of these Matsudo hotels, manages to perfectly escapulate the ghostly, desolate mood of the city streets while also acknowledging the lonely romance of wandering through an empty metropolis designed for slumber. This song channels and draws together sonic touchstones as diverse as Annie Lennox, Animal Collective and Spacemen 3 to arrive at a glassy, claustrophobic dystopia where men “only come home to dream”.

For more: Sui Zhen’s album Losing, Linda is out on 27 September

Source link

The post L-FRESH the LION, Tones and I, Tkay Maidza: the best Australian music for September | Music appeared first on Hip Hop World Music.

from Hip Hop World Music https://hiphopworldmusic.com/l-fresh-the-lion-tones-and-i-tkay-maidza-the-best-australian-music-for-september-music/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=l-fresh-the-lion-tones-and-i-tkay-maidza-the-best-australian-music-for-september-music from Hip Hop World Music https://hiphopworldmusic.tumblr.com/post/187497837783

[abumblebeeat221b]

Moffat: ‘You push yourself, make the difficult choices, try to do everything right, and try not to lose concentration when you fuck up! Because you will, and often, and in public.‘

I had to stop myself from striking out the part where Moffat tries to justify Mary’s death. But since I’m an adult and there is a lot of other pretty interesting stuff about Doctor Who, Sherlock, and writing, I decided to post the whole thing in its glory.

Worldscreen Interview: Steven Moffat Talks Doctor Who and Sherlock

Mansha Daswani

Steven Moffat speaks with TV Drama about his work on the hit drama series Doctor Who and Sherlock.

A lifelong Doctor Who fan, Steven Moffat began writing for the series when it was reintroduced in 2005 after 16 years off the air. Five years later he was elevated to head writer and executive producer of the iconic British sci-fi hit. At the same time, Moffat was working with fellow Who writer Mark Gatiss on making a contemporary drama based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s quintessentially British detective Sherlock Holmes. Over the course of just 13 episodes in four seasons, Sherlock became a worldwide viewing phenomenon and racked up a Peabody and multiple BAFTA and Emmy wins.

TV DRAMA: You’re considered one of the few U.S.-style showrunners in the U.K. What skill set did you need to develop to move from writing on Doctor Who to managing the entire series?

MOFFAT: Well, I creatively manage the show. I’m in charge of the fictional world and everything that affects it. Brian Minchin, my co-exec producer on Doctor Who, takes care of managing the show and running the mighty beast. I wouldn’t be any good at it and I don’t do it. Of course, I’ve defined our roles far too clearly there. There are times I end up getting involved in the other parts of the management of the show. And there are times that Brian gets involved in the creative side. The indispensable thing if you’re the showrunner is you must run 12, 13 episodes of Doctor Who, three episodes of Sherlock, and you must be in charge of the creative aspects of all of that. I’m trying to do everything not to use that awful word “vision,” but you are trying to say, This is the kind of show we’re going to make, and this is the wrong way and that’s the right way. “Vision” sounds too pompous. To be honest, I think what we now call showrunner is a job I’ve done since I first started working in television and was just a writer. It’s just being a hugely intrusive, hugely evolved writer. When I started, there was no such term as showrunner. But I was at all the dubs, the edits, the meetings. Everything that affected the creative facets of the show, I was there for. It’s being a writer across a show that probably has more than one writer. It’s a fancy word for the head writer and executive producer and glorified rewrite man.

TV DRAMA: Do you need to be somewhere in particular to write? Are there things you have to do to get into the mind frame you need to be in?

