#amy rose’s number one fan

[weirdcatguri]

remember,

☕️ a gardener only sees their weeds.

ur beautiful, angel! >.<

[occidentaltourist]

bbc: Some sweet #Silvacre content for your FYP ❤️

[girlmetalsonic]

a dump of random doodles. HOPEFULLY did not mess up and post some i already posted but. well memory

[black-arcana]

EVANESCENCE To Enter Studio In November

During an interview with 89 FM A Rádio Rock at the Rock In Rio festival in Brazil on September 15, EVANESCENCE's Amy Lee was asked about the band's plans for the coming months. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're in the creative process right now, but we're not deep in the throes of it yet. We've been doing a lot of creating, and we just have, like, tons of ideas. So we're gonna get serious and get in the studio in November for the first round. Round one."

EVANESCENCE will embark on its first headline tour across Canada in 15 years this fall. Produced by Live Nation Canada, the trek kicks off on October 15 in Vancouver, British Columbia, hitting cities nationwide before wrapping on October 29 in London, Ontario. EVANESCENCE will be joined by special guests, post-grunge/metal rockers HALESTORM across all stops. Alternative sister trio THE WARNING will open all shows.

Delivering a number of dynamic rock hits over the last two decades, EVANESCENCE recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its landmark debut album, "Fallen", originally released in 2003. They recognized the milestone with a special anniversary edition of the smash album, which spawned gigantic rock hits like "Bring Me To Life", "Going Under" and "My Immortal", kickstarting a thriving career they're still carrying out today.

To date, EVANESCENCE has released a total of five studio albums, including the multi-platinum "The Open Door" (2004) and "Evanescence" (2011),both of which topped the Billboard 200. In 2021, the band thrilled fans with their first album of new material in a decade, "The Bitter Truth". Now 20 years on, EVANESCENCE continues to scale new heights. Featuring a lineup of Amy Lee (vocals, keyboards),Tim McCord (guitar/bass),Will Hunt (drums),Troy McLawhorn (guitars) and Emma Anzai (bass, backing vocals),the band continues to travel the globe, staging some of the most successful shows of their career, having wrapped a run of sold-out shows in Latin America, including Allianz Parque, a soccer stadium in Sāo Paulo, Brazil, which was the biggest headline show of EVANESCENCE's career to date, drawing 40,000 fans.

Shortly following its release in March 2021, "The Bitter Truth" rose to the top of the iTunes Album charts in 22 countries and also landed the top spot on Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart.

EVANESCENCE first topped the Hard Rock Albums chart in October 2011 with its self-titled effort. The album stayed atop the list for three weeks.

"The Bitter Truth" was recorded during the pandemic and confronted the dark realities of the world head-on. Yet its resounding message was one of light: pushing through is better than giving up.

[bjlightningbeast]

Amy Rose is not a fangirl

She was never created to be a Sonic fangirl. She was created to be the Minnie Mouse to Sonic's Mickey Mouse, his love interest. Her being a "fangirl" was a misconception(or maybe a lie) that was made up by Archie comics (and possibly by extension, SOA), and that's the only piece of media where she was referred as one (+ the encyclospeedia but then again, it got a fair number of things wrong). None of the game manuals ever even once stated that she was a fangirl, just an energetic girl who is in love.

And she's also NOT obsessed with Sonic. She's just very(extremely) expressive about her feelings, and she isn't afraid to show it (among with other feelings), and that's why I don't like her current potrayal, especially in Frontiers where she felt so boring and bland. Her energy, her big personality, her undying love for Sonic is so absent in this game, and don't understand why so many said she's developed, or "matured" where in any case, they just took away a unique aspect of her character, and changed her just for those who didn't like her to begin with, and now instead of embracing her love for Sonic, she acts shy about it which is definitely NOT Amy at all. Sonic is supposed to be the shy one between the two, not Amy.

I'm honestly sick of hearing fans referring to her as things like "She's a fangirl", "an obsessive stalker", or "a yandere" when none of those terms are related to her at all. The word she is related to, is "genki". Which is a japanese term that refers to someone who is energetic, fun and full of life, which is what she is and supposed to, but now she's just the girl character with zero personality. At least TMOSTH got her character right again, and IDW to some extension.

I just want to get this off my chest and let it know that this thing of "Amy is a fangirl and obessed stalker" is not true. But of course there's gonna people in this fandom will not listen and still think otherwise because their inability to accept certain facts. But whether they want to believe or not, Amy was never a crazy stalkerish fangirl with a celebrity crush. She's a girl who has genuine love for a boy, and she just wants nothing more than to join him on his adventure.

[fmajorenthusiast]

For the prompt thing: the cast’s favorite musical artists? Either modern or time period accurate, your call!

AAAAAHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS IS PERFECT!!!!

Frank: Now he and I truly have similar taste, as Frank loves Queen. I feel like the entire castle does but for Frank that's number 1

Brad: Brad would be fond of Justin Timberlake (and also Ellie Goulding but he'll never admit to it)

Janet: Janet loves Taylor Swift and Ellie Goulding

Riff Raff: This might be a bit of a hot take, but he truly does love Evanescence. (He can also hit Amy Lee's high notes and likes to do it while staring directly into Frank's eyes.) ALSO, not a specific artist per se, but he loves that oddly specific genre of older minor key folk songs that were written a long time and usually we don't remember who wrote them™️ (an example would be The Three Ravens)

Magenta: Magenta is a fan of Ella Fitzgerald!!!

Columbia: Columbia likes Heart, Cyndi Lauper, Pentatonix, and Chappelle Roan

Eddie: Eddie's favorites are Guns N' Roses, Heart, and MCR

Rocky: Oh god here's a hot take... Rocky can often be found, and I don't exactly agree with him here, but he can often be found jamming out to Friday by Rebecca Black.... but he's not completely lost bc he also likes Pentatonix

Doctor Scott: I oddly enough feel like he'd also love Ella Fitzgerald!

The Criminologist: Elevator Music and the Bill Nye the Science Guy theme song. (No I don't know why I think that either... but a more serious answer, if I were to give one, would be her Majesty Judy Garland.)

[nuwho20zine]

NuWho Zine: Character Tracker 👀👯

Hi everyone!

I decided to put my nerd cap on today and, as I was putting together some things for the zine, decided to look into what kind of works we have so far. I thought I'd share with you all, so I hope you enjoy!!

1. General Stats

We so far have 29 works lined up: 15 fan arts (52%), 10 fanfictions (34%) and 4 works of written non-fiction (this may be analysis, essays, etc) (14%). This feels like a nice balance for me, and I'd be pretty happy if this is the balance of different types of works ae have for the final zine.

Pretty much all of these are character-focused, so here are some pretty graphs for you all:

(2) Character Breakdown

So, as you can see, Nine, Ten and Twelve are the ones who are coming in the strongest. However, in terms of companions, the Ponds are winning by far! This may be because, after the initial submissions, there weren't any Ponds pieces and some people who didn't have a concrete idea yet decided to feature them; they mostly feature them together, though - we don't have many/any pieces of Amy or Rory (or River) solo.

Most pieces feature two or more chracters. So far, the only character centric pieces I have jotted down are for Clara, Twelve, Fifteen (maybe), and the Master.

(3) What This Means

Like promised, in July I will open a form for submissions. I strongly encourage people who want to participate to start thinking about what they'd like to do, because you'll have to provide that when signing up. I'm counting on accepting about 15-20 people/pieces and, since this isn't a submissions-based zine, these will be first come, first serve.

