#better still why does the female doctor have three companions

[brokenhardies]

tbh as a six fan i feel so bad for thirteen fans

bc there are a lot of thirteen fans who are willing to defend shitty writing and poor decisions bc thirteen's their favourite doctor and there's no other way to say she's their favourite bc thirteen has only been off the air for 2 years at this point. thirteen also has the bonus problem of being the first female doctor which means a lot of her criticism is clouded by misogyny and other icky incel alt right shit

meanwhile with six, a lot of his problems had the benefit of the wilderness years, big finish, the expanded universe, and even people looking back at his doctor and realising that there was some good in his episodes. a lot of his fans didnt become his fans until recently and even most of his haters are quite clear that they hate the writing decisions and not the actor himself

like until jodie gets some good material - maybe big finish? theyre doing fugitive doctor and dhawan master stuff that might improve the problems with those - a lot of thirteen fans are going to be clutching at straws and trying to figure out why they like her and how to say so in a way that won't upset the predominantly male fandom, as well as won't disagree with common and very bloody obvious criticisms of chibnalls era

[variousqueerthings]

DOCTOR... WHO???? (siiiigh)

ok. ok. so. ok. alright let's do this. i have a sneaking suspicion this will rate higher than some other M*ffat episodes, but don't let that fool you about me thinking it's good"

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 8/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored): 3/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 1/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 5/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 3/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 3/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 4/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 1/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 3/10

FULL RATING: 37/100 (if I can count….)

OMFG NO IT'S THE LOWEST RATED BOY OH BOY OH BOY AND IT DIDN'T EVEN DO BAD ON OBJECTIFICATION RATING AND YET!!!!!! IT'S SO STUPID!!!!!!!!!

OBJECTIFICATION: Amy wears a suit in this one. River Song is also wearing a suit in this one. because this secret society thing? (I am unclear what they're doing in it in this world, but I mean... the world-building is rated one out of ten so we'll get to that) people wear suits

there is this weird fucking interaction between sci-fi Churchill and the Doctor:

Churchill: What’s she like? Attractive I suppose The Doctor: Hell.... in high heels Churchill (leering): Tell me more

PLOT-POINT: ok so like. this episode is called "the wedding of River Song." it's about... not River Song. it's technically about how River Song (REMEMBER HOW RIVER SONG IS SECRETLY AMY'S AND RORY'S KID AND SHE WAS STOLEN AFTER AMY WAS FORCED TO GIVE BIRTH TO HER IN ORDER TO BREED THE "PERFECT PSYCHOPATH FOR THE DOCTOR" SO SHE WOULD KILL THE DOCTOR FOR A REASON WE STILL DON'T KNOW BUT LET'S FUCKINDFG DKLJSLÖKGFHSK BUT THEN OFC SHE BREAKS HER PROGRAMMING BECAUSE SHE FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIM BECAUSE SHE'S INFORMED SHE WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM AND SO SHE DECIDES NOT TO KILL THE DOCTOR BUT THEN THEY FORCE HER INTO AN ASTRONAUT SUIT THAT WAS BUILT IN 1969 BECAUSE THIS SECRET SOCIETY SENT HUMANITY TO THE MOON SO THEY COULD DESIGN THIS SUIT FOR RIVER SONG TO KILL THE DOCTOR THE MOON LANDING WAS ABOUT THE DOCTOR SDFJJJLKJÖARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OKAY AND SO EVEN THOUGH SHE'S NO LONGER INTERESTED IN KILLING THE DOCTOR THEY CAN JUST KIDNAP HER AND FORCE HER ITO THE SUIT TO KILL THE DOCTOR BUT ALSO NOW SHE'S NOT BECAUSE LURVE MAKES HER BREAK TIME TRUST ME BRO JUST DON'T THINK ABOUT I- *tears M*ffat apart With My Fucking Teeth*)

okay so it's about how River Song broke time in order to not kill the Doctor, which is supposedly a fixed point in Time, even though it definitely is not in show canon up until this season decided it was, and then the whole episode is the Doctor building up to telling River "actually I've found a way to not die," and she's like "oh good" and then he doesn't die

that is the plot. why is this a season's worth of plot and then 48mins? I will get to the FUCKING MONTAGES in a bit

so River's Thing is like. she's in love with the Doctor. in fact according to this episode "I cant let you die without letting you know that you are loved, by so many and so much, but by no one more than me"

which, if you're into River/Doctor is fine, personally I think Matt Smith looks like a child and Alex Kingston for all her acting (and hindered by so much bad "sexy" dialogue) cannot convince me she's into this baby-looking person. maybe if they'd done this during Capaldi, but that would require doing more things with River Song and M*ffat isn't really interested in her beyond the fact that a. she's in love with the Doctor and uh... 2. she was raised by a secret society. or she lived with her mother while she was growing up? (how did that work, when she was a child, weren't there people wondering who this kid's parents were????) and 3. she's sexy and she knows it

it does not fucking matter how she feels about the brainwashing of it all. it Does Not

I give this SOME points, because finally Amy got to have an emotion about her baby being taken away from her, I had fully forgotten that: "You took my baby from me and you hurt her and now she’s grown up and she’s fine (is she, we'll never know), but I’ll never see my baby again," and then she straight up, deliberately murders the villain who's helplessly tied to a chair

wonder if her feeling about murder will affect the plot in the future (they do mention it at the end of this episode), and she hints that "River didn't get it all from you" so like. Amy care to explain the execution you just committed?

she also mowed down a bunch of The Silence, but they're creepy monster people and not real people, so that's fine

uhhh what else for Amy? idk, she's there, she still loves Rory

COMPLEXITY: Stupid! Fucking! Plot! wait I already did this in the above point, okay so after River Breaks Time to not kill the Doctor at this supposed fixed point (lol, no it still fucking isn't M*ffat, there's loose continuity, and there's not caring at all about making your shit make sense, because LOLLL it's scifi after all and you can do what you want I fucking guess), Time just... stops

and all of Time happens at the same Time, except some people are noticing (are people ageing? or experiencing the same day again and again? or.. hte same second again and again? why is Churchill really the guy we want representing this idea??? why are there cars being carried around by big balloons????? why is it all earth? no time to explore any of this world- wait that's below point IT ALL BLEEDS INTO EACH OTHER BECAUSE IT'S SO STUPID)

WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO EXPLORE ANY OF THIS BECAUSE WE NEED TO GET TO THE REALLY INTERESTING PART OF THE EPISODE!

montages

the Doctor is explaining what happened up to a certain point and does so through the artistic format of montage. that means that Every! FUcking! Episode! M*ffat wrote for this season has a montage at the beginning!!!!!!

and then at the end of the montage, they're like oh no there's The Silence around us, for some reason, and then the Doctor gets kidnapped by... Amy, who's in the secret society now?

but now they're good guys, dedicated to figuring out why Time has stopped (except it... I mean it clearly hasn't, things are moving and changing and why is this done in the Stupidest way possible)

and they captured some Silence. but actually they were never captured just waiting, and now they're free and they go up to the top of a pyramid, the Doctor gets married to River, time restarts, River shoots the Doctor, but the Doctor had a Plan all along, using the little guys in robot-people we met in Let's Kill Hitler to get that body shot instead

the end

except for setting up THE NEXT STAGE OF THE MYSTERY because aaaalll of this happenned from WAY back in s5, because of a Question that mustn't be asked... and that question is Doctor Who

this episode is doing like. 2 things. "I know I'm going to die, and I stopped it easily (not so fixed a point after all I Guess, M*ffat)," and River and Doctor got married

oh and Amy KILLED PEOPLE but this will not be important, that was just to make her More Badass

and for all that it is presented like it's so fucking complicated

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: um so plot as above is nothing, as said, it's just another bit of silly mystery on top of an already unwieldy house of cards standing in a drafty room

characters. not much actually, I mean, yes the Doctor and River got married now, but it's like. anti-dynamic. it's just there now the characters are meant to get married for the set-piece

lore um... checks notes. fucking. "Doctor Who." Trenzalore is a place something is going to happen. yeah so, fuck off nothing

COMPANIONS MATTER: lol see above. nope they're still basically "The last Centurion and the Girl Who Waited"

which, defining Rory as the Last Centurion outside of the particular episode in which another version of him was the centurion never made sense to me, sure that's something he did in a part of the story, but it's not really what his character... is. it's just that M*ffat loooves a moniker and it sounds impressive, and also in the last episode, the Doctor said "it's time to stop waiting" there's just nothing! new here! they're never going to be anyone else, or like... just their flipping names

Rory in this version of events/this other different universe is a soldier, and Amy doesn't remember him (I'm assuming Amy remembers the Doctor because they have a bond from back in s5 where her remembering him brought him back from non-existence, I can accept this as an already-established thing), but she does remember someone who she draws completely differently to Rory (hearkening back to Rory not being as manly as Amy's ideal fantasy and I thought we were past that but whatever)

anyway, the Doctor goes up to soldier-Rory and says this: Loyal soldier waiting to be noticed, always the pattern

IS Rory a soldier ever outside of two episodes in s6, both written by M*ffat????? M*ffat has a different, less caring, more "masculine" version of Rory that he writes that is so different from Rory in near every other episode... I don't like this Rory much, because he has no personality outside of "shoot gun/be badass and run after Amy"

I do appreciate that he is about to die and Amy returns to save him (although I have questions about how easy it is to kill "the bad guys" in M*ffat's era)

I will take this from the same exchange as above:

The Doctor (trying to get Rory to go for Amy): she said you were a mr hotti…ness and she would like to go out with you for… texting and scones..."

