#and strax is well hes strax

[bogwaterrr]

its like three in the morning and i have to get up for school in like four hours but this came to me

and im right so whatever

[doctorwhoisadhd]

jack could not have been the companion in deep breath because the whole central tension between 12 and companion not understanding that he's still the doctor would never have happened, because jack would have instead simply just explored the doctors body

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Ten years of Whouffaldi

My word, where did 10 years ago?

Ten years ago on Aug. 23, the episode Deep Breath launched the remarkable era of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor (or true Thirteenth if you want to annoy some people).

And it was the true launch of one of the most interesting romances in sci-fi (friendly reminder that Peter, Jenna Coleman, Steven Moffat, writers and directors have all in some way or another confirmed that this wasn't fans watching with "ship-coloured glasses" - it was canonical. Regardless how some fans and even media have tried - as recently as a few days ago - to pretend it didn't exist.)

I do think it was not intended. It cannot be denied that a lot of people consider there to be an age-gap limit in romances, real-life and fictional, even when both parties are consenting adults. So when Peter replaced Matt - and no one can deny Clara had the hots for Eleven because she flat out says so, several times - they obviously planned on a return to the First Doctor-Susan dynamic with Capaldi (or maybe more accurately Third Doctor-Jo Grant, since Three low-key held a flame for Jo, since Twelve would still remember how he felt as Eleven, plus Three was "Capaldi's Doctor"). But due to the fact Peter and Jenna had such intense chemistry (to this day some fans remain convinced they had a real-life romance, which is not something I ever subscribed to), coupled with the decision to shoot the first episodes of the season in order of broadcast, you can see Moffat and his writers pivoting in real time as they adjusted to the fact that - with no disrespect to Samuel Anderson - Danny Pink was never going to be the next Rory Williams. This is most in evidence with Listen defining a future for Clara and Danny that was definitively retconned by Danny's death in Dark Water.

I know the Capaldi era was not everyone's cup of tea. Season 10 in particular did not age well for me, mainly because it was clearly "one season too many" for Moffat and Capaldi himself seemed to "check out" after a fashion when it became known that the next producer wasn't planning on keeping Twelve around. And if we're going to harp about falling ratings for the show in recent years, Peter never attained the same viewership levels as Matt or David. But for me, Seasons 8 and 9 were - a few off points notwithstanding - the best of the modern era and easily rank alongside the Pertwee years as some of the best this show ever had. (I stopped watching after Season 10 - but having spoken to people whose judgement I trust, I don't think anything that followed is likely to have rendered that statement outdated.)

But I appreciated the more mature approach to the show. Yes, I know DW always was at its core a children's show - though upgraded to family show over time. But having the Doctor and Clara having a mature conversation at the diner, the Doctor inviting a villain to have a drink with him (the closest the Doctor ever got to being James Bond), Clara freaking out about being called a control freak (not to mention her perfect "Nothing is more important than my egomania!"), the fact the episode confirmed that the Doctor did look upon Clara as his girlfriend when he was Eleven, and the fact the episode walks up to ageism and pops it in the nose with Clara being upbraided by Vastra for being ageist because of Twelve no longer being the young man Clara fell for ... all these add up to a remarkable episode and likely the strongest debut story for a Doctor since Spearhead from Space.

Deep Breath also marks the last time we saw the Paternoster Gang on screen. Having praised Moffat for Whouffaldi, now time to aim some criticism his way - he set up a perfect spinoff series (Neve McIntosh is one of my favourite actresses not named Jenna Coleman) and yet never followed through. Say what one might about RTD, we'd have gotten 4 series of Vastra, Jenny and Strax had he been in charge. Big FInish doesn't count though I'm sure Neve and Dan Starkey appreciated the fact they didn't need to put on the makeup all the time! LOL

So happy 10th anniversary to Whouffaldi!

[opencharacters]

Copyright Smuggling: Doctor Who

I've talked in the past about how The Doctor not having a name or permanent appearance is very easily molded to be put into your own derivative fiction.

Even so, perhaps you want to incorporate more whovian elements into your story. While things like the Daleks are obviously off the table, there are characters and enemies that are public domain in the whoniverse that are ripe for the picking.

I'm linking pages to the public domain versions of these characters. But have listed here where they show up in the Doctor Who expanded universe.

Cernunnos - Leader of the Original Mammoths (proposed identity of "the Enemy" from the War in Heaven) appeared first in the Faction Paradox books The Book of the War.

Doctor Omega - 1906 novel about a scientist who builds a machine that can travel through time and space. He's similar enough to be able to be molded into the role of the Doctor.

Dorian Gray - Character from the Bernice Summerfield audio drama "Shades of Gray" that has similar abilities of eternal youth as the literary character we know. He eventually got his own Big Finish audio drama series The Confessions of Dorian Gray

Ganieda - Said to be Merlin's sister in the short story A Honeycomb of Souls.

Hastur the Unspeakable - Fenric according to the novel All-Consuming Fire

Merlin - From various accounts is suggested to be an incarnation of the doctor, including the aforementioned A Honeycomb of Souls

Nyarlathotep - Suggested to be the doctor in the novel The Death of Art

Sherlock Holmes - According to The Book of the Enemy during the War in Heaven although he was a real person in the whoniverse his life got erased and turned into fiction

Thomas Carnacki - Has met the second doctor as well as Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax according to The Screaming Ceiling audio and the Foreign Devils novel

Yog-Sothoth - The Great Intelligence according to the book Millennial Rites

In addition to this there's also the Land of Fiction which is a realm canon to the doctor who series filled with public domain characters

Go forth and write your Doctor Who pastiches, nothing is stopping ya!