I really want all works to be artist-led, ie, you get to draw/write/whatever whatever it is you desire. However, I would also like the zine to be somewhat balanced in terms of character representations, so in the name of compromise, please keep that in mind!! Here are some ideas for pieces:

Pieces focusing on a single character, especially those that have less submissions;

Episodes/seasons/story arc analysis or commentaries;

Analysis of specific aspects of NuWho;

Personal essays (for example, focusing on an aspect of Doctor Who you love, how you got into it, etc);

Fanarts that are episode-focused (in particular, I'd really love a piece about the 50th and/or the 60th anniversaries, since they were such big fandom events);

Non-character-centric pieces: pieces focusing on the TARDIS, or DW monsters, or planets, or the Time War, or regeneration - other aspects of the DW universe in general beyond the characters.

I'll also be open to one or two pieces that focus on NuWho spin-offs rather than NuWho itself, since I do consider them part of the over-arching NuWho Universe (looking at you, Torchwood girlies!!!).

In terms of characters, we're really missing Thirteen-era pieces and I know the 13 fans are out there, so this is your chance!! We're also with low numbers of Jack, specific Masters (most Master pieces are about the character in general, not focused on a specific Master), Bill, River, and 11-Era Clara.

I also really encourage people to submit pieces about minor characters: give me the Tylers/Joneses/Nobles/Sundays family portraits! Give me Mickey, or Ten's one-offs, or Jenny, or Alonso! Give me Jenny, Vastra and Strax! Give me the Moment, War Doctor, Fugitive Doctor! Give me Nardole, Rogue, Wilfred, Rose Noble, Lady Me, or whoever else I am missing here that you love and want to feature!

Finally, I also have two artists who would like to establish a colab: in particular, I'm looking for a writer that feels comfortable writing various characters of NuWho (but 13 and Yaz in particular), and an artist who loves Rose and Tentoo. If that is you, feel free to reach out whenever so that we can talk (no need go wait for July!!)

That is all! Hope you've enjoyed this longer post. Ahhh, I'm so excited to this come together 💛💛

[denimbex1986]

'Eagle-eyed Doctor Who fans think the anniversary specials could be setting up a Bad Wolf-style mystery, and they could be on to something...

Following the release of 'The Giggle' on December 9, which saw the Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) face off against Neil Patrick Harris's Toymaker, one viewer took to Reddit to claim that a star motif glimpsed in both the new episode and the trailer for upcoming Christmas outing 'The Church on Ruby Road' might be hinting at the introduction of a new character or ongoing mystery along the lines of the Saxon Master or Bad Wolf in season one.

"The scene where Donna fights the puppets also has the same clock face as a window (numbers and pattern around the outside are identical, just without the star)," another points out. "Could be reuse of design/assets, but the implication that Donna was inside a clock tower is very interesting."

"Three cubes, and a clock... Time for Q-Bert?" said a third.

In the comments, theories as to whether it could be a nod to characters like The One Who Waits, the Boneless or the Rani started swirling, while someone else gushed: "Chimes of Midnight adaptation? I'm f***ing down," referring to a popular Doctor Who audio drama starring Paul McGann. Though not everyone was all in on the speculation...

"It can certainly be a hidden clue. But it could just as well be a reuse of design assets to save money," argued a doubter, as another added: "I'm getting flashbacks to the brooch that both River and that woman at Amy and Rory's wedding both wore. Theories flew. Turns out, they just reused a costume element."

All that considered, it'd hardly be the first time Russell T Davies has teased future themes. When he initially rebooted the long-running sci-fi series in 2005, the showrunner included references in almost every episode of the first season to Bad Wolf, the entity that would eventually possess Billie Piper's Rose Tyler.

Elsewhere, he mentioned the likes of Torchwood and using 'Vote Saxon' posters in backgrounds before fans even knew what they meant. So it's certainly not out of the realms of possibility that he would do something like that again...'

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Oh ho ho what a highly interesting question, anon👀

(Answered under the cut because it's a bit long)

ㅤ

Before I give my proper answer, allow me to explain a bit of my interpretation of Tails. I actually see him as a sort of naturally jealous person with some innate possessive tendencies who has grown used to curbing these tendencies of his, which he had to do due to a number of factors.

One major reason is due to Sonic himself. To me Sonic has always had a complicated relationship with different kinds of love or attraction (and I do see him as on the aro/ace spectrum). So, when absolute strangers (or those he doesn't particularly like) obsessively pursue him for clear romance/possessive reasons, he tends to react with strong rejection or indifference, in contrast to how he welcomes ego stroking and praise from those who can be merely categorized as "fans" (or those he does particularly like). To me, Tails' initial admiration and pursuit of joining with and becoming like Sonic very well parallels how Amy Rose began to admire and pursue a romantic relationship with Sonic. Even if we consider that Sonic did save Tails that one time from being bullied (according to Sonic Prime and a new animation for Sonic 2 present in Sonic Origins), his pursuit of trying to work together with his hero (which is detailed a bit more in the jp manual for Sonic 2, and includes Tails going so far as to follow after Sonic everywhere and modify Sonic's plane) really isn't any more "normal" than how Amy begins to pursue a romantic relationship with her hero after Sonic saves her from Metal Sonic. The only real differences here were that Amy was explicitly pursuing romance, and that Sonic rejected Amy's advances but eventually took Tails on as his sidekick/little buddy.

This is also not to mention the implications here and there in what we can find of Sonic and Tails' backstory that Sonic would continue to run away and pretend he did not care, while secretly keeping an eye out for Tails.

And beyond that, as one of Sonic’s oldest friends, Tails gets to spend a lot of time around Sonic, and gets to see firsthand how he reacts to romantic prospects, his complicated relationship with "love" as a concept, and is present as Sonic’s group of friends steadily grows.

With all of that, I at least see Tails learning to deal with his innate jealousy and possessiveness so

Sonic doesn’t reject him

Because he doesn't want to keep Sonic from pursuing relationships with others

And for the sake of one's image/being a good person

If Tails has learned that confessing and making his romantic intentions clear could lead to Sonic rejecting him or it ruining their friendship (since he's seen first hand how Sonic has reacted in certain cases to love confessions or overt romantic affection), it makes sense to me that he would try to hold his feelings back (both those that are not squarely platonic and are explicitly romantic and/or sexual). And when it comes to Sonic, there's a guilt factor and an impossibility factor when it comes to keeping him from other people. Not only would Tails feel at least a little bad for restricting him, but Sonic does not respond well to being controlled. Now of course, how he reacts does depend on the time of his life and who it is, but there is nevertheless a futility in trying to control Sonic "I have no master except the wind that blows free" Hedgehog. And finally, my view on both Sonic and Tails, well... I believe that image and visual alignment is a big thing for these two, and that the two are secretly more...in the gray (or at least, that they're surprisingly immoral so to speak). In their origins to me, Tails is just a kid, minding his business, who does not inherently seek to hurt others (though his faith in those around him does matter), and Sonic is just a kid, free as the wind, who doesn't particularly care about being a good guy, but loves the attention. Essentially, though he does save some people on whim, the idea is that Sonic originally fights Robotnik simply because the Doctor, his machines, and his pollution have such a negative effect on his home. So beyond this point, he fights as a hero both out of interest of having his home intact/being alive, and because (simply put) he likes what comes from being considered a hero (all the praise and perks). And so because Sonic is someone that Tails admires, because Sonic has to uphold a baseline image or reputation so he can still be considered a hero/good guy, Tails becomes accustomed to doing the same. That's a bit of an oversimplification (how I see them and why is the subject of a proper essay about that), but the point is that Tails is also conscious that trying to overtly control or manipulate Sonic would not objectively be considered "hero or good guy behavior", especially if it goes too far.