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: this episode is all about how the Doctor is so special that everything bends towards this Moment In Time, but wait, That Moment is actually all about an even more important Moment that is still to come, also about the Doctor

and the tension of the episode is simply everyone waiting to see what clever thing the Doctor has already done in order to stave off the events this whole season has ostensibly been building up to

River Song at the Doctor: You’ve decided that the universe is better off without you, but the universe doesn’t agree

I mean yes, I enjoy the narratives favourite chewtoy type characters as much as anyone, but the thing is this Doctor isn't that, because the Doctor already has the solution. it's just. doing the exact thing that the episode The God Complex was deconstructing! S I L L Y ! ! !

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: there's a moment here that's kind of quick succession, and goes like this -- the Doctor is avoiding the moment of his death (that is easily avoided), and has a throwaway bit in which he say that Liz the First is forever waiting in a grove to elope with him (gross, stop gross stop with the ongoing Elizabeth the First banged the Doctor jokes stop! It!) or he could just "go and help Rose Tyler with her homework"

I can read this either as M*ffat's penchant of writing whatever he wants in terms of how the timelines of this series go (which is how he does it with Eleven constantly jumping forwards and backwards, up until the point it suddenly can't be done, because M*ffat only has rules when they serve a particular plot point), but I also can pretend/enjoy it from the perspective of "actually I could never go back and help Rose Tyler with her homework, because it's not possible to change how things went down or mess with her timeline, and that's the point, I'm pretending I can do what I want, but I know I can't"

ofc the episode then undermines this point, but still... it's a sweet point

also Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart dies. I didn't remember this in the episode, but I assume it just didn't land with me back in the day because.... who is the Brigadier if you haven't seen classic!who? it's something for the classic!who fans I suppose, but it's literally the moment that makes the Doctor stop running and it's completely unestablished why the Doctor cares about this character or even really who this character is

I'm being pedantic now perhaps, but I think if you're going to bring up classic!who (which I do enjoy) it needs to either be an actual Easter Egg/not affect the plot, oooorrrr it needs to be re-established in this text why this matters, and this does neither

I was sad watching it this time, because I've met the Brigadier now, but it's easy and lazy nostalgia bait

“SEXINESS”: so like. this isn't the worst episode for this, but the worst episode for this is so bad!

aforementioned gross mention of "Liz the first," River Song and the Doctor do boring, annoying flirting in which she mentions his past with Cleopatra (strike two, but at least??? Marilyn Monroe isn't also mentioned)

INTERNAL WORLD: none. nothing. montages of places that will never matter and a pocket universe world in which it seems like they thought two seconds about the functionality of it, I went on a rant above, I'm resisting ranting again, this whole thing is Stupid

POLITICS: there's not really politics. I mean, it's not a very big episode, it's just pretending to be, but in the end it's a couple of specific plotpoints inside a carnival that's on fire

but let's see, there's obviously the complete lack of interest in exploring female characters (including in episodes in which their names appear in the title)

oh and they mention psychopath River again

River: Take a child, raise her into the perfect psychopath, introduce her to the Doctor… who else was I going to fall in love with? fuck offffffffffff fuck off with all of this forever

also the plot culminates in a marriage -- now I was more annoyed when I thought the marriage literally solved the problem, when really it's more a sort of... segue into solving it, but the idea that this is a more important relationship than any the Doctor ever had or is ever going to have is what this plot works so hard to make the central conceit, and the way to prove this is by getting married, which segues into Fixing The Universe

and to be fair, it walked itself into this corner (on purpose) from the moment River Song was introduced, but the way it pretended at mystery as if the answer wasn't always "yeah they got married I guess, in an episode so boring, trying to be so big, that presents the Idea of marriage as the event that is more important than any other in the Universe (not like... individually, in the Universe) that for the Doctor in the same season as we had The Doctor's Wife is framed as more important than any other relationship because it is now defined by Getting Married...."

it's kind of a central problem with River Song and the Doctor, in the end it's... terribly normative. it tries not to be, but its structures struggle to break out of it, even when we get told that River has other partners (never seen, never important, often more of a throwaway innuendo to show how sexy she is), even with the tragedy of them moving backwards (sort of) in their respective timelines, it's still performing alloromantic heteronormative relationship hierarchy (big words meaning They're Straight TM writing)

the possible upside (we shall see) is that maybe now the stupid flipping marriage build-up is done River can be doing other fucking stuff, like being a character

FULL RATING: 37/100 (if I can count….)

okay so, the good. low on literally objectifying female characters on the whole, and isn't the worst on previous doctor who (except for of course saying a big fuck you to every past Companion and important relationship the Doctor has ever had)

and the bad is. that it is bad. bad across the board. it's a bad episode, made worse by everything that was bad before being doubled down on, so that in hindsight all the other bad stuff is also worse, like a horror ride funhouse mirror of non-linear watching reflecting backwards and forwards in time (kind of like M*ffat wishes the River Song and the Doctor's story managed to do, but in bad)

and that is s6. what a wild ride. epic highs and lows indeed!

[cauldronofmorning]

i think there is a weird dynamic in a lot of fandoms where people decide that only one female character experiences misogyny and therefore is worthy of feminist defense. like in the breaking bad fandom people were (rightly!) horrified by the insane misogynistic vitriol directed at skyler, and rightly defended her from it. but then when better call saul came out people saw that kim was more popular than skyler, and therefore decided that she was immune to fandom misogyny and not worth defending. but she was only well liked initially because people massively misread her character and saw her as a conscience/morality pet for jimmy (and if i’m being honest i think a lot of men liked her early on because they assumed that she was going to be fridged for jimmy’s manpain as the final push to turn him into saul). so you got a lot of takes from so-called feminists about how kim was an anti-feminist character and how she only exists to support jimmy (which is a massive misreading of her character). the same thing happened on game of thrones with sansa vs dany and arya. like dany and arya were much more popular than sansa (although i would argue a lot of the men who loved dany and arya never understood the depth and nuance of their characters), and the most blatant misogyny was directed at sansa, so sansa stans decided that sansa was the only female character who deserved to be defended. so then you got a bunch of weird ass takes about how dany and arya don’t experience misogyny because they’re not “feminine” (ignoring the fact that dany is very feminine?) and therefore have male privilege (???) over sansa, and sansa stans claiming that gnc women have privilege over gender conforming ones. it was very weird and bad. and like the thing is even though dany and arya were/are popular characters they got and still get a ton of misogynistic hate from the audience. also unfortunately sansa stans saw dany and arya’s popularity as license to hate on them in incredibly disgusting ways. anyways as someone whose faves were dany, arya, and sansa i found it incredibly frustrating how sansa stans were straight up horrible about dany and arya, like i just want to love all three of them in peace why does fandom have to make it weird (also the show didn’t help matters with the way they wrote sansa vs arya in season 7 and sansa vs dany in season 8, i will forever maintain that arya and sansa could have worked out their issues in a much healthier way than the show had them do it, and that dany, arya, and sansa would have been friends).

agreed about Skyler and Kim, as I remember looking for old interviews (like Succession, every interview makes me crazy) and finding a season three article that said "Kim has to die sooner rather than later". how people think she's immune from fandom misogyny is beyond me.

and while Doctor Who is a very different show to Game Of Thrones, all that reminds me of the terrible fights that would pit every female companion against each other. bad time.

[cienie-isengardu]

The development of Law’s relationship with Zoro - Part 3: Punk Hazard, The Alliance (B)

<<Part I: Before Meeting>> <<Part II: Sabaody Archipelago, The First Meeting>> <<Part III: Punk Hazard, The Alliance (A)>> <<Part III: Punk Hazard, The Alliance (B)>>   <<Part IV: Dressrosa, The Breaking Point (The Plan Failed)__  (Saving Law)__(Protecting Law)__ (Birdcage, Pica and Doflamingo)__  (Aftermath)>>

Law and Zoro, sadly again did not interact much through the course of the story. Roronoa literally talked three times directly to other Supernova, yet comparing his behaviour to other crew members still gives a lot to work with for Law, while Zoro’s opinion about Heart captain relies mainly on mere observation and on stories told by people who at some point interacted with Law, in good or bad way.

That said, here comes obvious differences between Zoro and his companions that Law could easily notice and appreciate:

Straw Hats reaction to pirate alliance and its goal.

In general, the reaction of Straw Hats fell in three categories: terror, cool acceptance and happy satisfaction.

And so, we have panicked and totally scared Nami, Usopp and Chopper

whose main concern was that taking down Yonko is too dangerous and how, as Usopp nicely said, they are supposed to trust that suspicious guy… who just stands like, a few meters away. And even though Luffy gave the lifting morale talk that placate the weakling trio for a time being, once Doflamingo is mentioned, they turn back into nope Nope NOPE mood, trying to vote against the alliance.

Ironically, even with Brook wondering if their protest would change anything (with I’m not sure if that means he too, don’t like the plan of pissing off Kaido by taking down one of Seven Warlords), it still makes only 4 of 9 people against. Which means a majority of Straw Hats vote for yes.

The cool acceptance comes from Sanji (seen above) noting that Luffy already decided, so there is no point in arguing now about that. He does not display overjoy at the prospect of dangerous battle(s) ahead but does not sound worry either. He simply accepts Luffy’s decision and will do what he always does - kick enemy ass & protect the crew.

Another example is Robin, who, despite warning captain about common betrayals between pirates, agreed to follow Luffy’s decision:

Franky (seen above, in Chopper’s body)… well, his main reaction was just “Super” but how conscious he was at that moment is a matter of dispute. Anyway, once the plan was talked in more details, Franky didn’t show any worry and even took part in a discussion about the secret factory on Dressrosa. So, he was all for the alliance.