[wlw-imagines]

In The Name of Love - Clara Oswald/Reader (Doctor Who)

prompt: "you have some awesome writing friend, anyways may i request an imagine with Clara Oswald from Doctor Who? an unrequited love type of imagine?" - anon

a/n: these are from my old tumblr thefandomwritings from back in 2018 ! re-vamped and re-purposed!! hope u enjoy and forgive the 2018 me style writing + the drama lmao   

The Doctor and you had been travelling together for a while. You'd always remember travelling the universe with Amy and Rory, River even joining in every now and then. You were like a family, the five of you together.

When Amy and Rory left things fell somewhat apart on the Tardis. River disappeared off somewhere and the Doctor fell into a silent mood, moping around his ship for hours on end.

But it hadn't taken long before another adventure was underway, and you were the first invited to join the team again. Of course you had said yes, life back on Earth was nothing compared to the stars and there were still creatures of hundreds and thousands of planets to meet.

The adventure this time? An apparent wild goose chase to find a woman who had died two times, an act that you were quite impressed with so when Clara was finally found you happily invited her with open arms onto the Tardis.

And you had practically watched yourself fall in love with the woman.

You had also watched Clara fall in love with the Doctor.

There had always been something between the two, something you couldn't place a finger on. You just wished you had some time to think it all through. However, by time you didn't mean you wanted to be stranded on an abandoned planet for weeks on end. That just seemed to be the universe's misinterpretation of your wish.

The weeks had passed by slowly. It had only happened because you had somehow been taken off course when trying to return to London, 1888 in an attempt to return Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax back home. How it had ended this badly was difficult to understand and something you simply decided to blame on the Doctor, besides you had been persuaded that it was good fun to hang around on an empty planet.

Until you found out it was infested with Cybermen. That wasn't fun. It also wasn't fun to find out they were planning on transporting down to Earth once their upgrade had finalised and kill everyone and take over and make humans a part of their army.

Obviously the only saving grace was the old bomb the Doctor had found that seemed to have been built as a failsafe many years ago, something which greatly excited the Doctor.

"So we have a bomb!" The Doctor smiled, clapping his hand together and rubbing them happily. After 4 long weeks on this planet, that might have been the best thing you had heard so far... and you had been told that Vastra all but cried when Jenny had told her she had loved her. "Big bomb on a small planet infested with Cybermen. Sounds like a recipe for fun." He straightened his bow tie and ran off down a corridor, "Wait there, I'll be back." He yelled over his shoulder as everyone shared confused glances but stayed put anyway - apart from Clara who insisted on running after him. You knew the pair too well and so made no attempt to stop either of them, knowing your efforts would be futile.

You stayed where you were on the floor, watching as Clara ran the opposite direction and just hoping she would stay safe and not do something too stupid like sacrificing herself for any of you.

You were too caught up in your thoughts that you didn't see Jenny approaching before speaking to you, "You love her." Jenny said simply, shooting you a sympathetic smile as she slid down next to you.

You let out an emotionless laugh, "Is it that obvious?"

"I like to think I come a'customed to seeing those kinda feelings." She smiled, sparing a glance to Vastra who was in deep conversation with Strax.

You were about to respond before the Doctor came bursting through the door with Clara close behind him. He clapped his hands and hopped up on a slight step. "Okay so I have good news and bad news, which one first?"

You smiled and answered for the group. "Good news."

"Oh, okay, well... funny thing, there really is no good news."

Raising an eyebrow you sighed and answered again. "Right... Bad news then?"

"Yes, so, the bomb can only be detonated by hand and from in this room and the cybermen are closing in."

"Which means...?"

"Someone has to push this big red button - I love big red buttons-" He grinned before going straight back to being serious, "and, uh, well... boom." He rubbed his hands together and suddenly looked almost guilty as well as serious, if that was even possible for the Doctor.

"Brilliant. There you go, we're sorted! We can leave and save the world by just pressing that big red button." Clara, being the ever optimist, smiled and approached the button. You, having been carefully watching the Doctor, stepped forward to intercept her.

"So the person who presses the button...?" You asked slowly.

"Yes, well there is that. Once the big red button has been pressed then there won't be time to escape," He admitted as he raked his hand through his hair. "Before the... boom."

Everyone stayed silent as the information sunk in. You took a moment to look around the room. The Doctor couldn't do it, too important. How could you let Clara sacrifice herself? Vastra and Jenny were married and you weren't in any hurry to force them to split up and Strax was just an innocent bystander in this whole shebang. You sighed and stepped forward, clearing your throat.

"Doctor, you always hog the fun of pushing big red buttons." You smiled, looking straight at him and watching as he immediately realised what you were planning. "I think it might be my turn to have a go."

Jenny gasped lightly and shook her head, "Well, no, there must be-"

"Vastra, take Jenny back to the Tardis." You gave apologetic eyes to your new found friend who struggled against her wife's grip.

"No, Y/N, I-"

"As you wish." The lizard bowed her head to you in respect before walking briskly to the Tardis, Jenny's cries of frustration muffling as they left. Strax, looked up to you and gave you his formal goodbye, soldier to soldier before walking solemnly after his mistress. Clara watched them leave with a confused look on her face, having not caught on to what you were planning.

"What-?"

"Clara, you need to go." You held her shoulders making sure she was looking at you. "You need to go." You repeated, becoming more and more wary of the clanging footsteps approaching from behind you as the Cyberman upgrade date loomed closer. She licked her lips and nodded, preparing herself to leave.