And so with all of that plus the fact that Sonic has never seemingly accepted anyone's romantic inclinations or dated anyone, Tails curbs his natural inclination towards jealousy and possessiveness so he can be content enough to be at Sonic's side. Perhaps there are more friends Sonic is going to get, people he's going to show an interest in, but Tails can put stock in the fact that it's unlikely that Sonic will date anyone. Plus, even if that somehow does happen, Tails is largely fine as long as he's guaranteed to be by Sonic's side no matter what. So as long as he can be with Sonic forever, no matter their relationship, he's as content as can be.

ㅤ

But then Sonic starts dating Nine, right?

And hahaha don't get me wrong here. Tails is pretty practiced. He's not gonna blow up or anything.

But once he gets past the initial shock of that being true, I think he just feels jealous and conflicted by default. I mean, he's just been accepting that there's no hope of ever being in that kind of relationship with Sonic. And not only has someone gone and done it, it's not just anyone.

It's a version of him.

And if a version of himself managed to do it (a version of himself who once lashed out at and fought against Sonic no less), then what does that mean about him? Does it mean that there's something about Nine Sonic likes better? Does it mean that he's had this entire situation wrong? Does it mean he lost his chance and he'd been so afraid for nothing? Does it mean that he could have had that this whole time?

And that's not to mention navigating this. Even if I believe Sonic is very very capable of having multiple best friends or even partners, it's only natural for Tails to get a little afraid of being replaced (especially if he learns that Sonic also considered/considers Nine as a best friend also)

But Tails is the type to not want to burden Sonic with all of this while becoming increasingly more worried. And although he would naturally have a complicated relationship with Nine, I still think he would generally like him and not want to take out his feelings on him. So with that being said, I think he'd sort of try to hold it in and act normal while really not acting all that normal, because though he could hide his feelings better if he wanted to, he still kind of lets it slip because he kind of does want to talk to Sonic about it or let his feelings be known.

I think that whenever Sonic eventually does see that Tails is acting a bit off he'll eventually talk to him about it or try to get him to, but, honestly, even if Sonic could say things (true things) that would make him feel better, I don't think Tails could be as content as he would be if it was idk... Knuckles or Shadow or what have you. Because if it was anyone else, Tails could be more content knowing that his relationship with Sonic is special and that he'll always be by his side, even if he's dating someone else.

But with the fact that the person that Sonic has chosen to date is another version him—a version of him which Sonic has also kind of clearly developed a similar "best friendship" with? I feel that even if Sonic tries to reassure him, Tails will forever be plagued with bitter and jealous feelings. Even if he'd never force Sonic to stop dating anyone, much less force him to date him, I don't think he can even really feel content here unless Sonic chooses to date him also if that makes any sense.

So, yes. That's my answer. Tails would try to be really good about it, but he's still bitter and annoyed and jealous and wondering if he's enough or has been doing something wrong. He's wondering why it couldn't have been him. And he won't be able to just be content at Sonic's side if he can't also be with Sonic. So while I can't say how long it will take, something will have to give eventually. I think at some point in their future, Sonic will have to tackle his specific feelings for Tails and they'll have to talk about their specific relationship, especially if he's dating Nine right in front of him.

[cringecompanionapologist]

Doctor Who Shipping Statistics: Because I'm Bored and I Like This Sort of Thing

So, I decided to see which Doctor Who ships were the most popular in the fandom, not because it matters, but because shipping is fun.

This probably isn't an accurate ranking of which ships are the most popular though, because it's just the amount of fics on Ao3. I'm only going off Ao3 because it's the only fic site where statistics are easy to find, because pairings are tagged and the number of fics with a tag can be counted.

If there's a really popular ship that people don't write fic for, for some reason, it won't show up on my radar, which is fine because this isn't exactly Science. It's fucking around with lists out of curiosity.

So, let's get started!

I started off with just finding the top 10 ships for Doctor Who in general. To no one's surprise, it was completely dominated by New Series pairings. The New Series tends to encourage more shipping and is ongoing, so more people are paying attention to it. Therefore, more fic.

10/Rose

13/Yaz

11/River

Metacrisis 10/Rose (That's the human clone of 10 btw)

9/Rose

12/Clara

Amy/Rory

Doctor (in general)/Rose

Doctor (in general)/River

Doctor (in general)/Master

Only Doctor/Master could be a pairing without any New Series characters, because that would include Classic!Doctor/Classic!Master.

Also, you might notice a lot of Rose. Get used to that. She's inescapable.

Anyway, I decided to filter the search to only E-Rated fics to see if there was a major difference when smut was involved. This didn't actually change very much:

10/Rose

13/Yaz

Doctor/Master (the Master comes up a lot more on the smut list lol)

12/Clara

Metacrisis 10/Rose

9/Rose

13/Dhawan!Master

10/Simm!Master

10/Jack (of course he'd show up more on the smut list)

11/River

What this reveals is that people are more interested in Doctor/Master smut than Doctor/Master romance, which honestly makes a lot of sense. The smut list is also slightly less het than the overall list. Slash fans appear to be the horniest of shippers. As a slash smut writer/enthusiast, I can't really protest.

But, what about Classic Who? I was more interested in Classic than New, so I looked at fics tagged Doctor Who (1963) specifically, instead of Doctor Who in general. Most Classic Who fics are tagged this way, so you'll find more Classic Who there. Here's the results:

Doctor/Master

2/Jamie

10/Rose (Yes, there's still new stuff in hear and of course it's Rose)

3/Delgado!Master

Tegan/Nyssa

4/Sarah Jane

7 and Ace (Notice the and. Platonic relationships get tagged too)

Ian/Barbara

6/Peri

5/Ainley!Master

And I did an E-Rated Only list for Doctor Who (1963) as well:

Doctor/Master

6/Peri (They seem to be more popular as smut than anything else)

3/Delgado!Master

5/Ainley!Master

2/Jamie

Tegan/Nyssa

5/Tegan (I see a lot of fics for this ship and feel strangely jealous...)

10/Simm!Master (A new series ship that isn't 10/Rose?!)

Mel/Ace

7/Ace (No and this time. They get shipped sometimes.)

Once again, Doctor/Master gets a lot of smut. Also, I think this is the first list to not include 10/Rose :)

Look, I don't hate 10/Rose. I'm pretty indifferent towards 10/Rose. Rose is nowhere near my favorite companion, but nowhere near my least favorite either. I just get a bit tired of seeing her absolutely everywhere.

I think decided to check for fics tagged with each Classic Doctor to see who they get paired with the most. I'll list every character who they're shipped with in the top 10.

First Doctor: Rose

There are at least 3 separate fics about Rose fucking every incarnation of the Doctor. If it was River or Jack, I probably wouldn't care, but Rose is not the Doctor's One True Love. And least River can claim dibs on having married an incarnation and Jack is Jack. This is what I mean about seeing her everywhere. Rose is often treated like the most important companion in the history of the show when she's just as important as any other companion. There's probably reason for this mindset that I could go into, but I'd like to finish my list first.

I did the E-Rated Only thing for each Doctor as well. Yes, for all of them. I'm curious and I fear no smut.

First Doctor (E): Rose, Barbara (there are at least 2 1/Barbara fics)

Second Doctor: Jamie

E-Rated Only doesn't change that. Fics tagged with the Second Doctor still contain a lot of Rose Ships, but 2 isn't emphasized quite as much. 2/Jamie is basically THE Second Doctor ship.