Then we have Zoro:

The Emperors, huh! That’s great. Said with a wide smile. Because of course Zoro loves  the idea of fighting against the biggest and most dangerous powers controlling the sea of the New World. Which literally makes him closest to Luffy’s reaction:

What, on one hand, is helpful for Law. On another, just speaks how Zoro’s insanity is dangerously similar to that of Monkey D. Luffy.

Another thing setting Zoro aside from the rest of the crew is something I think Law appreciated very much.

Zoro is the only one of Straw Hats that did not piss off, bother or confuse Law through the Punk Hazard arc.

I mean, Luffy probably gave him headache of the year with his stubborn, selfish and idiotic behaviour that constantly was threatening the plan

And along with Nami, Chopper, Ussop, Franky and Robin traumatized and laughed at him

and in general, confused the hell of him with their emotional switching (from screaming at Luffy and not wanting an alliance with Heart Pirates to blushing and being supportive).

Let’s not forget the pushing Law into doing things he didn’t have time or interest in but was forced to agree

or Nami screaming at him twice to give back her body

while also calling him “Torao” instead of his true name - looking at Law’s face, he wasn’t happy about that

or how he was accused of murdering or harming sick kids by Straw Hat doctor

or was told by Luffy that he understood why there is no time for party only to ignore the danger and partying with marines of all people

or making Law angry with all the lack of care for his plan due to emotional response to samurai’s story

or the perverted trio making unnecessary ruckus when A) Law already had a lot to worry and having some quiet moment was much better than seeing grown up men ganging up against kid and B) Amazon Lily proved that Law in general is not taken by female beauty which leads back to point A. and Sanji, Brook and Kinemon noisy stupidity. The manga frames did not show Law’s reaction but it was hard to miss the commotion on the deck  where he spent the whole night (at least until the trio went to confront kid and Robin after their bath, what I believe happened inside the ship).

Like, literally, half of the Punk Hazard arc is Law fighting to stay alive and secure his scheme against Doflamingo and the other half being confused, irritated and traumatized and screamed at by his new allies and occasionally, losing composure with no grace.

Zoro? Not so much, what I imagine makes Roronoa the safest Straw Hats in terms of Law’s mental health. Not that Zoro is not a hazard to someone’s mentality with all the crazy stuff he pulls during fights and general rude behaviour but Law did not have a chance to see the more goofy or softer or more idiotic side of the other Supernova yet. Anyway, the three times Zoro directly interacted with Law were always focused on the job which truly must have been refreshing after hours of Luffy’s selfish and overwhelming nature or shenanigans of the rest of the crew. In contrast to noise Straw Hats, Zoro is cool headed and calm - one could even say, Roronoa is a quiet person. Through the chaotic events, he did not pick at Law for fun, did not scream at him nor accused of cruelty or medical “crimes”, did not judge him in any noticeable way. And it was not only the matter with Trafalgar. When Kinemon attacked Rorona for “stealing Wano’s national treasure”, despite previously display of love for fighting, Zoro retained composure and limited himself to dodging while trying to convince the enraged samurai to reason.

What is even more important, he demanded from Monkey D. Luffy - the epitome of uncontrollable chaos - to act seriously. Not in the comical (panicked) way Nami, Usopp or Chopper did over the course of the story. The effect was lost on Luffy soon, true, but Zoro did not turn a blind eye to his captain’s mishaps. In a sense, Zoro is a very grounding character to the energetic and chaotic Luffy and brings some self-control and sober thinking into the relationship between two Straw Hats Supernovas. Something that is much closer to Law’s own nature, something familiar enough to know how to work around the other swordsman without migraine. In contrast to Luffy.

Of course, the impression of Zoro as the stoic, mature and not-confusing person made on Punk Hazard will be soon verified by Dressrosa arc. But so will be the impression of collected, cold-blooded and scheming Law.

Next part: Dressrosa, The Breaking Point.

[punz4lyfe]

Now you've been asked what you do like about him what about the opposite what don't you like about goh?

Aw man, this is gonna hurt.

TL;DR - Goh’s a completely lovable character, but I have three particular issues with him that I feel could become worse if not taken care of properly.

First off, DISCLAIMERS!! To all my fellow Goh fans, please know that writing this, I do not mean any hatred to Goh in anyway. I LOVE Goh, and if you’ve seen literally ANY of my past anipoke posts, you would already know that. These are just issues I find with his character that I want to be changed for the best.

Now with that outta the way, here’s what I don’t like about Goh:

1. His iffy character development. While he’s doing fine in becoming more open to people and more willing to help Pokemon, his fighting skills are what I have trouble with it. Let’s go back to his first ever official battle.

It was at Hoenn’s Frontier Cup where he used Scorbunny and Scyther against a trainer’s Mightyena. Despite having a type advantage with Scyther, he lost horribly, which is completely understandable. He’s a beginner and doesn’t possess the same kind of street smarts and experience Ash and many other trainers have. Alright then, so maybe this will lead to a change in character of wanting to become better in battles by getting some training with Ash, who made quick work of that Mightyena trainer. Surely we’ll get some development over this topic after this episode!

He beats Saffron City’s Karate Master and scores a free Hitmonchan.

...Okaaaay, I mean, we’ve never seen the Karate Master in battle before, so perhaps it was just another fodder trainer the anime is filled of. I sure we’ll get some more Goh development after thi-

He easily defeats and captures a powerful Flygon.

.....Alright, alright, it was only a wild Pokemon. Everyone can beat those, right? Heck, in the next episode, he technically suffers a curbstomp loss against Kiawe and admits he only battles Ash every so often. Perhaps this loss will encourage Goh to train more with Ash so he could become a stronger trainer. I mean, despite his good luck with Pokeballs, he’s gonna need to be as strong as he can be for tougher mons, like Legendaries. I’m 100% sure we’ll get something out of thi-

He takes down a wild Zapdos and NEARLY captures it.

.........Uh, okie dokes, it wasn’t a successful capture, and who knows? Even though we have not seen him battle/train that much on-screen, maybe he just got a little lucky. Even in the games, it happens to the best of us. Perhaps this barely missed victory will finally give Goh the time to actually development more on-screen so that he could have a better chance agai-

He defeats Oleana’s Milotic, using his fire-type Raboot who only wanted to use a weak fire-type move.

..............Allllriiiiight, maybe Oleana just got a little cocky later on. Plus, Raboot finished Milotic by evolving in Cinderace and finishing it off with Pyro Ball. With this powerful evolution in hand, maybe Goh will finally realize that, in order for Cinderace to reach its greatest potential, he must start training for once and obtain some proper development for a chance against stronger threa-

Cinderace fights decently well against Mewtwo, even lasting longer than Pikachu and being on-par with the more trained Lucario.

....................At this point, I’m all out of excuses for him. Overall, Goh’s development as a trainer is very rushed to the point seeing him achieve numerous victories despite all odds being against his favor to be iffy.

2. Slightly touchy topic, but there are some negatives with his whole catching all Pokemon goal. So Goh wants to catch every single mon he can in order to reach up to Mew, as he said to Mewtwo in episode 46. And yes, this includes Legendaries as well. Unfortunately, this is where my issues with his goal starts. First off, where in the world will Goh keep any Legendary he encounters? Cerise’s glorified garden dome? Yeah, keep Dialga and Palkia, literal beings of space and time, inside a glass dome with a bunch of weaker mons. And speaking of which, wouldn’t catching mons like the Creation Trio or the Island Guardians cause quite the upset in, well, y’know, the natural balance of things? Sure, Goh technically hasn’t caught a single Legendary yet (Eternatus doesn’t count because it had to be sealed away), with how the anime is playing out, issues like this will surely rise throughout the series.

And yes, the anime is playing it out for Goh to indeed catch every single mon before reaching Mew. If you pay attention to the openings as well as many of Goh’s own character moments, such as episode 46, then you can easily see the signs telling us that Goh is bound to catch them all, just as Ash is bound on defeating Leon. In the past, pretty much all of Ash’s traveling companions had their own goals as well, but it’s usually because of those goals is why they leave Ash by the end of their journeys, like May and Dawn pursuing contests in other regions, Brock wanting to become a doctor, Iris wanting to find more Dragon types, Kiawe wanting to become an Island Kahuna etc. Because of that, it becomes up to the audience’s interpretation (and fanfics) on how they achieve their dreams and what challenges they could face throughout the way. With Goh, there will a lot more focus and emphasis placed on his goal, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s too bad there aren’t really any stakes or obstacles in Goh’s journey!

Really now, another glaring issue with Goh’s goal is that he has NO trouble going through with it at all. From his very first fodder capture, all he has to do is get a good throw and then PING! Pokemon caught. Guess the thing of having to weaken a Pokemon first before capturing it has been retconned out of the anime forever. With that said, there’s absolutely no struggle for Goh to overcome in his journey, which kinda makes things boring. Where’s the challenge? Where are his rivals? Are there any doubts? Does he have any issue of having to catch and connect every single mon in existence? No, well then good for him I guess! Sad thing too is that he catches so many Pokemon with so much potential, but they then disappear completely after their debut.

Remember that free Hitmonchan he scored from Saffron’s Fighting Dojo who seemed completely willing to train with Riolu and Farfetch’d? Never seen again. That female Raichu who loves giving berries? Completely forgotten about. That Aerodactyl Goh resurrected and bonded with before catching? Thanos snapped. The Heracross Goh obtained from a trade at the cost of a second Pinsir he worked hard to find? Literally who?

3. And my biggest issue with Goh. The fact he’s somehow on the same scale as Ash.

Don’t believe me? Well, let’s go back to the ending of episode 46. After Mewtwo teleported him, Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Cinderace back home, Goh said this: “We’ve still got a long way to go.”

Excuse me, but WHAT?!?!?!