"Wait, what about you?" She asked

"I can try and slow them down." You held your head high in order to convey confidence that you were severely lacking right about now. "No need for all of us to die." You turned away, facing the direction the Cybermen were walking from. You glanced at the bomb - a weapon that frightened you to no ends but you had made a promise and you were going to save the world.

The feeling of Clara grabbing your arm and turning you around made your heart skip a beat but you stayed steady, refusing to let her get hurt.

"I'm not letting you do this Y/L/N." She shook her head, preparing her own weapon and coming to stand next to you. 'Not on your own."

You looked desperately behind you to see the Doctor standing still. "We can all get out, don't be silly. All three of us." The Doctor put on a brave face, one you had seen plenty of times before.

After walking up to him and taking him to the side you whispered, looking back at Clara. "We can't Doctor and the longer we wait then the less time you'll have to escape." You lowered your voice even more, "You know the bomb can only be detonated from on the planet. Take Clara and run." You insisted on staying, not wanting to let anyone else risk themselves for the cause. The Doctor stayed still, just looking at you for a while before taking your head in his hands and kissing your forehead gently.

"Say hello to Amy for me." He smiled and blinked a few times as you saw his eyes get slightly glossy. That was the only emotion you got from him as he swiftly turned around, grabbing Clara's hands and walking out much to her protests. "Clara, let’s go!" He shouted, using his sonic screwdriver to open a door in front of him.

He paused before nodding his head in recognition of your sacrifice. You smiled in response, sending him a mock salute before positioning yourself by the bomb again and turning around. You could faintly hear the sonic screwdriver locking you in before you met your fate.

You gingerly looked over the small box with wires - an old machine that had rusted over with age. Gripping onto the edge of the table, you closed your eyes and held your breath, praying that the Doctor was correct in saying that the bomb would definitely work. You also quickly reminded yourself that if you didn't do this then the thousands upon millions of cyberman on the other side of the door would otherwise infest the world that you had come to grow with and love, along with your friends and family. You had seen what those monsters could do and you weren't prepared to ever see it happen again.

There was hesitation in your movements as you placed your shaky hand on the button. The clanks, noises and voices of the cybermen could be heard coming closer. You knew you had to give the Tardis as much time as you could before you pressed down, as they had to have time to escape but the threat was looming nearer and nearer.

You could feel a bead of sweat drip down your temple as thoughts of your family and friends started to flood your mind, events and adventures you had forgotten about were becoming fresh and brought tears to your eyes. The heat in the room was suffocating as the door began to creak and crack under the pressure of an army of metal and you knew it was time.

"Good luck." You whispered, just having to hope that the Tardis had escaped, as you put pressure down on the button and took one last breath.

------------

"She'll be alright, won't she?" Clara asked, the pair finally joining everyone else in the time machine. The comment made the Doctor stop abruptly so he was facing the controls. He ran his hands through his hair a few times leaving the group in silence.

"We need to leave before this place blows up." He mumbled almost incoherently as he flipped a few switches. Vastra took a deep breath and took place next to the Doctor. "i should have done something. I shouldn't let her do this."

"On the contrary Doctor. I believe you'll find that the fault of Y/N's actions should be sought elsewhere." She sent a pointed look towards Clara who frowned and advanced on her. The move caused Vastra to grasp the hilt of her swords and hiss slightly.

"What are you accusing me of?" Clara's brow furrowed and she took another step closer to Vastra who hissed again but louder.

"I think what my dearest means," Jenny stepped in, always acting as the pacifier when her wife lost touch with human emotions, "is that people do strange things in the name of love." She gave Vastra a pointed look, still sour about being dragged away before looking at Clara more carefully, knowing she was completely unaware of any feelings you may have had for her.

Clara's head snapped up at the word and her lips parted. "Love?" She shook her head, "No, Y/N never... She didn't..." Clara trailed off as everything clicked into place. "What's she done? Doctor?" She dashed towards the doors and tried to open them but too late as the Tardis powered up.

"It's too late, I'm sorry." He pulled down a final lever which sent the Tardis flying. The noise of a bomb drowned out any other words and left a deep silence for a long period after. The impact of the planet, and everything on it, being blown apart caused the Tardis to rock and everyone inside to stumble slightly.

And it wasn't Clara falling over that hurt the most but rather the pain of losing a friend, the pain of a sacrifice that she didn't even know was happening under her name. Clara could never speak to her, joke with her, laugh or sleep alongside her like she had many an adventure.

Y/N had died for Clara in the name of love.

[butchtwelfthdoctor]

hey man, regarding 12's faceblindness -- so he doesn't recognise the vastra, strax, clara, and jenny by their faces in deep breath, he can't identify which of the kids is maebh in in the forest of the night, repeatedly you kind of see him being confused about emotions and makeup on clara's face (in motoe and listen), he 'deletes' the faces of the scientists from last christmas, there's this cut scene from the girl who died where he's trying to write down clara's facial expressions and what they mean -- emotion "blindness" isn't face blindness but i guess it's related, in the sense that he doesn't have an intuitive understanding or keen memory of the human/humanoid face. and of course in last christmas he's like 'you'll always look the same to me' and he genuinely can't tell if clara's aged.

ohhhhhh thats actually really interesting i understand now. those are really good points i think i put a lot of that down to like the...... implied autism maybe?? the general neurodivergency that the doctor always has, with things like how he tries to describe clara's face as 'wide' or 'that thing you do with your eyes', he's having to say out what her face is doing so that he can try to understand it. oooh & in the husbands of river song when he tells her she looks lovely she says 'you have no idea whether i look lovely or not', which could be either he's trying to follow a social script & actually doesnt have any opinions on her dress, or he doesnt really know if she's, say, wearing makeup or aged since he last saw her.

this could also tie in quite well with him being alien, like timelords are slightly telepathic, maybe without that base level of 'this is what they're thinking/feeling' that a timelord would give off, he finds it harder to read emotions on someones face? the deleted scene you mention where he's trying to write down what clara's facial expression mean kind reminds me of the 'emotionally sensitive thing to say' cue cards from.... under the lake? before the flood? one of those

[roseposts-stuff]

hello hello!! its time for the doctor who rankings again, today it's time for series 8!! really like this series guys not gonna lie :D again, these are my opinions and also just. mostly for my benefit but i post them here in case someone else is interested in my thoughts???