Third Doctor: Delgado!Master, Brigadier, Jo, Sarah Jane

E-Rated Only is the same characters in a different order

Third Doctor (E): Delgado!Master, Jo, Brigadier, Sarah Jane

Jo gets more smut than the Brig.

Fourth Doctor: Sarah Jane, Romana II, Sarah Jane/Harry, Rose, Ainley!Master

The Rose Fucks Everyone fics strike again! Also, we get our first OT3 with 4/Sarah Jane/Harry.

Fourth Doctor (E): Sarah Jane, Leela, Rose

Of course Leela would get more smut. I'm surprised with the lack of Romana though. Both Romanas are gorgeous and 4/Romana is the closest to a canon Doctor/Companion ship we get in Classic Who. Maybe it's a Time Lord Thing.

Okay, on to the Fifth.

Fifth Doctor: Ainley!Master, Tegan, Turlough, Nyssa, Rose

Yes, 5/Tegan is more popular than 5/Turlough right now. I'm fine really. 5/Master being at the top of the list is kind of what I'd expected though.

Fifth Doctor (E): Ainley!Master, Tegan, Turlough, Nyssa, Simm!Master, 6

Unlike most Classic Doctors, 5 is Young and Pretty, so he reminds people of 10 and gets porn with 10's Master. Also, Tegan is still ahead of Turlough.

Shipping wars are mostly bad, especially when people try to claim a moral high ground for their ship. I don't want to get involved in any hostilities just because my ship isn't as popular as another ship.

However, maybe encouraging some friendly competition by saying "more 5/Turlough fic should be written" wouldn't be going too far. If you ship 5/Turlough and write fanfiction, write a 5/Turlough fic because winning is fun.

Anyway, how about the Sixth Doctor?

Sixth Doctor: Peri, Ainley!Master, Rose

Sixth Doctor (E): Peri, Ainley!Master, Mel, 5, Charley, Rose

Our first Big Finish companion! Also, I was so distracted by shipping jealousy with 5 that I forgot to mention the selfcest. I think one person wrote a bunch of 5/6 smut fics.

Seventh Doctor: Ace, Ainley!Master

Ace was 7's definitive companion, so if people want to ship him with someone, I'm guessing she's the obvious choice. I personally see 7 as the one incarnation I just can't pair with anyone, but People Can Do Whatever They Want Forever.

That includes writing smut! The E-Rated Only round is the same two pairings in the same order.

Lastly, we get the Eighth Doctor. He's always interesting in terms of fandom because his televised run was one movie. Anyone who's familiar with him has had to see out audios and novels. The audios and the novels each of their own Definitive Eighth Doctor Companion.

But they somehow all lose to fucking Rose again!

Eighth Doctor: Rose, Charley, Fitz, Grace

The three Not Roses can all be explained. Charley is the Definitive BF Eighth Doctor Companion and the Big Finish audios are the most popular Eighth Doctor stories, especially since they're still ongoing in some form. The EDA novels ended around the time the new series began, so Fitz isn't as well-known as Charley. But, in the book version of the Eighth Doctor's adventures, Fitz is basically 8's Jamie. He's a guy who stays with him forever and is more prominent than the female companions of the era.

As for Grace, she's the only onscreen Eighth Doctor companion and they kiss.

The Eighth Doctor was the first Doctor to really be portrayed romantically. 1 got a one-shot love interest and the first four classic Doctors were allowed to flirt with someone from time to time. The Doctor wasn't a traditional male lead and he didn't have long-term love interests because no one writing him was really into that. It wasn't until the 1980s that Doctor romances were flat out banned. They made JNT nervous.

This led to a period of time where not only did the Doctor not get love interests, but it had to be emphasized that Doctor Who Has Never Fucked Ever. Not even for reproduction. The 20th anniversary came with a Radio Times short story establishing that Susan was adopted. Along with that, when filming The Five Doctors, Carol Ann Ford was told not to call the Doctor "grandfather", because that might make people think the Doctor had sex at some point. Ford laughed at the whole thing and was allowed, for continuity's sake, to call the Doctor "grandfather" anyway.

There's nothing inherently wrong with interpreting the Doctor as aroace, or Not Having Fucked Ever and Susan being adopted. It just shouldn't be something treated as Sacred Lore That the Americans Ruined With Their Stupid Movie. The rule against the Doctor having love interests was made by a producer that the same fans who claim that this rule is sacred usually fucking hate.

Doctor Who fucks however much you want him to.

But, because 8 was allowed to have love interests, 8/Charley, 8/Fitz, and 8/Grace are all varying levels of canon. I haven't listened to much of 8's BF stuff yet, but from what I can tell, 8/Charley was mostly one-sided, but might've not been. 8/Fitz wasn't as directly discussed in-universe and came across as Canon in All But Name.

We got sidetracked. Here's the E-Rated Only thing:

Eighth Doctor (E): Rose, Charley, Fitz, Roberts!Master, Jacobi!Master

Of course there's Master smut. This is an established pattern.

Since we've already gotten sidetracked, I'd also like to say a bit more about Rose.

I think that for fans that got into the show at any time other than right as the new series began, it's hard to see why Rose is not only super popular, but still dominant in fandom, appearing in more Ao3 fics than any incarnation of the Doctor. The thing is, Rose was the first companion for a lot of people and her introduction worked differently than similar first companions.

If you started watching the classic or new series at any point but the very beginning, someone had probably already told you that companions come and go. No individual companion is a vital component of the show. You might get really attached to Sarah Jane, but she leaves and the show continues without her. This will happen to every companion.

The only exceptions to this were people starting at the beginning of a series, before any companions had left yet. This makes Susan/Ian/Barbara as a team similar to Rose as existing before the show could exist without them. But, there's three of them and only one Rose.

There's also the way their introductions are set up. Both An Unearthly Child and Rose (the episode) start with the companions and introduce the Doctor through their eyes. They're normal people in present day London who walk into something strange. But, there's a certain even distribution between characters in An Unearthly Child. The entire show is named for the Doctor, the first episode is named for Susan, but Ian and Barbara are the real main characters.

But, though Doctor Who is still named after the Doctor, the first story is called Rose and is about Rose. To someone unfamiliar with the classic series, the show has established Rose as the main character of Doctor Who, the center of the show's universe. The idea that there could be Doctor Who without Rose doesn't seem to add up.

In Series 2, School Reunion is the point where Rose (and the new audience along with her) learns that the Doctor traveled with humans before her. She's traveled with Jack, so she knows that other companions can happen, but she thought she was the first, the special human the Doctor bonded with. She's special, but only because all of the Doctor's companions are special. She's part of a group of special people.

While the classic series audience would've recognized Sarah Jane and enjoyed seeing her again, the new audience would've learned that the Doctor had companions before Rose at all. You could swap Sarah Jane with a completely original character that the Doctor recognizes as a former companion, and the same point would be made.

So, School Reunion attempted to do some damage control. Rose was leaving at the end of the season and establishing that she wasn't the first companion would make it clear that this would be a normal part of the show. Doctor Who would go on without Rose.

But, the show was incapable of leaving it there. After a Big Dramatic Exit, Rose haunted the show longer than any companion had before, new series companions included. Until Jack returns in Utopia, the Doctor doesn't seem that upset over losing him. The show moved on. But, Series 3 has the Doctor still not over Rose, causing him to be a dick to Martha. Audience members that warmed up to Martha will be mad at the Doctor now and audience members still upset over Rose will turn on Martha because the Doctor does.

Series 4 brings Rose back and gives her a second send-off, once again establishing that the show can't let Rose go. It wasn't until the change of showrunner that Rose was allowed to be just another companion.