You BOTH got a long way to go, even though you both suffered a complete curbstomp from a mon that would probably even make the likes of Lance, Cynthia, and Leon comparable to Youngster Joey?!?! What the Distortion World?!?! Why is Goh and, by extension, the writers implying he and Ash are on even terms when it comes to being a trainer? Goh, as a reminder, you literally only began your trainer career 45 episodes ago!!

Alright, let’s talk about Ash for a second and what he’s been through since he started his trainer career. Ash started in Kanto, and while he really only fairly achieved three out of his eight badges (Brock and Misty’s were givens, Erika’s was a thank-you gift, Sabrina’s was all Haunter’s doing, and Jessie and James are complete jokes that no one should take seriously), he still partook in as many battles as he could against tough trainers while getting some pointers from the much more experienced Misty and Brock. After that, he went on to become a much more impressive trainer in later journeys. Instead of a full recap, I’ll just list two impressive things Ash has done in each region he’s journeyed through after losing in the Kanto League.

Orange Islands: Won his first official double battle with Pikachu and Charizard despite neither initially getting along at first and then defeated the Orange League champ, Drake.

Johto: Survived an entire forest of bloodthirsty Ursaring with his friends and defeated Gary’s Blastoise with his Charizard.

Hoenn: Helped stopped both Team Magma and Team Aqua’s elemental threats and reached Top 8 in the Hoenn League despite only two of his mons being fully evolved with one being a glass cannon bird.

Kanto again: Conquered the Battle Frontier and tied with May in his first ever contest.

Sinnoh: Helped protect a Riolu from the famed Hunter J and knocked out two of Tobias’ Legendary Pokemon.

Unova: Defeated Iris’ Dragonite twice (Charizard pretty much had the high ground in their fight) and helped protect Meloetta.

Kalos: Defeated four Mega Evolutions (Lucario, Abomasnow, Absol, and Sceptile) and was one of the main heroes against Lysandre.

Alola: Became an Ultra Guardian and conquered the Alola League.

And right now as of Journeys: Defeated Korinna’s Mienfoo and Mega Lucario with only Dragonite right after the two curbstomped Gengar and defeated Chairman Rose.

And this isn’t even scratching the surface, and yet, somehow, Ash is still on the same scale of Goh. This doesn’t make any logical sense, it completely negates Ash’s experience while over-wanking Goh’s, and it ruins any semblance of power scaling between the two. Logically, Ash should be leagues above Goh and the latter should always confide to Ash whenever he needs assistance or pointers, not “Oh, we both lost to a powerful legendary, guess that means we both have stuff to learn and we’re both beginners lul”. It’s like Deku and All Might both losing a villain that’s beyond both of their capabilities, and then Deku saying that they BOTH have much to learn afterwards! Does it make sense? HECK NO.

If they had to have Goh comment about their loss, why couldn’t he say something that would’ve made more sense? Maybe say something like “Wow, I can’t believe I lasted that long, honestly.” And then Ash would say, “Hey, you’re only getting better. And me and my team will always be there in case you need more training.” Have the two acknowledge the fact that even trainers like Leon wouldn’t fare any better than them against Mewtwo. Just absolutely anything that doesn’t completely ruin what we know of these characters to the point the two are considered equals, despite all the evidence saying otherwise.

I’m getting a little exhausted now, so I’m done, but thanks for asking, anon!

And for anyone reading, please feel free to agree or disagree. I’m completely acceptable to anyone else’s thoughts/opinions over Goh and would love to hear them.

[mamahanu]

30 Questions

Answer 30 questions and tag some people you’d like to get to know better!

Tagged by @dragonnan

Name: You know, it’s so weird but I’m still not excited to give it. So Hanuko. Or LJ. 

Gender: Female

Star Sign: Leo

Height: 5’5″

Time: 9:29 AM PST

Birthday: August 6th.

Favorite Bands: All of them. I really like The Rescues, Death Cab for Cutie, Cake, The Eagles, The Beatles, Nightwish, Queen, Metric, Pentatonix.... Okay, I think I’ll stop now. 

Favorite Solo Artists: Again, all of them. Fiona Apple, Fleurie, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Alanis Morrissette, Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, Childish Gambino, Billy Porter... Yeah, I need to stop.

Song Stuck In My Head: Right now, none. :-)

Last Movie: It’s been a while... um... I think the last movie I watched was Princess Bride.

Last Show: History of Swear Words.

When Did I Create This Blog: February 24, 2019. It was when I gave up facebook, but still craved some kind of social media interaction. 

What Do I Post: Well. Primarily fanfic. But really anything that catches my eye gets posted. It was meant for fics, anyway. ;-)

Last Thing I Googled: meeting ophilia octopath. I’m not... writing another octopath fic... ;-)

Other Blogs:  I actually made one WAY back in the day for a Photography class called @hanukoyoukai-blog. back in 2011 or 2012 I think. When I came back, I couldn’t log back in because the email and password have poofed from my memory. My dream is to one day pull that blog into this one because I’m pretty proud of that work.

Do I Get Asks: Not very often, but sometimes. I love them, so you know... ask me anything. 

Why I Chose This URL: hanuko has been a “nickname” of mine since I was a wee thing in high school. It was (and is) the penname I used on FFN. It’s just my little online persona. I probably should go by something new, but, you know... nostalgia. 

Following: 96

Followers: 122 (that’s a new number...)

Average Hours Of Sleep: HA! You think there’s averaging? Um. Probably 5. 

Lucky Number: 7.

Instruments: flute and piccolo. I’ve been trying to learn Ukulele and guitar without much success. 

What I’m Wearing: plaid pajamas and a Spider-Man robe. Fight me. 

Dream Job: I would love to be a writer professionally. Or a comedian. Or a radio DJ. 

Dream Trip: I’d like to go to Ireland, or England. And Germany. And Japan.   

Favorite Food: I really like curry. 

Nationality: American

Favorite Song: Too many. Too, too many. Check out Take My Heart With You by the Rescues. That one is excellent. Also, Fiona Apple’s cover of Why Try to Change Me Now. 

Last Book I Read: I’ve been reading a LOT of fanfiction. I’m reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to my kiddo, does that count? No new books for me right now. I think the last book I read that was new to me was Network Beyond Bias. It was interesting, but very work related. 

Top Three Fictional Universes I’d Like To Live In: Avatar the Last Airbender (but only if I get to be a bender), Harry Potter (but only if I get to be a witch), and... hmm. Doctor Who (I’d actually prefer to not be a companion... maybe just a wayward visitor who gets dropped back off at home). 

Tagging: @blondsak, @reachingforaspark, @jro616, @darksidekelz, @forasecondtherewedwon, and @i-lovethatforme but no pressure. :)

[fardell24b]

Changes in Time and Space - Chapter 3 - Part I: The SGC

Chapter 3: Twelve and the Stargate

Part I – The SGC

1 February 2007

It was a normal day at Stargate Command; as normal as a day could get at a US Air Force installation with an interstellar portal device anyway. Everyone had their duties to attend to at the base and nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. The scanners had a few blips, but nothing too severe; this was to be expected with the base hidden under a mountain.

“Unscheduled Off-World Activation!” The claxon was blaring and the Stargate’s Iris closed; everything was going as per protocol. Then the incoming wormhole opened...

“Receiving SG1’s IDC,” Harriman reported while tending to the console.

“Open the Iris,” General Hank Landry commanded, his eyes never faltered from the portal.

Harriman pressed his palm to the reader and the Iris opened in just over a second. After a few seconds SG1 came through, stepping onto the platform one by one.

“Report to debriefing,” Landry said, once they had all emerged and the gate shut down.

“Yes, General,” Colonel Cameron Mitchell replied.

Things were not routine for much longer. Shortly after SG1 had emerged from the gate a reverberating grinding sound was heard. They immediately saw the source, as a box resembling a 1950’s London Police Box phased in and out with the reverberation and eventually solidified. SG1 and the Gate room guards were startled. They raised their weapons.

“What’s that?” Mitchell asked as he prepared for anything that might have come next.

“Unknown, sir.”

“What do you think is in there?” Mitchell asked as he approached what looked like a door on the box.

“It could be anything, Sir,” Colonel Samantha Carter pointed out as she followed.

“It could be a trap, ColonelMitchell,” Teal’c said.

The team paid attention as the door of the box opened. A tall brown haired man emerged from the blue box, immediately followed by a younger female companion with ear length dark blonde hair. The latter was startled by the appearance of the team, but quickly regained control of her expression.

Mitchell immediately raised his P90. “Don’t move! Identify yourself!”

“I am the Doctor, and this is my travelling companion, Tamsin Davis,” the Doctor said with a gesture to his companion.

“How did you penetrate this base?” Teal’c asked, flatly.

The Doctor looked at the symbol on Teal’c’s forehead. “Interesting Ornamentation. Is it of cultural significance?”

Teal’c stared at the Doctor.

The Doctor stared back.

“It signifies servitude to a false god,” Teal’c intoned in his usual near-monotone voice.

“Interesting,” the Doctor said.

“How did you penetrate this base with that box device?” Carter asked, her natural curiosity showing.

The Doctor hesitated. “I would be more inclined to answer if there were not so many guns pointed in my direction,” he pointed out. “Take me to your leader.”

Mitchell and Teal’c both rolled their eyes at the cliché. Mitchell didn’t really expect it to be said.

“Follow me,” Dr. Daniel Jackson directed. He lead the way out of the gate room, followed by Mitchell and Teal’c.

Tamsin nervously ran her hand through her hair. ‘He doesn’t seem that military,’ she thought. She and the Doctor followed the soldiers toward the left hand door.

Inside the TARDIS, Felicia Lovell and Kiara Asheru had been watching the view screen. “That was surprising,” Felicia indicated.