MOFFAT: Contemplate my deadline! I pace up and down my office. I have got places I like to write. I’ve got an office in my London house. We have a house in Cardiff, where they make Doctor Who and Sherlock, I’ve got an office there too. Those are my favorite places to write. And because of my hectic schedule over the last few years, I’ve had to keep writing on holiday. And there are certain holiday destinations that I’m comfortable writing in, certain hotel rooms I’m OK with. If I’m not in a place that I feel is right for writing, I can’t do it. I’ve got to be able to pace up and down and talk out loud. I can’t write with somebody else in the room, that’s impossible for me. One sip of wine, as much as I love wine, and I can’t write. I can’t ever do that. The moment I have a sip of wine, the rest of the day is gone! It’s just about focusing and trying to get it right. Every morning I start the script again from the beginning. I start from page one and read my way through it and rewrite as I go so I feel the impetus of where we are, I don’t forget the tone of what we’re heading for. I always have a plan in my head, sometimes quite Byzantine and complex, sometimes stupid and complicated, but I never write it down. I can’t write it down; I must have it in my head. If I write it down, it becomes a rule. That means I can’t change it. If you’ve got this plan that you’ve been sitting on for six months and you get to the business of writing it and it doesn’t work, you can’t say, I have to write it anyway even though it doesn’t work, you have to throw it away, that’s it. It doesn’t matter how long that plan has been in existence for or how many people approved it or how many people said, that’s a great idea. The show has to work. And particularly television has to work in the moment. Every scene has to justify itself, not because it’s a setup for later but because it’s in and of itself interesting and exciting and if it was the only bit of the show you saw you’d think it was good. Mainly, you’ve just got to work really hard. I wish there was a better answer I could give anybody about anything, but I swear the only solution to any problem is, work harder than other people. There’s no such thing as talent. There’s no such thing as intelligence. There’s just working harder. It’s the ultimate cheat code of the universe. If you work harder than other people, yes, you will do better. By hard I don’t mean a lot—though I do mean a lot. But it doesn’t just mean working a lot. You push yourself, make the difficult choices, try to do everything right, and try not to lose concentration when you fuck up! Because you will, and often, and in public.

TV DRAMA: What can you tell us about what will be your last season of Doctor Who?

MOFFAT: Well, nothing! We haven’t even begun to sit down and work out how we’re going to promote it and what things we’re going to give away and what things we’re going to keep secret. I haven’t even thought about it! I’m slightly nervous of saying anything at the moment. Missy will be back, and Pearl Mackie will be in playing Bill [the Doctor’s new companion]. Aside from that, you’re going to have to wait and see. It’s on its way. It will be good. Lots of monsters!

TV DRAMA: You’ve been working on Doctor Who since its reboot in 2005. Why did you want to leave this year?

MOFFAT: I think the more apposite question is why have I been here so long! It’s the longest I’ve ever done anything. The first four to five years I was one of the writers while getting on with other shows, and then I took it over and it was a full-time job, plus doing Sherlock on top of that. I’m astonished at how long I’ve been doing it! I sort of miss my own job of making up television shows and doing the new things, which is the real job of a writer. I’ve been curating and looking after and worrying about Doctor Who and Sherlock for several years—these two huge franchises that threw up brand-new problems every single day—in addition to writing. You’re never more a writer than when you write something new, you try something different. I miss all that. I miss being, as it were, a proper writer. I’d like to go and find a new thing to fail at! [Laughs]

TV DRAMA: We last spoke just a few months before Peter Capaldi was named the new Doctor. Now you’re entering a season with a new companion, Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts. What sort of qualities did you look for when casting that role?

MOFFAT: The new companion is very interesting. Very much more so than with a new Doctor, it’s a chance to start the show again. With a new Doctor you change the flavor of the show and the style of the show, but essentially it’s the same old Time Lord, with a new face. Nothing begins again. When a new person comes on board the TARDIS, a new person has to learn the rules of time travel and the TARDIS, has to worry about who the Doctor is and slowly decode what he’s up to and whether he’s a hero or a villain. It does feel like a brand-new beginning. The first episode of the new season is specifically designed so that if it were the very first episode of Doctor Who, it would completely introduce you to the show as Pearl is introduced to the show. That’s quite exciting. The place you start from is: Through whose eyes do we want to see the Doctor? What point of view would refresh us about the Doctor? What kind of person would be a good one to get to know him through? That’s where you begin. And you begin a new story. I’m always getting into trouble for saying this: in a way, the Doctor, despite his changing face, doesn’t change that much. He’s not learning and growing. He’s the Doctor and has been for centuries. The person who learns and grows and changes is his best friend, so it becomes their story. As I always put it, the Doctor is the star and the companion is the lead. It’s two different functions. Just as in the Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. Watson is the main character and Sherlock Holmes is the star.

TV DRAMA: How did you and Mark Gatiss map out the fourth season of Sherlock?