1. Listen (8x4) - oh how i love this episode guys, i love the opening already, peter capaldi was MADE for stuff like this, i think. i like the idea of a creature that has perfected hiding, i think that's interesting, and i love the ending with clara talking to the doctor as a kid, i love how we kinda still left it ambiguous whether this creature exists or not (i think it does, the creature that was on danny's bed didn't look like a human, even though we didn't see it clearly, but it's not 100% sure this creature is actually real). always love it when doctor who goes horror

2. Mummy on the Orient Express (8x8) - SO good, love this episode, i love the mystery of the mummy and i think a morally grey doctor was written well in this, i liked perkins a lot and kinda wished he had become a companion, and i liked the story. also the "are you my mummy" heritage still going strong lmao

3. Flatline (8x9) - SO GOOD!! i love the idea of creatures that are in 2D that's interesting, i like clara and there are so many hilarious things in this, personally i died permanently when clara just pulled the hammer from the bag and went "apparently they're in the walls", it was so funny to me lol, yeah, brilliant i think

4. Deep Breath (8x1) - does the beginning with clara feel a bit weird considering she has literally seen every regeneration of the doctor's and knows how it works? yeah. but i get where they're going with it and why it is there, because the audience has just lost the previous doctor, who is this new guy here why is he so different, how can he suddenly be so old?? the kids who might have started watching with matt smith might say, and i get that clara is now acting as the audience, i don't mind it. and i like the scene with vastra and clara. and the second half of the episode is brilliant, i love clara with the robot. guys. i don't remember if they had a name sorry guys lol. but she was great. i really think she's so much better in this series than in series 7. and this episode also has some really funny moments, i had so much fun following the doctor's adventures, and i love jenny, vastra and strax as people might notice from the previous posts. i LOVE them. miss them every day i want them back i hate that this is their last appearance on tv :( but yeah, a great introduction to the new doctor, dare i even say better than the eleventh hour are we ready for that conversation??

5. Dark Water/Death in Heaven (8x11/8x12) - always love meeting kate even if she's in a small role, live laugh love kate lethbridge-stewart if she got no fans i'm dead. anyway, i like finally meeting missy properly, she's great and i enjoyed the doctor and her together. i think the cliffhanger is good and i personally am a danny pink defender, i was sad that he died, he wasn't my favourite character but i didn't hate him like most people seem to do lol. i also think the cybermen are alright and the nod to the brigadier and the doctor saluting him is really nice i think

6. Time Heist (8x5) - it's a nice story, i like the concept and the teller is an interesting creature in my opinion, i like the time travel heist stuff and i like psi and saibra, i think it's great and seems a bit underappreciated in the fandom? or have i just not seen people talk about it? i don't know

7. Robot of Sherwood (8x3) - this was actually pretty good fun, i laughed so many times watching this, and even though the story isn't the best in my opinion, i think this is still very fun and enjoyable and i had a great time watching it. robin hood and the doctor's dynamic was actually pretty hilarious

8. The Caretaker (8x6) - i must say, this made me laugh a few times, i think it's fun, and i like clara and danny's relationship stuff here, i think the dynamic between the doctor and danny is interesting, but the story itself isn't the best and i don't think it's anything special

9. Into the Dalek (8x2) - now i get what this story is going for and how we start exploring the question of whether the doctor is a good man or not is great, i like that theme, and i personally like that last excange with the doctor and the dalek, how the doctor says that hatred isn't victory and the double meaning of "a good dalek". but even though steven moffat is 100% one of my favourite doctor who writers, something i must say that he doesn't get right are the daleks, i don't think he gets them. i think he sees them just plainly as evil angry tanks, which they're not, yes they're obviously evil, but they do have sort of personality, they're occasionally sassy and think themselves to be cleverer than they are, and i don't think moffat gets their characterisation right

10. In the Forest of the Night (8x10) - i don't hate it but it's not good either. it's pretty boring because our characters are just randomly running around a forest, which i do think can be done well, but this wasn't. i found clara and danny's relationship stuff to be okay and i think it was so sweet the kids shipped them lol, and i do think that the fact that this had so much of them being kinda happy makes danny's death in the next episode more sad. and i did 100% pick up on the message about protecting trees, which is indeed important, and i liked that the trees were protecting the earth and that children made the message to everyone like young people do today with the climate change, i think that's something that's good about this story.

11. Kill the Moon (8x7) - i don't completely hate it, it's got a few kinda funny lines and i think it did the morally grey doctor thing well, and i love the ending with clara. but the anti-abortion message is not it, and you know i'm giving the writer the benefit of the doubt, because i can 100% see an another way to interpret the story, that humans want to destroy things that they don't know about and we should instead give them a chance because it could be a good thing, but the way some things are worded in the story are just giving anti-abortion message. and i personally wasn't a fan of the random astronaut and the story as a whole just wasn't for me. though i think the morally grey doctor is done well, it feels kinda weird that he just. disappears mid story, i don't know, but yeah, not a fan

there we are, i liked this series, lots of great episodes i think, and peter capaldi is fantastic of course :D

[adventure-showdown]

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

ROUND 3 MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

Lungbarrow

Synopsis

"Nonsense, child", retorted the Doctor. "Grandfather indeed! I've never seen you before in my life!"