“What was?” Kiara asked. She turned and leaned toward the console to get a better look, sending her dark brown, minibraided, pigtails down the front of her torso.

“Usually Americans take us prisoner quicker than that!” Felicia emphasised, remembering the few times that they had run into American military forces.

“Maybe they are different in this universe?” Kiara asked, as she flicked one of her pigtails over her shoulder. ‘Tyria may not exist either!’ she thought.

“A good point,” Felicia conceded, as she ruffled her chin-length, light brown, hair.

“And now to wait for the Doctor to give us the all clear,” Kiara pointed out as she turned to Tamsin.

“Yes.”

“We’ll be bored.”

“We can use the scanner to investigate the base,” Felicia said. She knew that the scanner could probably see all of it, depending on how large it was.

“Good idea.”

Felicia’s phone rang. She grabbed it and answered it, seeing who the call was from. “It’s Tamsin, we can listen in on the briefing.”

Kiara sat down at the console as Felicia put her phone on speaker and placed it there. “That’s good.”

Felicia switched on the scanner as she started listening to the briefing. She looked at the diagram of the SGC that had appeared on the screen. “It appears that we are at least 28 floors underground.”

“If you want to keep something secret, put it underground,” Kiara observed, remembering that many criminal organisations on Tyria put their headquarters in caves. She had certainly found many such in her adventures.

“Certainly.”

“It’s beginning.”

Felicia increased the volume on the phone.

After entering, SG-1 and General Landry sat opposite the Doctor and Tamsin in the briefing room.

Landry leaned towards the Doctor and started by asking “So you say that blue box is your ship?”

“Yes,” the Doctor answered, after a second’s hesitation.

“Rather small for a ship isn’t it?” Daniel asked with a glance of slight confusion.

The Doctor remained silent, glaring at the archaeologist.

“It’s bigger in the inside than the outside,” Tamsin explained, after a minute of awkward silence. She felt that someone had to answer.

“What?” Landry asked.

The Doctor gave Tamsin a brief glare before turning back to SG1. “It’s dimensionally transcendental.”

“What does that mean?” Daniel asked, with similar confusion to before.

“You mean that the door to the box opens perpendicularly into a different dimension to the regular three dimensions of space, allowing for more space in the box than physics would normally allow?” Carter asked excitedly.

‘You’re good. I couldn’t understand it. I still can’t understand it,’ Tamsin thought with a wry expression.

“To put it crudely, yes,” the Doctor conceded as he gave Carter a slight look of annoyance.

Mitchell turned to Teal’c “Tell me you didn’t understand a word of that?”

Teal’c raised an eyebrow and stated, “I didn’t understand a word of that.”

“Thanks.”

“Neither did I,” Daniel added.

Landry turned back to the Doctor and asked. “But that doesn’t explain how the box managed to penetrate our defences. Isn’t the Gate Room supposed to be shielded against transporters?”

“It is, Sir, but the box obviously appeared via a different process,” Carter answered.

‘Evidently, yes,’ Tamsin thought.

“You’re good,” the Doctor stated.

“Thank you,” Carter replied.

“We only have their word for it,” General Landry said.

The Doctor didn’t like where this is going. “She’s correct,” he said, referring to Carter’s surmising.

“Are you saying we need to look inside that box?” Mitchell asked.

“Yes. Consider it an order,” Landry directed.

‘Great!’ Tamsin thought.

The Doctor sighed. “Wait a minute! Calm down. I am willing to allow your team to examine my ship. You only have to ask.” He didn’t want Landry to get any further riled up.

“Kiara, the Doctor is back with the soldiers,” Felicia observed, from where she was looking at the scanner.

“I’ll unlock the door,” Kiara decided. ‘At least the temporal grace field allows me to use my elementalist powers,’ she thought. She unlocked the door, and then stepped outside.

“Be ready if they try anything,” Felicia said.

Kiara took up position next to the door. “I’m ready now.”

“OK, some ground rules. Only two of the SG1 team are allowed in,” the Doctor explained. “And I’ll be asking about the purpose of this facility.”

“No,” Landry objected.

“Otherwise you will not know what is in that box,” the Doctor declared.

“Agreed,” General Landry said, after he had given the matter some thought.

“Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson can follow me in,” the Doctor decided.

“Good,” Mitchell said.

“Why not myself?” Carter asked, looking surprised at the Doctor.

“He thinks you will be too curious,” Tamsin pointed out. ‘She’s definitely a military scientist,’ she thought.

“I’ll try to hold my enthusiasm in check,” Carter responded, as she longingly looked at the TARDIS.

The Doctor noticed her look. “No,” he objected.

“I won’t speculate too much,” Carter added.

“You wouldn’t be able to help yourself.”

“Agreed,” Landry added.

Carter nodded as the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and gestured for Mitchell and Jackson to follow.

It took a while for Jackson and Mitchell to recover from their initial shock at the size of the TARDIS interior. The large roundled space was half the size of the Gateroom outside.

“This is amazing. This is definitely the product of a culture more highly advanced than the Lantians were or the Ori are,” Dr. Jackson said as he walked around the console room.He approached the console.

“Swell,” Mitchell said.

“Indications of wormhole activity,” the Doctor said, from the console.

“What did you say?” Mitchell asked.

“Wormhole activity. That round device in this room is a portal device isn’t it?” the Doctor asked, as he gestured to the image of the Stargate on the scanner screen.

“I’m not saying anything,” Daniel countered. He looked at Col. Mitchell.

“That’s classified,” Mitchell said.

“And my sensors are very advanced,” the Doctor countered. He looked at what the scanner had found out about the Stargate.

“He will get his answer,” Kiara maintained, from where she stood to the right of the two SG1 members.

“It is a Stargate. An artefact originally built by a culture who called themselves the Alterans and who later became the Lantians I mentioned,” Daniel lectured.

‘Interesting,’ Felicia thought.

“There are thousands of them across the galaxy,” Mitchell elaborated.

The Doctor thought for a few moments. “That sounds like something an advanced race would do,” he commented.

“So, you explore through the Stargate, looking for advanced technology?” Felicia asked, her eyebrows rising in surprise.

“That is part of it,” Daniel admitted.

“There is more, isn’t there?” the Doctor asked.

Mitchell lowered his sidearm and holstered it. ‘Not that shooting him would be a good idea anyway, he could certainly have a means of defense’ “Yes, there are aliens out there who want to conquer Earth. We defeat one interstellar Empire and we now have an intergalactic invasion to contend with,” he explained, his expression showed that he didn’t like the circumstances surrounding the invasion at all.

‘The more things change, the more they stay the same,’ Tamsin thought, with a wry expression.

“Interesting, I am not a native of this universe but I would like to know more,” the Doctor said, his expression showing his interest.

“Not of this universe?” Daniel asked, confused.

“Yes, there is a whole multiverse out there,” the Doctor pointed out.

“I know. I have been to two parallels,” Daniel said, as he remembered the incidents with the Quantum Mirror.

“Really?”Kiara asked, intrigued.

“Yes,” Dr. Jackson answered.

“The TARDIS can occasionally hop between universes, but not often,” the Doctor explained.

“TARDIS?” Colonel Mitchell asked. He looked around the room. He couldn’t see the name anywhere.

“That’s what the ship is called,” Kiara added.

“It means Time and Relative Dimension in Space,” Felicia said.

Mitchell was still confused “Time?” he asked.

“It travels through time as well as space,” Kiara elaborated as she took a step towards Mitchell.

“Definitely way more advanced than the Lantians,” Daniel said, and slight shake of his head.

“That is interesting, so your civilisation must be powerful in your universe?” Mitchell asked, curiously.

‘And they have only seen the console room!’ Kiara thought with a smirk on her face. She was sure that the Doctor didn’t want them to guess at the true scale of the TARDIS interior yet. She then considered what Mitchell had just asked. ‘You don’t know what you just asked...’

The Doctor frowned and didn’t answer. He evasively looked away.

Mitchell considered that what he asked had hit a tough spot. ‘Maybe he’s a renegade?’ he wondered.

“They are taking their time,” Landry complained, after ten minutes at passed. He gestured at the TARDIS.

“They could be looking at the various objects in the console room,” Tamsin explained with a look of slight annoyance.

“I would like to have a look,” Carter said enthusiastically, gesturing at the ship.

“If the Doctor lets you,” Tamsin pointed out.

“Can you trust him?” Landry asked, turning to Tamsin.

“Absolutely. Just don’t get on his bad side,” Tamsin said.

“Really? Is that all?” the general asked.

“Trust me! You don’t want to be on his bad side,” Tamsin emphasised, her voice slightly raised.

“That is not specific, TamsinDavis,” Teal’c objected as he turned towards her.

“You will know when you’re on his bad side,” Tamsin explained. An expression of slight fear and her voice showed that she was slightly intimidated by the Jaffa.

Teal’c raised his eye brows and glared at Tamsin.

“If you do something very unethical or hypocritical, you are likely to get on his bad side. Otherwise you’re fine,” she said with a slight wavering in her voice.

“Indeed?”

“Yes,” Tamsin said, recovering.

“Makes sense,” Carter added.

After another five or six minutes, the TARDIS doors opened and Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson emerged.

“Wow,” Mitchell said.

“He was a member of a civilisation that makes the Lantians look like Victorian Britain by comparison,” Daniel explained, after he had emerged.

“Are you sure?” Carter asked with a look of disbelief.

“Yes. This machine here can travel in time and the interior is larger than the interior of Atlantis at least,” Daniel explained, gesturing at the TARDIS.

“You said ‘was’,” Landry pointed out.

“He said that his civilisation perished in what he called a Time War against a force of approximately equal advancement,” Daniel said.

“Time War? That doesn’t make sense,” Carter asserted.