This was sort of the same thing that happened when 10 regenerated. The show wouldn't let the characters go, so audiences that'd grown attached refused to let go either, screwing over the next in line. Rose is treated as the Most Important Companion because the show wouldn't let her go, when the show normally lets companions go.

So, that's why Rose is shipped with every Doctor and is inescapable. Once again, I don't dislike Rose. I just find it annoying when she's given special treatment, though from everything I've just said, I know why. I started watching Doctor Who right before the 50th anniversary, almost exactly a decade ago, so when I starting watching the show on Netflix, I saw how many seasons there were and knew that things changed a lot. When my friends talked about the show, it was all 11th Doctor stuff, but I already knew that he was on his way out. I consider 12 to be My Doctor because he was the first Doctor I experienced live, basically. He showed up around the same time I did.

Watching the 1st Doctor's episodes for the first time while overhearing multiple hissy fits over the new Doctor being "too old" was an experience.

Okay, I've rambled this thing to death. Hope we all learned something.

[fanfic-recs-01]

Bakudeku Fics

This is a list of Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku fics I like on AO3, if you have any recs for me feel free to send me some!

Updated 6/15/24

The Different Ways In Which I Can Call You Mine by EquinoxSolstice

~Apparently, Bakugou Katsuki is the kind of person that uses pet names when he's in a serious relationship. Who knew?

hiding in plain sight by saturnsorbit

~(a.k.a. katsuki and izuku are dating, they thought everyone knew. apparently not.)~

Every Saturday Afternoon by AmeCaeli

~Every week on the Saturday, Bakugou leaves the dorms and doesn't return until evening, and the bakusquad are determined to find out where he goes! However, none of them expected the results!~

Bakugou Katsuki’s Boyfriend by lunasayuu

~A quirkless Midoriya fic where him and Bakugou are WELL acquainted outside of their respective schools. Bakugou's mother throws a surprise birthday party for Bakugou’s 17th allowing the Class of 1A to learn more about his private life…~

mondays and sundays (and saturdays and fridays too) by eqyptiangold

~No one at UA believes that Katsuki Bakugou has a boyfriend at another school.

Especially not the adorable, freckled, curly green-haired boy that sneaks into the dorms with a sweet grin on his face while asking for “Kacchan.”~

The Curious Case of Mrs. Midoriya Izuku by EquinoxSolstice

~“Mon ami, you’re very fortunate indeed to have a wife that makes you bentos every single day! And she does it before she goes to work herself? How dévouée!”

An awkward scratch to the back of the head.

“T-Thank you. K-Kacchan will be happy to hear that… I think.”~

Pro Hero Dynamight is Dating WHO Now? by EquinoxSolstice

~Midoriya Izuku, known in the hero world as the leading quirk analyst of the modern times, was a typical young Japanese man. He’s a mumbling self-taught researcher, bonafide hero nerd, and self-proclaimed number one fan of retired hero but greatest-of-all-time, former Symbol of Peace All Might.~

Case Closed by spicymacaron

~The squad finally meets Bakugou’s mysterious long-distance boyfriend, Deku, but he’s not what they expect.~

a rose by any (other) name by HeyAssbuttImBatman todobakudeku

~Katsuki’s life is one giant cosmic joke, so of course something goes wrong when he’s sent on an easy mission to a mad scientist villain wannabe’s comic book lookin’ ass lab. Now he’s got an uncontrollable second quirk: he teleports directly to the side of the people whose name he speaks, which shouldn’t be a problem considering his penchant for rude nicknames.

At least, it wouldn’t be a problem if his big fat gay crush on the Pro Hero power couple of Todoroki and Midoriya didn’t make him say their real names with, frankly, pathetic frequency.~

Told You So by myshipsdontsail *New

~“Deku. When I become the number one hero, you’re going to marry me.” His red eyes stare at Deku’s intently.~

love in hidden places by saturnsorbit  *New

~As the receptionist at Dynamight’s hero agency, lovingly called ‘Ground Zero’, Yui has had her fair share of run-ins with suitors seeking the pro hero’s affection.

So why did this one seem so different?~

A Hero by Any Other Name by SaysiWrites  *New

~Bakugou loses his memory in a fight and has to meet his classmates all over again. Surprises are in store for those who thought they knew him.~

Who the fuck are you?! by miraculousemily47 *New

~Aizawa decides to test Class 2-A without their knowledge. He ropes Midoriya into it, but unfortunately for them, Bakugou knows his nerd too well to be fooled.~

ask for kacchan by deadwriter16

~After having to move out of Ochako's apartment, Izuku is in need of a new place to live. Thankfully, he finds an ad written by three people in need of a fourth roommate. Izuku immediately accepts, excited to meet them.~

Come Find Me in the Ashes by amarisllis 

~Izuku has a resurrection quirk; he can bring things back from the dead. One year ago, just before he and Katsuki were set to start UA togther, he disappeared, and no one has seen him since. Katsuki, and everyone else, believed him to be dead.

Until now.~

[the-book-of-dragons]

On Astrid's Live Action Actor Part 2

Part 1 So after what you read in part one they would go on to say the following. "If Sonic ever got a new series and was green the entire time people would be upset." So yeah we would call that series Scourge The Hedgehog. Yeah they didn't do their homework otherwise they would know there is a Green Sonic out there aka Anti Sonic, and they would also know people would probably be interested in a series like that. But also as someone who likes Sonic lore and even has a whole lore blog about it I know a thing or 2 about different looking Sonics. In TailsTube #4 (feat. Amy Rose) at 3:23 Amy and Tails discuss the concept of the Multiverse and Tails and tails discusses the possibility of an infinite number of Sonics that look different. Something Sonic fans should be all too familiar with, and while yes there has been changes in that people had a problem with, one was ugly and the other people warmed up to and have no problem with. Also, Sonic canonically shaves.

They go on to say, "if Stitch was ever yellow, people would be upset." Keep a pin in this for later.

They go on to say "if Bruce Wayne was ever blonde, people would be upset." What if Spider-man was ever blonde? Anyways.... In a multiverse I am pretty sure there is a blonde Bruce Wayne out there, and I don't think people would care. Heck he was blonde in his OG design. And let us not forget the brick that is Absolute Batman, who from what I've heard isn't even rich. Or even the times Bruce Wayne isn't even Batman. Part 3

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel episode 5.09 "Four Minutes"

Rachel Brosnahan in "Four Minutes". Image courtesy of IMDb.

I guess Amy Sherman-Palladino still hasn’t figured out how to end a show. I’ll admit that I’ve watched every episode and felt entertained, but I never fully embraced Maisel. I’m hard on it because it had so much potential and was always right there on the edge of being a landmark in tv- it just didn’t have that last little oomph. But even among the avid fans that I’ve talked to, I haven’t heard from anyone who appreciated the way this story ends.

Before I get to the wild things that happened in season 5, I just have to say- I never liked Midge. That’s really my only problem with the show, but it’s a big one. Maisel did so much telling rather than showing in that regard: they didn’t make her likable, they told me that people liked her. I’m supposed to be charmed by her the way everyone else is, but more often than not, I’m pulled out of the moment wondering how she’s suddenly somehow won people over. Most of all, though, I don’t think she’s that funny.

Rachel Brosnahan in "Four Minutes". Image courtesy of IMDb.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is hilarious. Sherman-Palladino knows how to make a beautiful, colorful, bustling setting full of quaint and funny people who talk back and forth very quickly. With those strengths, I have to wonder what inspired a premise centered around a career of stationary monologues. The show made me laugh out loud countless times, just never at one of Midge’s jokes. So frequently Midge would force her way onstage, royally pissing people off in the process, but suddenly everyone loves her act so much- or worse, just thinks she’s so pretty- that all is forgiven. An act that I didn’t even laugh at.