All is not well on Gallifrey. Chris Cwej is having someone else's nightmares. Ace is talking to herself. So is K9. Leela has stumbled on a murderous family conspiracy. And the beleaguered Lady President, Romanadvoratrelundar, foresees one of the most tumultuous events in her planet's history.

At the root of all is an ancient and terrible place, the House of Lungbarrow in the southern mountains of Gallifrey. Something momentous is happening there. But the House has inexplicably gone missing.

673 years ago the Doctor left his family in that forgotten House. Abandoned, disgraced and resentful, they have waited. And now he's home at last.

In this, the Seventh Doctor's final New Adventure, he faces a threat that could uncover the greatest secret of them all.

Propaganda

Is it good? No. But damn if it doesn't cause some good fandom fights. #LoomRights (@eighthdoctor )

cornerstone of weird doctor who lore and jokes about looms (anonymous)

The Cars that Ate London!

Synopsis

The advent of electric carriages on London's streets causes a stir – until they start careening out of control. Elsewhere, factory workers lose their senses, while a brand-new power plant suffers mysterious outages.

Genius industrialist Fabian Solak has a vision of the future – free from pollution, running on clean electricity. But Madame Vastra knows such ideas are ahead of their time...

Propaganda

We open with one Jenny Flint buying racing pigeons because Vastra keeps eating the- because the pigeons keep getting out. She also buys a swan for Vastra (which, if you know Brit lore, the Queen owns most of the swans for some reason XD, and this is therefore a big ""Fuck you"" from Vastra to the Queen), when suddenly an electric car without a driver attacks the market. At home in Paternoster Row Vastra checks if Jenny is okay and promptly suggests a 'lie down' together... 😂 The guy making the electric cars owns a factory that quite literally works its workers to death in assembly lines, or absorbs the people's brains. The Gang infiltrates said factory (Strax starts a small war after doing a gloriously funny Cockney impression), trip an alarm, and have to flee. Strax runs through a wall. They try to escape in their carriage, two electric cars chasing them. When the carriage crashes, Strax is prepared to take the cars on in hand to hand combat; he sees it as a tactical advantage for himself that the cars don't have arms. Or so he thinks: the electric cars are actually electric TRANSFORMERS. While Strax rallies the workers to seize the means of production (communist king) and Jenny is prepped to be absorbed (she kicks the lady trying to tie her up and frees herself), Vastra has a talk with Mr Solak that ends in her being electrocuted and temporarily disabled for being IBSANELY mouthy. Solak's transformers are automated enough that he doesn't require any more workers, and he plans to absorb the brains of everyone in London with his factory he's made mobile. Well, they manage to escape and get caught AGAIN (they're that skilled istg) they try to absorb Strax as well, and while Vastra talks to Solak and distracts him, Strax takes advantage of the high voltage they connected him to and uses the energy to recharge himself properly. A hilarious audio to kick off the fiest boxset, though not without its serious moments. The concept is insane tho and I love tha. (@jennyandvastraflint )

[capybaraonabicycle]

Omg I want to hear about Thomas Thomas, what's he up to?

Ohh, that's a nice one! He's mainly being friends with Strax, see:

“Strax invited me” Thomas said and Strax nodded. “I found him on the streets” he recounted, “He needs feeding.” That might not have been the way Thomas would have put it, but his whole face lit up when Jenny lifted the bowl’s lid and the smell of fresh asparagus soup wafted across the table. “Come on, then, hand me your dish” Jenny offered, smiling at how eagerly Thomas was abiding. “There’s enough for all of us.” He dug into the food as soon as she handed it back and before Jenny had the chance to fill the bowls of the others. “No fear and no manners” Vastra commented dryly, while Jenny served her next. “I can see why he’s friends with Strax.” “Oi!” Jenny complained, shooting her a pointed look while handing her the soup. That was no way to treat a guest or member of their household. Luckily Thomas didn’t seem to notice anything anymore that wasn’t the food and Strax was too happy having been called his friend to catch the insult. “Eat up your pap, boy” he told Thomas. “So, you can gather your strength for when I will crush you in battle.” “It’s soup, Strax” Jenny informed him, placing a bowl in front of him as well. “And it’s excellent, dear” Vastra praised. “As usual.” “Thank you, darling” Jenny beamed at her, finally taking some for herself. Before she could try the food, however, Thomas had already finished his, sheepishly glancing at the big bowl again.

But, yeah, he is getting adopted into the family and becoming a detective :) That said, this is one of the works I haven't written for in 3 years, so, Idk if this is ever going anywhere.

But thank you so much for asking! <3

(@jennyandvastraflint Idk if you like Thomas Thomas but I wrote your blorbos here, so maybe you want to have a look? (also, yeah, my love for asparagus soup is no recent development - I am actually having some tonight again, how lucky am I ??))

[jennyandvastraflint]

An Essay on the Ending/Cliffhanger of Trespassers Rogues Gallery

SO THAT ENDING, hU!

Okay. After having cried and screamed and sobbed about it, I have now theorised. I hope this is a relatively cohesive essay.

Putting it under a cut for obvious spoilers.