“He also said that he has come from a different universe,” Daniel added.

The Doctor and Felicia emerged. “There has to be a reason why I am here. Fill me in on recent events,” he besought.

“Why do you want to know about our situation?” Landry asked.

“I may be able to help,” the Doctor said.

“Come to my office and I’ll fill you and one of your crew in,” Landry said, turning towards the doors to the right.

“Right away,” the Doctor said.

“Cool,” Tamsin attested.

“You can fill me in,” Kiara asked.

“I’ll choose,” the Doctor said.

Kiara acquiesced, as the Doctor and Tamsin followed General Landry to his office. “I’ll wait,” she added.

---

The Doctor reflected that lying about the Time Lords surviving was a good idea. ‘Best not to spook them too much.’ They had enough to worry about with the Ori.

---

Later that night SG1 sat in the SGC cafeteria.

“What do you think of the Doctor?” Colonel Mitchell asked from one end of the table.

“I don’t know. Other than what he revealed about the nature of his ship and the fate of his civilisation, he is rather private,” Daniel commented.

“That’s what I thought too,” Mitchell said.

“What of his crew?” Teal’c asked, from the other side of Daniel.

Daniel turned to Teal’c “They are not really crew. More like assistants,” hepointed out.

“Or travelling companions.” Mitchell added.

“They are either from Earth in their universe, or a planet in the Greater Magellanic Cloud,” Daniel said.

“From the United Kingdom,” Teal’c said.

“How do you know?” Mitchell asked.

“Ms. Davis said that she is from the county of Devon. She and Ms. Lovell both have the accents.”

“I must have missed that,” Mitchell commented.

“Do you think that the general would have told him about the Ori?” Carter asked.

“That is possible,” Mitchell realised.

“I agree,” Daniel said.

“You think he could be of use?” Mitchell asked.

“Absolutely,” Carter said.

“He had to have encountered similar beings,” Mitchell added.

“That is by no means certain,” Carter countered.

Felicia heard a knock on the door of the quarters she had been assigned by SGC personnel. She went and opened it. “Hi, Tamsin,” she said.

“I was just wondering how you were.”

“I am fine.”

“I mean, we had defeated Vile, and now we are in a different universe. We are unlikely to find your Doctor here,” Tamsin said in a consolatory tone.

“It was a long shot at best,” Felicia said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“True,” Tamsin said as she sat on the spare chair.

“Thanks for coming by,” Felicia said in a welcoming tone.

“You’re welcome. Do you think something is going to happen?”

“It’s a military base. I certainly think that something is going to happen. Whether it would be one of those ‘Priors’ coming through that ‘Gate’, I don’t know.”

“I agree.”

“The Doctor might volunteer us to go with one of the SG teams on a mission. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Has that happened with your Doctor?”

“Yes, but not often,” Felicia answered, smiling as she remembered one of the times that occurred...

“Not that often here, either. But he did ask you to chase after the poisoner,” Tamsin said.

Felicia frowned. “We know how that ended.”

“I admit that, but it did at least put us on the track to taking down Vile,” Tamsin said, encouragingly.

“Thanks,” Felicia said, slightly happier.

“Now, what do you say about going online and finding out about this world?” Tamsin asked, standing up.

Felicia perked up. “Sure. I mean all we know is that America exists and that the Stargate Program is a secret.”

“Yeah.”

The two acquaintances (nearly friends, although they wouldn’t admit that) then left the room.

Elsewhere in the SGC, an enlistee sent a letter to their ‘superiors’. The TARDIS may be of interest to them... ‘Who knows what it can do...’

2 February 2007

The Doctor entered the cafeteria for breakfast. His companions (including the future one, Felicia) were already there, as were SG-1, all sitting around two tables that had been pushed together.

“Welcome, Doctor. Have you found a reason why you are here yet?” Colonel Mitchell asked.

“Possibly, what can you tell me about this ‘Adria’?” the Doctor asked as he walked up.

“Not much. She is the embodiment of the Ori in human form, and has many powers,” Daniel answered.

“What sort of powers?” the Doctor asked.

“Telepathy and Telekinesis and that is the start of it,” Daniel said.

“She can also heal people,” Cameron added.

“Is that all?” the Doctor asked, as he sat down.

“No, but Vala can better answer your questions,” Daniel answered.

“Vala?” the Doctor asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Vala Mal Doran, the Ori used her as an incubator for Adria,” Daniel explained.

“Incubator?” Felicia asked, with curiosity.

“They impregnated her...” Daniel began.

“That’s wrong!” Tamsin interrupted, disgust showing on her face. She shook her head as if saying “very wrong.”

“I get it,” Felicia said.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Daniel added.

“Where can I find this Vala?” the Doctor asked as he stood up.

“You would have to ask the General. She is currently exploring Colorado with an escort,” Daniel explained.

‘He doesn’t seem to trust her, even with an escort,’ the Doctor thought. He turned “Right! I will be back with her,” he explained. He left the cafeteria.

“Is he doing what I think he is doing?” Daniel asked.

“Yes,” Tamsin said, with surety in her voice.

“I better accompany him,” Daniel asserted.

“If he lets you,” Tamsin imparted.

“I am sure that he will once I explain to him,” Daniel rejoined.

“Be quick then,” Tamsin said, with a slight laugh and a shooing gesture.

“I will be.”

Daniel entered the TARDIS after the Doctor. “You want to come with me?” the Doctor asked, as he turned from the console.

“Yes. Vala won’t trust anyone else.”

Rocky Ford, Colorado, United States of America

Vala Mal Doran had just finished breakfast at the Subway on the corner of Elm Street and North Tenth Street, when the TARDIS started to rematerialise.

Her escort pulled their guns on the blue box as it appeared.

Daniel emerged from the TARDIS with his hands raised. “Don’t shoot!” he implored.

“Daniel! How did you get here?” Vala asked, her hands on her hips.

“An interdimensional traveller has arrived in the SGC,” Daniel explained.

“Like last year?” she asked.

“No, it’s different...” Daniel began. He looked around “...and we shouldn’t be discussing this on a street corner in the middle of a town. Come into the TARDIS and we will go back to the SGC,” Daniel said, he grabbed one of Vala’s wrists and pulled her into the TARDIS.

“Wait, Daniel!” Vala exclaimed as she resisted.

Vala was shocked. “How can this box be bigger on the inside than the outside?” she wondered aloud as she walked further in and towards the console.

“It is the product of a civilisation that would make the Ancients look primitive by comparison,” Daniel said as he lead her to the console.

“Really?”Vala asked, as her escort continued to enter the TARDIS.

“Yes,” Daniel explained.

The Doctor confronted the escort. “This is as classified as the Stargate, got it!”

“I understand, Sir,” the leader of the escort confirmed, whilst trying to hide his awe at the interior scale of the TARDIS.

“Good,” the Doctor said.

“We’re going back to the SGC?” Vala asked.

“Yes, where you are going to tell me all about Adria,” the Doctor said as he began to make adjustments on the console.

Vala tensed.

“Don’t worry, the Doctor just wants information,” Daniel said.

“Right,” Vala said, still worried.

The Doctor set the TARDIS in motion, heading back to the SGC. “Here we go.”

Stargate Command

The TARDIS rematerialised in the Gateroom. Vala emerged first. “Why do you want to know about Adria? And what kind of name is ‘Doctor’ anyway?” she asked.

“I may be able to help against the forces of the Ori. Stop their plan for taking over this galaxy,” the Doctor explained as he exited the TARDIS.

“Really?”Vala asked, turning.

“Yes,” the Doctor said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“We better go to the briefing room,” Vala hinted.

“Yes,” Daniel said.

A few hours later, the Doctor entered General Landry’s office.

“Are you saying that you want your assistants to join SG-1 on their next mission?” General Landry asked, after the Doctor had sat down.

“Yes,” the Doctor answered.

“Why should I approve of this idea?” Landry asked with a dubious tone and look.

“They may be able to notice something that SG-1 might miss.”

“They would be liabilities!”

“They can handle themselves.”

“Unlikely!”

“You don’t know half of the things I encounter on a regular basis. Things that may make the Goa’uld look like school yard bullies by comparison!”

“That’s not proof that they can handle themselves, only that you can handle the threats that you encounter.”

The Doctor backed off slightly. “Kiara is a native of a world in a medieval era. She has fought things there that you cannot imagine.

“Don’t insult my intelligence. I could imagine what the Goa’uld look like just from the mission reports without any pictures.”

The Doctor paced in front of the desk before turning back to the general. “The point is, that she would be able to handle herself in a combat situation. She may surprise SG-1.”

“Fine, but what about the other two?”  the General asked as he made a gesture for the Doctor to sit down. “All I know about them is that they are British college students.”

“Ms. Davis has been in combat situations before and handled them well. She also has a black belt in Karate,” the Doctor explained.

“I will think about it. But that leaves Ms. Lovell, whom has said that she has only joined you recently.”

“In the most recent adventure of ours, she has proved most resourceful...” the Doctor began.

The General listened intently, while still being exasperated at the Doctor not staying still.

The Doctor approached his companions where they were talking in the cafeteria.

“Doctor, in this universe, Atlantis was an Ancient city that they left under the ocean in another galaxy,” Tamsin explained excitedly.

“Interesting,” he said as he took a seat next to her. “After a lot of persuasion, the general has agreed to let you go on SG-1’s next mission.”

“That’s good!” Kiara was excited.

“You will have to obey Colonel Mitchell’s commands,” the Doctor directed.

“That’s obvious,” Tamsin said, with slight sarcasm.

“Try to find out what this ‘Adria’ person is planning with regard to conversion of the Milky Way to Origin or whatever that religion is called,” the Doctor added.