The show has an obviously feminist premise, but its execution here too leaves me feeling like the only takeaway there is “women can do anything they want!! No matter how good they are at it or how they treat people along the way!! If they make a mess, a man will be possessively in love with her and toxically sacrifice himself to make it all okay. As long as she’s pretty.”

So this is already the headspace I went into season 5 with, and its ultimate conclusion really doubled down that sentiment for me. The setup for this season has Midge working as the only female writer on America’s number one talk show, the Gordon Ford show. Gordon is a new character, but I warmed up to him quickly. He’s chill, surprising, and funny- actually funny. Midge isn’t intimidated by him because has she ever been? She’s demeaned at having to be a writer and not “talent”, but she’s gonna grin and bear it. A job plenty of ladies (me included) would kill for, and that she’s breaking the glass ceiling by having. But she’s slumming it.

Midge’s privilege is another roadblock to her likability. Not necessarily the fact that she has it financially, which I am glad this season touched on, but it’s the attitude she has about it. All the Weissmans have lavish class privilege, and this season used Zelda’s quitting to gently poke fun at their helplessness, but Rose and Abe at least have an awareness and sense of gratitude for the help they receive. Abe’s journey of self-awareness throughout this season was incredibly moving and heartfelt, and the way he beat himself up over the most minute of mistakes at his newspaper job really highlights the lack of those qualities in Midge.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: the chronologically confusing time jumps revealing the demise of Midge and Susie’s friendship and business partnership. God, I feel so bad for Susie. There’s a Friends blooper where David Schwimmer just bursts out laughing and goes, “poor Ross”. I would be amazed if Alex Borstein hasn’t had a similar experience.

Alex Borstein and Rachel Brosnahan in "Four Minutes". Image courtesy of IMDb.

Here’s the quick version of what happened over these 9 episodes: Susie’s been in bed with the mob since before this season- I was honestly thrown for a loop when they became such an important part of this season, they’ve always been surprisingly sweet, funny, and helpful. Nonetheless, they asked Susie for the favor of having Midge star in a musical about the waste department. See? Sweet and funny. It was significant, though, because Susie thought this would make her square with Frank and Nicky. As in, no more getting a cut of her and Midge’s profits. But Midge looked down on the whole trash gig thing and phoned in her performance when the rest of her life wasn’t going the way she wanted. This sparked a conversation between Susie, Frank, and Nicky that Joel observed from afar. Susie tried to promise that Midge would step up her game so they could all part ways, causing Frank and Nicky to explain that there was no “getting even”. Susie always thought she owed them a favor that one day she would repay and wash her hands of the whole thing, but Midge’s poor attitude only revealed that even if they had done everything perfectly, there was no getting out from under them.

Joel didn’t hear the conversation, but somehow he put the whole thing together really quickly, getting in Susie’s face and saying that he won’t stand for Midge being caught up with guys like that, because he’s very familiar with them. I really don’t know when Joel became such a hard-ass or got all of this mob experience. Susie tells him that she’s got it all under control- maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t- we’ll never find out, because Joel takes it upon himself to meet with Frank and Nicky and fall on the sword to protect Midge. He lets the mob in on his club business, mixing their books as he begins to buy more clubs. Midge never has any idea until his eventual arrest, in Temple no less, where he’s put away for the entire mob operation. Midge doesn’t hesitate to cut Susie off and stay by Joel’s side, religiously visiting him in prison during decades worth of time jumps.

I hate all of this for a few reasons. It really just feels like Joel felt he had to find a way to keep himself relevant in this story and in Midge’s life, and it’s so disappointing to me that this works on Midge. Before all this, Midge and Joel had a really mature and endearing post-divorce friendship. It’s hard to say if Mei’s abrupt departure at the end of season 4 was a logistical hurdle for the show or a creative choice to free Joel up to do this, but regardless, this was an unwanted replacement for a fleshed-out relationship between Joel and Mei, whose story still feels unfinished. And his weirdly intense speech to Midge on the fire escape about not letting anyone hurt a hair on her head? I’ve never seen a not creepy use of that phrase, so I don’t know what to make of Midge eating it up. This all really undermines the respectful, minding-their-own-business nature of their progressive relationship. I think if someone had said at the end of season one that this show ends with Joel’s relentless love for Midge disseminating her friendship with Susie, we would have all thought that was very off-message.

Not to mention, as all of this unfolds, we’re also treated to a glimpse of everything Susie did for Midge over the years of their partnership. When Midge got cold feet the night before a destination wedding because he didn’t make her laugh, Susie tried to put her foot down and set some workplace boundaries- this has nothing to do with Midge’s career, Susie has no obligation to untangle the mess Midge has made of her own personal life. But Midge bursts into tears, and of course Susie makes it all okay.

But the biggest catalyst of emotions boiling under the surface comes from Gordon Ford’s wife. I don’t think Susie’s sexuality was a mystery to anyone, but we’d never talked about it before Hedy. Susie was clearly deeply wounded by her, and even though she’s not one to spill her life’s story, that much is clear. Nonetheless, when Midge finds out that Susie knows her personally, she aggressively pushes Susie to talk to her about getting Midge on the Gordon Ford show. Susie is extremely hesitant, leading Midge to say that whatever is holding her back, if Susie doesn’t do this for her, then Midge will know that her manager didn’t do everything she could for her.

With the context of everything Susie has ever done for Midge, this is such a slap in the face. Add in the heavy hinting that Susie is in love with Midge, and the whole thing just makes me sad for her. The lesbian sidekick being in love with the straight main character is so tired to me. But of course, Susie talks to Hedy, and of course she pulls it off. Once Susie’s done what she wanted her to do, Midge softens and convinces her to talk about what happened between her and Hedy. Then, Midge says if she had known she would never have pressured Susie to talk to her. As if there was no way of initiating this conversation sooner.

Alex Borstein in "Four Minutes". Image courtesy of IMDb.

So for Midge to not even hesitate to turn on Susie after Joel’s arrest, something he brought entirely on himself against Susie’s wants and pleas, is so blatantly cruel that I almost wonder if Midge isn’t even supposed to be the hero of this story.

This brings us to the title of this episode and Midge’s tendency to act like- and be treated like- her showing up is God’s gift to whatever room she’s in. Susie talked to Hedy, Hedy talked to Gordon, Gordon begrudgingly broke his longstanding rule to not have staff members on the show. But, if he’s gonna do it, his frail ego is going to do it his way (remember when he started a bar fight with Hank Azaria for wanting Midge to work for him? He was being ‘noble’ because clearly Azaria’s Danny Stevens is just attracted to her. Gordon won’t let her be on the show but also won’t let her work anywhere else, how protective and helpful!).

It’s moments before the show when Midge and Susie learn that Midge will appear on the show, but not as a comic- rather, she will be interviewed by Gordon as a writer on the show, a human-interest piece. Midge is to sit on a stool, rather than the respectable couch the ‘real’ guests get to sit on. Even in this Gordon is seething and throws the show to commercial only seconds into the segment. There’s still “Four Minutes” to fill when they come back, tensions are high, and Gordon is as unhappy as someone can be on national TV.

I’ll give Midge credit for getting Susie’s blessing before she does this. I don’t even blame her for doing it, to be honest. The Gordon Ford show returns from commercial and Midge steps over Gordon’s return to the segment, walking up to the mic and doing four minutes of standup while Mike and Susie do everything they can off camera to keep Gordon in his chair.