Okay. This has a few parts:

"Reg" (how I'll be referring to the clone) is in league with Jenny's parents

Jenny was kidnapped directly after the scene with Jenny's parents at the reception

Vastra knows it isn't actually Jenny.

(And another thing I want to mention is the psychic link)

"Reg" is in league with Jenny's parents

Jenny was kidnapped directly after the scene with her parents at the reception

"Or maybe I'm your mother. Or your father" UH. that's odd. I missed that line completely the first time round...

But think about it. In the opening scene, Albert mentions an alien they got for the circus. I am convinced that throwaway line is important. He and Miriam relentlessly made fun of Jenny for wanting a wedding, for having a wife. Miriam calls Strax and Vastra Jenny's "freaks"...

And then the fucking 180 to them wanting to attend the wedding???? Suspicious as fuckkkk. Why the fuck would they show up if not to cause misery in their daughters life. Which brings us to Part 2...

"We were supposed to be getting married today" Yeah the switch happened before the wedding... I mean, this at least implies that Jenny was still Jenny during all the preparations and the cutesy bits before. During the ten second makeout scene with Vastra.

Here's how it went down, in my eyes:

Reg approached as one of Jenny's parents before the wedding, with the other one. They talked to Jenny, Strax threatened them, Strax probably turns his back for a moment, the switch happens.

As I said, I wouldn't put it past either Albert OR Miriam to be in league with Reg to hurt Jenny and Vastra.

Vastra knows it isn't actually Jenny.

Interesting is also the dichotomy of "We're equals" (said by our Jenny) // "I am your servant (as you are mine)" (said by "Jenny"). It's the word choice that gets me; Jenny insisting she's not a servant, and "Jenny" using explicitly the word "servant" in the vows. (More on the vows in the next point)

So. They take Jenny to wherever she's locked up, "Jenny" goes to the wedding, the other parent either stays or is lost in the crowd, or goes home, content with having caused misery.

Listen to Jenny's wedding vows again. they are quite flat, there's at least part of Jenny's usual edge in her voice missing. (see also, she was COMPLETELY empty under Missy's hypnosis, this is a more subtle version of that voice) "There is not much else to say. I love you. Those words contain all my feelings for you" (paraphrased now) Those words don't even BEGIN to describe their feelings and their relationship towards each other. The "servant" line, as mentioned above, immediately ticked me off. The almost repititious "I love you. I love you. I love you." of "Jenny" in the vows, she says it three times. It's almost like the words lose their meaning through that repetition in such a deflated tone.

The Doctor barges in, and brings up the topic of doppelgangers again. "Jenny" is quite insistent on moving on from that, not deal with the doppelganger business, on proceeding with the wedding. Which prompts Vastra to say “We never DID get to the bottom of this..." The doppelgangers are 100% still on her mind, she knows the case isn't closed, as you'd say.

On Jenny's insistence the wedding does proceed, and Vastra says “It’s not like… anyone is in immediate danger” ....... The sarcastic undertone??? I have studied this woman’s voice for years, I know when she is being sarcastic. She bloody well knew something was off but she’s just trying to figure out what happened to Jenny, when it happened, and why. And she can’t very well do that during the wedding ceremony. It might be (as my good friend @simpingforwomen24-7 indicated) that Vastra doesn't know if Jenny is safe - which she isn't, really - and that she plays along just how Ten played along in The Sontaran Strategem. (Thanks for that thought btw!)

In the very last scene, Vastra asks "Jenny" if this is what she wanted, and "Jenny" says, “Trust me” to which Vastra responds, “With all my life, Jenny Flint, all my life” Vastra says – to the clone – that she trusts Jenny Flint with all her life. She hardly ever, in any of the audios, addresses her as "Jenny Flint", always going for "Jenny", or some term of affection. I think it carries quite some significance that she insists on saying "Jenny Flint" here...

The Psychic Link

Conclusion

Maybe I am delusional, or maybe I am completely right or at least on the right track with this. One factor that Big Finish either forgot or purposefully didn't bring up yet, Vastra and Jenny have a psychic link. It's established in "Deep Breath" and has been used in "A Photograph to Remember" as well, albeit only shortly. I think the fact BOTH other audios in this set had instances of a sort of psychic link carries quite some significance ("When I close me eyes, I feel that, sad" Jenny about the psychic presence of the Ghost in the first audio, and then Vastra's connection to the Pterodyctyls.) and will become relevant later on in for instance the rescue of Jenny - that better happen soon, or else...

I believe that Vastra might be searching for a trace of Jenny with her psychic link? We'll find out in six months but I'll probably write this into a fanfic before then.

In conclusion, this is - of course - only a theory, but I do think it holds water. Six months is a cruel wait for the continuation after this cliffhanger, let that be said. My final sentence shall be a plea to Big Finish: LET THE WIVES BE HAPPY, GODDAMMIT!

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. I shall be writing fanfic now, starting with fluff and some fix-its...

[randompenname]

What if, they are the real threat?

Ok, I am an exhausted lady deep in the throws of a hyperfixation and by extension, possibly entirely bonkers. On the chance that I am not, hear me out.

Okay, first off - fuck Metatron. I Don't trust him at all. From the costume foils to his shifty little sneer to where Crowley had been sitting. He is evil, manipulative, possibly god and entirely to keen to be a angel on the side of the angels.

Angels and demons have known offically and unoffically about our favorite ineffable huabands for a while. While yes there is the occasional looming threat of their friendship being outed, no real orders from on high came down to do much about it. Hell, even Strax mentions she thought they were together at one point.

Yea, I know we see the demons go poking around but 3 zombies and a polaroid do not the bells and whistles make.