“That would be difficult,” Kiara said as her face took on a whimsical look.

The Doctor considered. “Of course it will be, but at least try.”

“Of course I will,” Kiara assured.

“We won’t let you down,” Tamsin added.

“I know,” the Doctor said.

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek The Next Generation Season 1 (3 of 6)

As we draw close to crossing the first month of 2021 off the calendar to make room for February, which in my view is only of use for Pancake Day and nothing more, I’m back with yet more reviews from the first season of Star Trek: TNG.  Will these episodes prove any better than those of the first two rounds, or are we looking at more lemons with warp engines?  Let’s find out…

Episode 10: Hide and Q

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is en route to Quadra Sigma to aid colonists caught in a methane explosion when Q re-appears and demands that they abandon their mission to compete in a game. He teleports Commander Riker and the bridge crew, with the exception of Captain Picard, to a barren landscape and appears in front of them wearing a uniform of a Napoleonic era French marshal. He explains the rule of the game is to stay alive, and after Lt. Yar refuses to compete, he transports her back to the bridge of the Enterprise in a "penalty box".

 Q returns to the bridge too, to talk Picard into setting a wager. He explains that the Q Continuum is testing Commander Riker to see if he is worthy of being granted their powers. Picard, having the utmost faith in his First Officer, takes the bet, as winning it would mean Q would get off their backs. Meanwhile, Riker and his team are attacked by what Lt. Worf reports as "vicious animal things" wearing French soldier uniforms from the Napoleonic era and armed with muskets that fire energy bolts instead of the classic projectiles. Q returns to Riker and tells him that he has granted him the powers of the Continuum, and Riker promptly returns his crew mates to the ship but remains behind with Q to ultimately reject the powers. Q brings the crew back to the landscape, this time without their phasers and with Picard. The crew are attacked once more by the aliens, and both Worf and Wesley Crusher are killed. Riker uses the powers of the Q to return the crew again and bring both Worf and Wesley back to life.

 Riker makes a promise to Picard never to use the powers again and the ship arrives at Quadra Sigma. A rescue team beams down and discovers a young girl who has died. Riker is tempted to save her, but in the end, he refuses to do so out of respect for his promise. However, he quickly shows signs of regret at this decision, which he expresses to the captain. Tension between Picard and his first officer grows as Riker now seems to be embracing his powers, and his behaviour toward the crew begins to change. At Q's suggestion, and with Picard's blessing, Riker uses his powers to give his friends what he believes they want, turning Wesley into an adult, giving La Forge normal sight in place of his visor, and creating a Klingon female companion for Worf. All the recipients reject their gifts, however, with Data even anticipating and declining Riker's attempt to make him human. Picard declares that Q has failed, and when Q attempts to go back on his word, he is forcibly recalled to the Continuum. Picard is pleased to see Q gone, and praises Riker for confirming his trust in his "Number One". 

Review:

There are two main reasons to enjoy this episode; Q and Picard.  This is the first time since the pilot that we’ve seen Q and Picard interact, and it’s much better this time because both the actors are a bit more at grips with their characters.  The scene in the Captain’s ready room between the pair where they both quote Shakespeare is one of the real highlights of the first season, a veritable miniature diamond in a season-long run of rough.  In some respects, it’s almost a pity Picard-Q meet-ups aren’t more frequent, but ultimately, I think that they have to be done as little as possible to retain some impact in the later seasons.

 Unfortunately, the episode lacks sufficient subtlety in trying to convey a story about power corrupting.  The key reason why the Dark Phoenix story in the X-Men comics is a classic that no adaptation has ever effectively captured is because it involves Jean Grey being corrupted by power slowly, inch by inch, until circumstances push her over the edge.  When the Primarch Horus is turned to Chaos in the Horus Heresy novels that form part of Warhammer 40,000 lore, it’s not an overnight transformation from the noble being he was to the power-mad tyrant laying waste to Terra years later.  It’s a slow, gradual seduction by power, and a single episode of any TV show doesn’t give that.

 As a result, the idea of Riker’s shift in character and attitude seems too rapid and falls flat.  The only thing that doesn’t fall flat is how the rest of the cast reacts when Riker tries to act with benevolence.  It’s a testament to each of them how they resist being granted their supposedly fondest wishes.  I especially applaud Geordi and the autistic-like Data for their choices.  I never like stories that try to push the idea that characters who are somehow differently abled, either blatantly or through the metaphor of a genre-specific concept, should always want to eliminate that difference.  Maybe Geordi can’t see like everyone else, but considering all the different things he can see with his visor, it’s not like the vision he has is any better or worse. It’s just a pity his reason for saying no was more about not liking a Q-style Riker than about accepting himself and all the goodness inherent in that. 

Add in Troi not being around at a time when her character could be very annoying without much effort, and you’ve got an episode that has many saving graces propping up a poor execution of a decent core concept.  End score for this one, probably 7 out of 10.

 Episode 11: Haven

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Haven, where the ship's half-Betazoid Counsellor Deanna Troi has been summoned by her mother Lwaxana. Deanna had previously been set into an arranged marriage to the young human doctor, Wyatt Miller, and his parents have since tracked down Lwaxana to enforce the marriage. After Lwaxana and the Millers are welcomed aboard the Enterprise, the parents argue over whose cultural traditions will be honoured at the ceremony. Deanna and Wyatt attempt to get to know each other but find it difficult, as Deanna is still in love with Commander William Riker. Wyatt has had numerous dreams of another woman with whom he has fallen in love, and had initially believed her to be Deanna communicating telepathically with him.

 The Enterprise then learns of an unmarked vessel approaching Haven. Captain Picard recognizes it as Tarellian, a race they thought to have been wiped out by a highly lethal and contagious virus. When they contact the ship, they find a handful of Tarellian refugees who have been travelling at sub-light speeds to Haven in hopes of finding an isolated location to live out the rest of their lives in peace. Picard insists that they cannot go to the planet for fear of spreading the virus, and has the Tarellian vessel placed in a tractor beam. Wyatt discovers that one of the Tarellians, Ariana, is the woman from his dreams, and she too recognizes Wyatt. Wyatt tells Dr Crusher that he will transport some medical supplies to them, but transports himself along with the supplies. When the crew discovers this, Wyatt's parents demand that Picard bring Wyatt back to the Enterprise, but Denna insists that he cannot return, as Wyatt would now carry the Tarellian virus. Wyatt promises his parents, Deanna, and the rest of the crew that he knew that this would be his destiny, and is happy to try to help cure the Tarellian virus. Wyatt convinces the Tarellians to leave Haven and search for help elsewhere. Picard orders the tractor beam to be dropped and allows the vessel to depart the system. 

Review:

When it comes to Majel Barrett in the era of the TNG-DS9-Voyager shows, her best work as a guest star is her voice work as the voice of any given Starfleet computer.  Her worst work is when she’s guest-starring as Deanna Troi’s mother. Her whole character is the very definition of nails on a chalk board, and it’s very rare if ever that an episode featuring her can be anything good.  That said, her presence does help to improve Deanna’s character just because it means Deanna’s suddenly no longer the most likely to irk you with her characterisation.  Basically, anytime Deanna’s on the screen at this early stage in the show, all I can think is “please don’t have her go all over-sensitive like she did in the pilot.”

 Leaving the Troi family aside, the episode isn’t much to get excited about.  Just a run-of-the-mill b-plot about a plague ship that interconnects with the main plot nicely to save us from the Trek equivalent of a shotgun wedding. Frankly, I’d have preferred it if they’d done a plot exploring the arranged marriage idea and casting it down as the terrible idea it is, but then I suppose it wouldn’t be politic to do that with a culture that is part-and-parcel of the Federation instead of being the guest-race-of-the-week.  I’d give this one about 3 out of 10.

 Episode 12: The Big Goodbye

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise heads to Torona IV to open negotiations with the Jarada, an insect-like race that are unusually strict in matters of protocol. After practicing the complex greeting the Jarada require to open negotiations, Captain Jean-Luc Picard decides to relax with a Dixon Hill story in the holodeck. Playing Detective Hill in the holo-program, Picard takes up the case of Jessica Bradley, who believes that Cyrus Redblock is trying to kill her. Picard decides to continue the program later and leaves the holodeck to affirm their estimated arrival at Torona IV. He invites Dr Beverly Crusher and historian crewmember Whalen to join him in the holodeck. While Crusher is still preparing, Picard and Whalen are ready to enter the holodeck when Lt. Commander Data arrives, having overheard Picard's invitation. Entering the holodeck, the three discover that Jessica has been murdered in Picard's absence. As Picard explains that he saw Jessica at his office the day before, Lt. Bell brings Picard into the police station for questioning as a suspect in her murder. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is scanned from a distance by the Jarada, causing a power surge in the holodeck external controls. Dr Crusher later enters the holodeck, first experiencing a momentary glitch with the holodeck doors, and joins her friends at the police station.

 The Jarada demand their greeting earlier than the agreed time and are insulted at having to talk to anyone other than the Captain. The crew tries to communicate with Picard in the holodeck but finds it impossible; the Jarada signal has affected the holodeck's functions, preventing the doors from opening or allowing communication with the crew inside. Lt. Geordi La Forge and Wesley Crusher attempt to repair the holodeck systems. While inside the holodeck, the group returns to Dixon's office. Mr. Leech appears, having waited for Picard, demanding he turn over an object he believes Jessica gave him. When Picard fails to understand, Leech shoots Dr. Whalen with a gun, and the crew discovers that the safety protocols have been disabled, as Whalen is severely wounded. As Dr Crusher cares for his wound, Picard and Data discover that the holodeck is malfunctioning, and they are unable to exit the program. Mr. Leech is joined by Redblock, who continues to demand the object. Lt. McNary arrives and becomes involved in the standoff. Picard tries to explain the nature of the holodeck, but Redblock refuses to believe him. 