I’m the petty bitch that counted, but if you’re literally gonna call the series finale “Four Minutes” I’d like to think it would actually be four minutes. She talked for almost ten. I believe in the universe of the show it really was just four minutes (even Midge Maisel can’t eat into somebody else’s primetime air), but to me this confirms Sherman-Palladino’s disconnectedness to standup itself as an art form. They call it a ‘tight five’ because it’s hard to do, and I was actually really interested to see what Midge could pull off in that amount of time.

I’ll admit that it was one of her better sets, but certainly not something of the caliber that warranted a complete 180 in Gordon Ford. He laughs out loud as she talks, and when she’s done, he invites her onto the couch, reintroducing her as a comic, the marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Why is she even still using Joel’s last name? I digress.

Reid Scott in "Four Minutes". Image courtesy of IMDb.

With some comparable behavior, Midge and Susie do ultimately repair their friendship. Susie, later in life, is an ultra-successful talent manager, repping the biggest names in entertainment and becoming something of a celebrity herself. Her falling out with Midge, though, is the elephant in every room she’s in. There’s a roast for Susie in one of the bigger flash forwards, with everyone she cares about there to good-naturedly poke fun at her. Everyone except Midge, which all the guests speculate about throughout the event. Then, at the end, a screen descends from the ceiling, and a recorded video of Midge plays. It sounds like she’s ready to make amends with Susie and see her again, and Susie, of course, is tripping over herself to find her way to her. After everything Susie did for her, Midge is the bigger person? The hero? Just for showing up? Again, I digress.

The series closes on the two of them watching Jeopardy! together over the phone, chatting and laughing, hard, something that’s always been important to Midge in the people she keeps close. And this time, Midge really is funny. She’s at her best when she’s interacting with people. It’s a really sweet scene and I’m happy to see the show end this way. I just wasn’t able to enjoy it as much as I would’ve liked after everything that happened to get us there.

What did you think? Do you see a different side of Midge than I do? Was Susie more wrong and Joel more right than I think they are? Does Midge’s standup make you laugh? Let me know!

[buckevantommy]

oh wow. so the christmas special was a lot of fun! my main thoughts..

Ruby feels like a mashup of rose and clara with a dash of amy— idk if that was intentional, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing bc i think anyone who likes Ruby and hasn’t seen previous series can go back and watch those previous companions for the first time and find familiarity in them— but i really didn't like clara’s personality (or the actor), and i think ruby comes across as more of an algorithm designed character than a person which isn’t great in this war against ai. i like her backstory, her family and friends and being a muso are all great, but i need a few more eps to guage how i feel about her bc i don't love who they cast and she's trying too hard and the chemistry with ncuti just isn't there (maybe they'll become mates irl and that rapport will soon filter into their dynamic)—but it's early days, so we'll see how i feel about her and them by the end of the first season.

i love Ncuti! it's very early days so i'm curious to see how his vibe develops and how his dynamic settles with Ruby. he reminds me so much of eric from Sex Education—not a bad thing at all! i love that energy and that swagger and that vivacious youth! however: that intro club scene where he's dancing (even though it was fun af) was giving zero Doctor Who vibes (i especially didn't like the song choice, personal preference) but that might just be normal? how it usually goes with every new doctor this millenium? they all feel so different from the previous doctor's era vibes, which makes sense bc they're meant to be carving their own style etc. and keeping with the times..

ncuti is the youngest doctor yet, his companion is the youngest since the vintage days, and various character details from both of them point towards this series being geared at GenZ and GenA, trying to bring the joy and wonder to younger viewers— and i love that! it feels fresh! it’s modern! but as someone in their early 30s who can no longer bear watching teen dramedies (even if they are the best chance of seeing queer rep) bc the writing can be terrible but moreover i've just aged out of relating to people in their teens (especially GenZ/A) i just hope the writing of DW doesn't take on that same teen mindset so much that it puts off older viewers. i also worry he’s not believable as a doctor on earth bc he looks so young, but *handwavey*.

singing goblins? fun. singing doctor? well, it's ncuti so it was awesome. but knowing ruby is in a band, and this doctor can sing.. look, i just don't want to see more random musical numbers pop up in future eps— but i'm not a fan of musical eps in anything, so again, personal preference. it's a very american thing to do, inserting musical numbers into non-musical shows, so maybe it'll pull more american viewers?

the goblins look cool and the cgi works without looking fake and they use prosthetics for the goblin king which works well. it’s monstery fun doctor who! magic as science! language of ropes! conicidence! i think we’ll see a lot more fantasy over scifi this series, as was started with the whole salt spilling at the edge of the universe, and as a lover of supernatural and scifi i’m excited for the melding of the two! there’s a lot of fun and mystery to be found in that genre mashup. but one baby for all those goblins? or just the king? i have notes.

Fifteen being a foundling like Ruby hints at the arc of the series? will we find out who the doctor's parents are? was he created in a stardust labratory? is he really a human being from 20th/21st century earth? (would explain his returning to that era so often his whole life and seeking companions from then and there) IS RUBY THE DOCTOR? i love this setup, this mystery, and the theory that the one who left Ruby is Thirteen.

the best christmas song choices imho. the music and set design was festive and warm and such a treat, although i wish more scenes were set at night so we could get more christmas lights and lighting magic - the apartment and the church lighting were so beautiful and vibrant! the daytime setting just didn’t pop, it was bland.

shoutout to the crack in Ruby’s apartment swallowing her up in time— who else screamed Amelia Pond! the crack in my wall! and pointed manically at the screen? i feel you.

all in all: fun, smiles, thrills, almost tears. not a lot of feels even when they were prompted, but that might be on me not loving Ruby atm and not the writing lacking anything— i think this series is gonna deliver on the feels front, no question about it.

i think people who enjoyed the 21st century doctors, as well as those who are new to the show, will enjoy this ep and Ncuti’s portrayal (especially those who are fans of Sex Education). very curious to see how existing fans react to Ruby’s casting and characterisation and whether i’m in the minority of not liking her. but this was a fun little adventure! i’m looking forward to the series bc ncuti is a powerhouse and with RTD back at the helm and fantasy-scifi angle, i think we're in for some good storytelling. 

ruby's actor is my main hangup, but we'll see. we shall see..

[notajinn]

Top Games Played in 2023 - Number 6: Sonic Superstars

6. Sonic Superstars (PS5)

The first new 2D Sonic game since Sonic Mania had a lot to live up to.

Note that this writeup will have SPOILERS because there's some things I need to talk about that require them.

What I Like

First and most importantly, Sonic Superstars is not trying to be like Mania or even the classic Genesis games. It is clearly its own game, and I appreciate that. The physics are nearly matching those games, but the level designs give it a more unique feeling closer to the Sonic Advance series.

In general I think they did a great job with the level designs. They feel fun, unique, and mostly don't overstay their welcome. They also have a bit more emphasis on exploration, but not to the extreme level of Sonic CD.

The final zone in particular is hands down my favourite final zone in a 2D Sonic stage. Act 1 is already pretty cool, but Act 2 involves going through Act 1 backwards! I know that's been done in other games, but this is the best it's been executed in a Sonic game.

I love that there are character-specific stages. This is especially helpful for Tails who never got stages designed for him in the old games, and Amy Rose who just wasn't playable. As a big Tails fan, I really enjoyed the Tails-specific stage because it gave a challenge for a character that is otherwise considered the "easy mode" in previous games. Precise flying and backtracking were the right way to go about it.