So what changed?

What brought the great and powerful Oz, I mean Metatron (pay no attention to the man behind the curtain?) to the door of our favorite book store?

It was not the love affair of our resident Archangel and Lord of Hell.

Heck, aside from the kinda sort of job opening, it wasn't even the forepoint of his mind.

So what did bring him here, with this shockingly awesome (in the truest use of the word) offer for an angel who until now was overlooked at best?

What changed from shut your stupid mouth and die, to lead us?

THE MIRACLE.

They both worked together to create the teeniest,tiniest,half miracle and they set off every alarm in heaven.

Can you imagine what kind of power they could create if they managed a truly focused one?

Even Crowley mentions "apparently when we do a miracle it works a bit too well"

So what if going to heaven, the job promotion etc has nothing to do with any great plan...what if its about taking the bullets out of the gun.

What if they know neither will be a threat while seperated and this has all been one sweeping move of manipulation because the powers that be know just how truly ineffable and unstoppable they would be if they ever truly decided to stand their ground against Heaven and hell and simply be "US"

Just a thought.🤷‍♀️

[doctorkinktraveller]

[Vastra's home]

STRAX: Do not attempt to escape or you will be obliterated! May I take your coat?

(Vastra is in the conservatory, sitting in a peacock chair and surrounded by exotic greenery.)

JENNY: Sit.

VASTRA: There are two refreshments in your world the colour of red wine. This is not red wine.

JENNY: Madame Vastra will ask you questions. You will confine yourself to single word responses. One word only, do you understand?

CLARA: Why?

VASTRA: Truth is singular. Lies are words, words, words. You met the Doctor, didn't you?

CLARA: Yes.

VASTRA: And now you've come looking for him again. Why?

JENNY: Take your time. One word only.

CLARA: Curiosity.

VASTRA: About?

CLARA: Snow.

VASTRA: And about him?

CLARA: Yes.

VASTRA: What do you want from him?

CLARA: Help.

VASTRA: Why?

CLARA: Danger.

VASTRA: Why would he help you?

CLARA: Kindness.

VASTRA: The Doctor is not kind.

CLARA: No?

VASTRA: No. The Doctor doesn't help people. Not anyone, not ever. He stands above this world and doesn't interfere in the affairs of its inhabitants. He is not your salvation, nor your protector. Do you understand what I am saying to you?

CLARA: Words.

VASTRA: He was different once, a long time ago. Kind, yes. A hero, even. A saver of worlds. But he suffered losses which hurt him. Now he prefers isolation to the possibility of pain's return. Kindly choose a word to indicate your understanding of this.

CLARA: Man.

VASTRA: We are the Doctor's friends. We assist him in his isolation but that does not mean we approve of it. So, a test for you. Give me a message for the Doctor. Tell him all about the snow and what fresh danger you believe it presents, and above all, explain why he should help you. But do it in one word. You're thinking it is impossible that such a word exists, or that you could even find it. Let's see if the gods are with you.

[Tardis]

(The telephone rings. A proper telephone with a curly cord. The Doctor answers it.)

DOCTOR: Yes? What? I'm trying to read.

VASTRA [OC]: Miss Clara and her concerns about the snow.

[Vastra's home]

VASTRA: I gave her the one word test.

DOCTOR [OC]: That's always pointless. What did she say? Well? Well?

VASTRA: Pond.

[Tardis]

VASTRA [OC]: Strax has already suggested where to start investigating.

[expectiations]

Dear Tia,

I am scared of pressuring you, but it is rather difficult to keep track of whether anonymous asks have been answered already. And I saw you answering asks and just wanted to check in whether you have gotten around to my ao3 asks yet. So that if you have, I can go scavenge for them :)

I hope you are having a good day <3

(And don't listen to the River haters; I pity them, it is so much better to love her)

ao3-anon

OH SHIT I AM SO SORRY. I genuinely thought you're the same participant. Or maybe it's two? Idrk 🥹 but anyways here are my answers. And I'm assuming (🥹) that these previous asks came from the same person? So I'm grouping them into this ask too.

– one

When I wrote that DNW, I was in a messy headspace (heh) so I just wanted lighthearted fluff stuff. However, it's also okay for me to have a few angsty moments while keeping the overall fic lighthearted in feels.

Playful DoctorRiver banter? Sure! They're fine for me.

I'm a bit partial to River but if the situation fits for Mels, go ahead! Same goes for using another regeneration of the Doctor.

– two

I am glad to say that I've been doing my best to sleep before 12 am 🫶🏻✨ (except last night. that was a fluke. and totally @croxxbunx's fault 🙄)

Aw thank you! I totally missed writing fanfics 🥹

I am proud to say I'm quite good at drumming up endless prompts. I'm just rubbish at moving it from prompt-level to fic-level lol

– three

I didn't include it since the questions have been answered but thank you for the hug!! 🫂

–

On another note, I just remembered how I came up with that prompt in the first place. I found it amusing to put the Paternoster Gang in a situation where they have to deal with DoctorRiver shenanigans but in a sort of loop. Cause I have this headcanon that the Gang are sort of like parental figures to River. And also provide marriage counseling on the side. And the fun Strax and young!River, who's still quite attached to her guns, would have together!

I mean we all know how the TARDIS totally adores her Water, right? So she makes River a room full of weapons and she and Strax have such a fun time there. Totally for the glory of the Sontaran Empire of course.

Like just imagine young!River, new to Luna U, struggling to be more 'human' than 'weapon'. Fighting the urge to punch/shoot first, ask second. Here comes along the Gang, who shows her how to find her balance, who comforts her and assures her it's okay to hold a weapon while also holding her back from going on a rampage at the slightest grievance.