MOFFAT: We started talking about it by accident one day. We were shooting “His Last Vow,” the third episode of the third series. It was raining so we took shelter in one of the production vehicles. As we sat there we came up with the idea of [Sherlock’s] sister, which we’d been kicking around for a while. What if there were a sister? What if she was the smartest one of the lot, but the one who had no moral compass at all? What could we do with her? We knew that Mary [Dr. Watson’s wife] was going to die because Mary doesn’t stay around—that’s just a fact of the Sherlock Holmes story. Dr. Watson, for most of the run of the stories, is a widower. He has to be that. We had to get him there. We knew we were going to do that. We knew we had to tie up whatever apocalypse Moriarty had planned for Sherlock Holmes after his own death. And that wove quite neatly into the introduction of the sister. It was such a fun thing to do that. Everyone thinks he has another brother. How long can we trick [the viewers] into making that fairly simplistic assumption, that because there are two brothers, there must be three? There’s a fairly obvious alternative! So we just went for it. We were careful with our pronouns until the final moment when not only is it revealed he has a sister and she’s evil, but you’ve been watching her for two weeks. That was a brave plan. We didn’t know if we could find anyone to pull that off and make it work. It’s quite a phenomenal performance from Sian Brooke in the several roles she played. As a piece of acting craftsmanship, it’s right up there. It’s extraordinary.

TV DRAMA: I was quite gutted by Mary’s death—and that surprised me. I didn’t realize how much I had grown to like her.

MOFFAT: We didn’t want to introduce her and then just shoot her. It’s awful when you do that. We wanted to introduce her and against everybody’s expectations successfully make her part of the team. Not make you resent her, not make you think she’s an interruption or the nagging wife—actually make you think, she’s really cool, I like her, it’s almost better with the three of them. And then having got her there, [we had to] take her away again. Also, this is not an element that’s in the original story but it is in our version: it is her legacy that they then live, it’s her saying, this is who you have to be, you have to go and consciously be Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Sherlock Holmes will now wear the silly hat because Mary liked it. It just felt right. You’re always aware that people worry, and I can absolutely see why, about what they call “fridging,” which is where a female character serves no other function than to motivate the male characters. But Mary served many, many more functions than that within our show. She changed and illuminated the path of the show. So I felt we were safe from that. Although we never will be safe from that accusation since they call it fridging even when it doesn’t abide by those rules! You can’t have a rule that says you can’t kill female characters. You just can’t, that’s madness. But you should have a rule that says the death of a female character cannot simply be a device. It has to be an event in its own right. It has to be something important and personal.

TV DRAMA: Any words of advice you’ll be sharing with Chris Chibnall as you prepare to exit?

MOFFAT: Advice, oh Lord! [Laughs] First of all, he’s a very, very experienced showrunner himself, so he doesn’t need advice. The advice I gave him, which I won’t share, was not about how to run Doctor Who but how to have a life while you’re running Doctor Who. The things you must make sure of. He’s a family man, like myself. You’ve got to make sure that you survive it! [Laughs] And the support you’re going to need and what it’s going to be like at 4 in the morning when you’re rewriting some other bastard’s script and not even putting your name on it. What that’s going to feel like. That is what I talked to him about. He has his own ideas about how to do Doctor Who. The advice I’ve given him is all prosaic and all quite, make sure this happens, make sure you get that and don’t let them do this. I won’t tell you what those things were! [Laughs] But it’s really about, you’ve got to see your kids now and then. You’ve got to go home now and then. You’ve got to keep living. It is a monstrous workload, Doctor Who, monstrous.

TV DRAMA: Do you have some ideas already for what you want to do next?

MOFFAT: I’ve got one thing I’m quite excited about. I can’t talk about it yet. I haven’t given these things a great deal of thought because I’m still absolutely in the storm of Doctor Who. I’m writing my last finale just ahead of my last Christmas special; they’re both staring me in the face right now. But it’s still full on. It will be full on until the second it’s not. There is no process of leaving. One day you’re doing the job fully and completely, the next day you’re not. It will be as simple as that. And then I’m in a good position to get stuff going if I want to. I’ve got some things I fancy doing. I’d probably like to do some things that are quite different because it does feel like, by accident rather than by design, I’ve been involved in curating two enormous behemoths, two enormous, showbizzy things that everyone in the world wants to have the most interesting opinion about. [Laughs] I’d quite like to do something completely different from that. It was very refreshing the first time I wrote Doctor Who because I’d been writing comedy for years. The first time I wrote for Doctor Who there was a glorious shock of the new, which I enjoyed and which I think ended up stimulating me as a writer. I’d quite like that feeling again.

Source: Worldscreen