Amy's playstyle is quite fun where she is somewhere between Sonic and Hammer Kirby. She's not quite as combat-focused as Sonic Advance, but in exchange she does platforming much better here.

The other new playable character Trip is also a lot of fun. Her spin dash lets her travel along walls similar to one of the Wisps in Sonic Colours. She has gets a very unique and weird Super form.

Speaking of super forms, this game has what I consider the easiest special stages in 2D Sonic. Not only are they about as easy as Sonic 3 & Knuckles Blue Sphere stages, but they are also extremely easy to replay if you fail since you can replay levels from the hub world. This makes them less stressful. This is also important because you actually get tangible differences from each Chaos Emerald thanks to the Emerald powers. Since I played as Tails outside of character-specific stages these weren't as important to me, but they have some useful functions like a screen clearing attack, an additional jump for a limited time, or a climbable tall vine. I found these powers most useful during boss fights.

I love that Fang the Sniper returned after so long. He's one of my favourite Sonic characters, so seeing him with a proper 3D model in game and in the animated cutscenes is just really cool. I also appreciate that he's still somewhere between genuinely dangerous and a goofball. They did a good job capturing his vibe in the aerial boss fight against him.

Adding a simple hub-world gives the game a nice level of polish. It also makes it easier to retry stages, or play the optional stages like character-specific acts or unlockable fruit acts.

The game is surprisingly long with 11 Zones, and you unlock a second Trip-specific campaign after finishing the game. I haven't tried the second campaign yet, likely leads to the true final boss

As a Tails player, I found it much easier to defeat enemies by flying in this game versus any other 2D Sonic. One other small thing is you get a special cutscene for Tails completing the game (you probably get one for each character).

What I Didn't Like

By far the biggest weakness of this game is the bosses. After the first few which are pretty standard, the bosses end up becoming FAR too long. In retrospect I realized much later that they probably intended for you to use Emerald powers, and I did for the last few bosses with great success. But they are still so long, even that aerial Fang boss that I otherwise enjoyed.

The final boss in particular is so long that it's almost as bad as the Death Egg Robot in Sonic 2. But it's still not quite THAT bad.

The other huge problem of the game is the unremarkable music. What kind of Sonic game doesn't have amazing music?! Even the ones I don't like much like Sonic Heroes had an amazing soundtrack.

I'm not a big fan of the Knuckles exclusive stage; he climbs very slow.

I was also bummed that Super Tails does not get any Flickies. He just gets the general speed/jump boost and invincibility.

Another small annoyance is when you exit the shop, you always end up at Zone 1 in the hub world regardless of where you entered. And then it can take up to a full minute to navigate back to where you were.

Final Thoughts

Sonic Superstars went for something different instead of emulating that classics. This worked great for levels, but not for bosses. If they can keep this quality of level design but make bosses quicker like the classics, a sequel has the potential to be one of my favourite Sonic games.

[merrilark]

Welp, that's it for S2. I have mixed feelings about it. Overall, it's solid enough, but oh man is it repetitive with some serious pacing and characterization issues. The first episode and last two-threeish episodes make the season better, and I loved the finale, it's just a shame that you have to wade through so much unnecessary padding.

Overall Pros:

The animation is smooth.

The concept is interesting.

Sonic's new voice actor is fantastic! He reminds me a lot of a really pleasant blend between Jason Griffith and Jaleel White.

Love the game references (and very subtle SatAM references?)

Chaos Sonic was a breath of fresh air; he should have been a threat sooner and lasted longer

Dark!Sonic??? 👀 I suppose he'd be Prism!Sonic, but I loved that reference and the shard sound effects every time he flickered were cool.

The Prism Titan was actually terrifying to me.

Shadow finally gets more accurate characterization.

SEGA also remembered that Shadow can use his Air Shoes to hover and propel himself around space. Whoever was responsible for supervising Shadow's writing knew their stuff and really did a good job.

Knux was cool and it was nice to see Knuckles finally being portrayed as competent again.

Sonic's characterization grew on me, and I think he's really charming now.

Everything about Nine was pretty good. I enjoyed the build up with him.

Shadow and Sonic are at their peak whenever they're on screen together.

The Predator references (?) in space with Shadow were VERY good.

It was fun seeing Knux and Dread fight together.

Speaking of Knux, I loooove that Knux/Rebel is basically canon. 7 yo me shipping Knouge would be so happy.

Also I am now pretty sure I ship Sonadow. Romantically or as just platonic soulmates? Somewhere in between? I have no idea yet but I'm feeling things.

The finale almost made everything in the middle worth it.

Really good bones for a show. It has so much potential.

Overall Cons:

Spoonfeeds some things to viewers that feels unnecessary at best and a little patronizing at worst. I know this is a kids' show, but... c'mon, give the viewers a little more credit lol we don't need so many flashbacks, do we?

The pacing is terrible. There were so many moments where I kept thinking "okay, we get it" or "not this again" or "did we really need that scene?" There's a lot of good scenes but unfortunately they're all sandwiched between a lot of pointless stuff.

Too many robot fights that felt exactly the same.

Too few worlds. The concept of traveling to other universes could have been so fascinating to explore but all we got were four new ones in two whole seasons, one world of which is empty and still unexplored.

I'm not a fan of most of the characterizations. Knuckles being stupid is tired and inaccurate, Rouge has been watered down into what feels like the designated Mom Friend™ and just doesn't feel like herself at all, and I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but Amy has lost a lot of her charm. Big is fine, but he feels like he's just there and doesn't really serve much purpose.

The Chaos Council. I can't stand any of them. I think it would have been better if New Yolk's big bad had been a retro Robotnik. These guys? I just don't care about them and I don't find them menacing in the slightest. The baby makes me homicidal.

It wasn't as glaring this season, but the number of duplicate background characters with little to nothing to distinguish them from the others was extremely distracting and took me out of the story almost every time.

I don't think I liked or cared about any of the alternates except the ones in NY. I liked Dread at first but he got annoying pretty quickly. Feels like a lot of wasted potential.

Rusty Rose exists but you mean to tell me that the Chaos Council DOESN'T robotize it's citizens??? Isn't that what she's alluding to since she's clearly not 100% a robot? I know Robotnik/Eggman roboticizing animals has already been done a lot, but that's because it's good! It's scary! It's body horror! It could totally be freshened up if they wanted.

Kind of annoying that the S2E1 emphasized the need for Sonic and Shadow to work together, actually had them say that out loud, and then... just? Kinda didn't give Shadow anything to do for another whole season? All he did was nag Sonic a bit, kick some space rocks around, and then help fight a little at the very end. Maybe I'm biased because he's my favorite, but it's a little tiring to see Shadow constantly being used in newer stuff as just a vehicle to draw a crowd because SEGA knows fans love him, yet not actually giving him anything substantial to do.

This is such a minor thing in comparison to Prime's actual issues, but I didn't like anyone's new voices except Sonic and Shadow. Although, if I'm honest, Shadow's voice sounds almost more fitting for Knuckles. It's better imo than Thornton's Shadow (also a great VA just not my taste for that particular character), but it's def more a Knuckles voice than a Shadow voice. Tails is also fine but I can't stop hearing Rainbow Dash pfff. I don't like Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles' voices at all (Knux aside; the Brooklyn accent somehow makes it better and really suits him LOL).

Anyway, I really don't know how to feel about Prime. The idea is so so good but the execution could use a lot of work. Somehow I'm still excited for S3 and looking forward to it, assuming it gets a third, so I guess that means it isn't all too bad. It's just a pity that it still hasn't seemed to find it's footing. S1 and S2 could have been trimmed and condensed down into one season easily, I think, and been a much tighter show.