Strax also had a nursing stint, yes? He nurses River's wounds (you really should be more careful, boy. you are not a strong and mighty Sontaran.) and teaches her how to take care of different kinds of wounds and how to fight for the glory of the Sontaran Empire. I can just hear baby River's giggle and see her bright eyes taking in everything Strax teaches her.

Jenny and Madame Vastra. Feminominons of the Victorian Era. Also River's badass mothers who try to teach her empathy and etiquette, how to give as good as she gets. I like to imagine them dropping in on River and making sure she's eating well, helping her study. (They also totally had nothing to do with the disappearance of the Professor who tried to claim her essay as their own. Absolutely not.)

[graniteslab]

i feel like the first episode with the sauntaurans set them up in a way that I don't think NuWho followed through with. I'm not sure how they evolved over the course of classic who, but i feel like the modern sauntaurans didn't click with me as well as they did in The Time Warrior.

First of all i really loved the asthetic that the Sauntaurans are like space Knights. The design with the big metal helmet really lends to the idea that they are warriors going out into the universe to fight shit, whereas now they've kinda lost that in favor of basic sci fi baddy

and secondly, Linx was an intellegent guy, in the realm of science, but also interacting with people. Like he manipulated Iron-gron really well, he knew the threat that the Doctor posed almost immediately, and he built all kinds of cool sci fi shit. The Sontaurans now (especially Strax) have been bimbofied beyond belief, and I think that that subtracts from them being actually interesting characters.

[dalesramblingsblog]

If we're going on the making affectionate digs at other showrunners do you think that Skaak killing Svild might have been a dig at the overuse (YMMV on this, of course) of comedy Sontarans, which was a sort of comment I saw some fans make? As in, Svild feels very Strax-like but is called a disgrace by the Sontaran Commander. Though I don't think Chibnall opposes playing them for laughs, horse, chocolate, etc. but reminding us how dangerous they can be.

I mean, I think the Sontarans are just an inherently difficult concept to take super-seriously, so much like a lot of things about fandom, I've never understood attempts to seriously argue that they're, like, a set of S-tier uber-competent villains. That isn't to say they can't make for good villains in relatively serious stories; The Time Warrior alone proves that they can.

But it's telling, I think, that even in what is almost inarguably the most successful Sontaran story of the classic era, Robert Holmes still defined Linx as a part of his typical "comedic double act," what with his verbal sparring with Irongron. Subsequent stories want you to invest far more straightforwardly in the Sontarans, and I think that that's... a hard sell, as The Invasion of Time will quite readily attest.

Indeed, I think that "The Sontarans as straightforward villainous warrior race" was always just a rather poor fit for the Moffat Era, which always seemed uncomfortable with the suggestion that "monsters" existed in a hard-and-fast, quantifiable, unambiguous sense.

The Sontarans are pretty much self-consciously designed to not have much in the way of depth to them, to the point of being a clone race who, when properly helmeted, are rendered virtually indistinguishable, and much more forgiving on the BBC's prosthetics budget to boot. They are a poor fit with more distinctly Moffat-esque creations like the Silence or the Weeping Angels, and the only way you could probably fit them in would be... well, to do what he did with Strax, probably.

But I do think it makes more sense for Chibnall to play them straighter, as Chibnall's tenure frequently adopted a more broad, blockbuster sensibility, especially in something like Flux which was very obviously structured as "event television." If it wasn't Doctor Who, maybe you could get Cahiers du Cinéma to consider it a six-hour movie.

So we get Sontarans that feel almost as if they're attempting to split the difference between Strax and The Invasion of Time. In the most charitable reading, it's aiming for the balance of The Time Warrior, and if it doesn't hit the bullseye, well, to give Chibnall his due, Robert Holmes is a very difficult benchmark to hit.

I do think, with the use of titles like War of the Sontarans, the balance is perhaps tipped a little too far into The Invasion of Time territory for my liking, and the cheap shot to make would be that the last time the franchise tried a "War of the [insert iconic Doctor Who monster here]" was... welll...

(In aiming to find a balance of my own, I'll note that I'd much rather rewatch even my least favourite Chibnall episodes than re-read novels like Genesys or Evolution.)

I don't know if I have much in the way of a cohesive final point, other than that... I dunno, Sontarans are a deeply strange concept. Which makes them a good fit for Doctor Who, really.

[strawberry-selfships]

ALSO now I’m thinking abt Strax and your genderfluidity (which I hope isn’t weird aIDHFHSJRHRB /gen) and!!

Yknow how Strax has trouble with gender?? He can’t tell whether someone is a boy or a girl. He’s constantly making mistakes and getting a raised eyebrow from everyone else, due to his species being a clone race and not the type that actually breeds/procreates.

WELL. What if (to the surprise of everyone), he genders you perfectly each time?? He’s in the middle of a convo with you and he switches pronouns halfway through, and everyone else is like “oh I guess Strax got mixed up again” but you know for a 100% certainty that somehow Strax was able to clock your gender shift even between sentences. Maybe he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. (I hope this makes sense ajdhdjsjdhrrv I had the idea and had to speak it!)

OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IM LIKE ACTUALLY RESISTING THE URGE TO START ROLLING AROUND ON THE GROUND RN /POS /DEAD SRS

Your brain. Omg.

Ogh im heading to work rn and I just know im gonna be thinking abt this aaaalllll freaking day. Ohhhhh my god . Thank you . This is so lovely . Thank you so much