Outside, Wesley finds the glitch; however, he cannot simply turn off the system for fear of losing everyone inside. Instead, Wesley resets the simulation, briefly placing Picard and the others in the middle of a snowstorm before finding themselves back in Dixon's office. With the reset successfully clearing the malfunction, the exit doors finally appear. Despite Picard's warnings, Redblock and Leech exit the holodeck, but dissipate as they move beyond the range of its holo-emitters. As they leave the holodeck, Picard thanks McNary, who now suspects that his world is artificial and asks whether Picard's departure is "the big goodbye", to which Picard replies that he simply doesn't know. Picard reaches the bridge in time to give the proper greeting to the Jarada. The Jarada accept the greeting, heralding the start of successful negotiations.

 Review:

The Big Goodbye has a special place in the era of holodeck era of Trek as the first example of a “holodeck-gone-wrong” episode.  Later episodes of this series and the spin-off shows Deep Space Nine and Voyager would return to the premise of holodeck malfunctions time and again as either minor or major plot points.  Unfortunately, the holodeck is already going wrong as a plot device in the show just from a technical realisation standpoint.

 The basic idea of the holodeck is that it creates 3D images that resemble whatever is programmed into the computer, with some kind of force-fields giving the images substance while other aspects of the technology fill in the proverbial blanks (e.g. special programming to create interactive characters, localised environmental controls, etc.)  However, everything that exists within the holodeck can only exist within the range of the room’s tech; if anything created by the holodeck moves beyond its walls, it should instantly cease to be.  However, in the Farpoint pilot, Wesley Crusher fell into water on the holodeck, and when he walked out into the corridor, he remained wet and dripping when all the holographic water should have disappeared the instance he walked through the exit. 

Likewise, in this episode Picard picks up a lipstick mark when he first tries the holodeck’s new upgrades, and that should have disappeared when he later briefs the crew in the observation lounge. Instead, Dr Crusher has to wipe the lipstick off for the captain, despite the fact it should have disappeared from Picard’s face long ago.  It’s an annoying issue, and one that could have been easily fixed even back in the 1980’s when this show was made; evidently, this was just another example of how bad the show was at this stage.  If TNG ever gets the kind of reboot the original series did, I sincerely hope any use of the holodecks pays attention to and rectifies this error in the application of the holodeck concept. 

Otherwise, this episode doesn’t do much more than give Brent Spiner a bit more to do with Data by having him impersonate a 40’s-style gangers and give Patrick Stewart someone else to be besides the captain of the latest version of the Enterprise.  It’s a fairly well-made episode for season 1 of this show, and it really sells the illusion of the holodeck program for the most part.  The people who made the show just needed to learn that anything that gets made in the holodeck stays in the holodeck.  I’d give it about 5 out of 10. 

Episode 13: Datalore

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While on the way to Starbase Armus IX for computer maintenance, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Omicron Theta, the site of a vanished colony where the starship Tripoli originally found the android Data. An away team travels to the surface and finds that what had been farmland is now barren with no trace of life in the soil. The team also finds a lab which they discover is where Dr. Noonien Soong, a formerly prominent but now discredited robotics designer, built Data. The team also find a disassembled android nearly identical to Data and return with it to the ship. As the course to the Starbase is resumed, the crew reassemble and reactivate Data's "brother" in sickbay. He refers to himself as Lore, and explains that Data was built first and he himself is the more perfect model. He feigns naiveté to the crew, but shows signs of being more intelligent than he is letting on. Later, in private, he tells Data that they were actually created in the opposite order, as the colonists became envious of his own perfection. He also explains that a crystalline space entity capable of stripping away all life force from a world was responsible for the colony's demise.

 Lore then incapacitates Data, revealing that he plans to offer the ship's crew to the entity. When a signal transmission is detected from Data's quarters, Wesley Crusher arrives to investigate. He finds Lore, now impersonating Data, who explains that he had to incapacitate his brother after being attacked. Wesley is doubtful, but pretends to accept the explanation. Soon after, the same crystalline entity that had attacked the colony approaches the ship. Lore, still pretending to be Data, enters the bridge as the object hovers before the Enterprise and explains that he incapacitated his brother by turning him off, causing Doctor Beverly Crusher to be suspicious, since Data had previously treated the existence of such a feature as a closely guarded secret. Lore then explains that he can communicate with the crystalline entity and suggests to Captain Jean-Luc Picard that he should show a demonstration of force by beaming an object toward the entity and then destroying it with the ship's phasers.

 Lore's attempts to imitate Data are imperfect, though initially only Wesley is suspicious, and his efforts to voice these concerns only draw rude rebukes from Picard and his mother. However, Picard does ultimately become suspicious, especially when Lore does not recognize Picard's usual command to "make it so". Although Picard sends a security detachment to tail him, Lore overpowers Lt. Worf and evades pursuit. Meanwhile, the suspicious Dr Crusher and Wesley reactivate the unconscious Data, and the three of them race to the cargo hold to find Lore plotting with the entity to defeat the Enterprise. When Lore discovers them, he threatens Wesley with a phaser and orders Dr Crusher to leave. Data quickly rushes Lore and a brawl ensues. Data manages to knock Lore onto the transporter platform, and Wesley activates it, beaming Lore into space. With its conspirator no longer aboard, the crystalline entity departs, and the Enterprise resumes its journey to the starbase.

 Review:

This episode very heavily relies on answering the mystery of Data’s origin and giving him a villainous brother in a manner similar to the Thor-Loki dynamic of Marvel superhero lore (pardon the inadvertent pun) to make it worth watching, because goodness knows it falls down everywhere else.  Spiner is remarkable playing the treacherous Lore alongside his regular character of Data, and it’s fun to see him make the best of what ultimately becomes a poor episode on other fronts. 

I know some reviewers have stated they don’t understand Lore’s motives for allying with the Crystalline Entity, but as a Marvel fan, it’s actually fairly easy to deduce.  Much like Loki in Marvel’s Thor franchise, Lore is a bit of a trickster, an android Q but without the pseudo-godhood or ultimately benign motives of Q.  Also like Loki, Lore is the unfavoured son, one who was basically cast aside in favour of something supposedly better, so he’s turned against the humanity his brother admires and emulates out of jealousy and the pain of rejection.  It’s not a hard motive to grasp, but with Lore not explicitly saying it, you need that knowledge of another fictional reference to make the deduction.  Given that Marvel lore was largely overlooked by the adult world until superheroes were made into a legitimate cinematic genre at the turn of the century, it’s unlikely many original reviewers would have made the link. 

However, as I’ve noted, the episode falls apart in other respects.  The crew’s haste to reassemble Data’s brother mid-flight is very risky behaviour more akin to the cowboy antics of Kirk’s crew from the original series than Picard’s more measured approach, and they are remarkably stupid in failing to catch onto Lore’s threat.  Only Wesley shows the requisite insight and intelligence, but expresses it poorly because at this time no one on the show could write Wesley with any kind of competence. As a result, Picard ends up looking like a total git for his outburst at Wesley, Wesley’s mother comes off almost as bad, and when it turns out that, as ever, Wesley was right, there’s no apology from Picard at all.  On balance, this episode rates about 5 out of 10, which can be taken as the anti-Wesley acting having a severely detrimental impact on a great Spiner performance, or a great Spiner performance saving the episode by some horrid Wesley-bashing. 

Episode 14: Angel One

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Angel One, which is ruled by an oligarchy of women. The ship is looking for survivors from the shipwrecked freighter Odin, over seven years after having been evacuated. The freighter was missing three escape pods and the only planet in range was Angel One. An away team consisting of Commander William Riker, Lt. Commander Data, Lt. Tasha Yar, and Counsellor Deanna Troi beam down to the surface. They attempt to negotiate with Mistress Beata, the "Elected One" of the native inhabitants, to let them search for the survivors. Time is of the essence however, as the Enterprise must travel to a Federation outpost near the Romulan Neutral Zone (where a group of Romulan Battlecruisers has been detected) as soon as they resolve their investigation into the Odin survivors.

 Beata reveals that they are aware of four male survivors of the Odin who have caused disruption in their society, and are considered fugitives. Beata requests Riker stay with her (and later requests that he order Troi, Data, and Yar to track down the survivors' camp and their leader Ramsey, while staying and dining with her). After some back and forth, Data concludes Ramsey and the survivors of the Odin would have platinum with them, and Angel One is naturally devoid of platinum, allowing the Enterprise to easily detect them. Meanwhile, Riker dresses in the garb given to him for his dinner with Beata, Troi and Yar tease him for dressing in clothes that sexualize him and, in some ways, demean him. He responds by saying he is honouring the local customs, and acknowledges Beata's beauty, and that the garb is rather comfortable.

 The Enterprise searches while in orbit around Angel One. Doctor Beverly Crusher relieves Captain Jean-Luc Picard of duty after he and most of the crew have fallen ill to a random virus on board. The Captain leaves Lieutenant Geordi La Forge in command (Geordi's first time in acting command of a starship). Shortly after, they find Ramsey and transmit his location to the Away Team, who beam directly to there. 

When confronted by Data, Yar, and Troi, Ramsey and his men, having taken wives and started families during the seven years, refuse to leave. Data points out that as the Odin was not a star fleet vessel, its crew is not bound by the Prime Directive and the Enterprise cannot remove them against their will. Geordi informs Yar of the medical situation on board, and that more Romulan ships have been detected near the Neutral Zone. Riker gets close to Beata as they compare how gender roles differ between Angel One and the Federation. On the Enterprise, systems are becoming harder to maintain with more crew succumbing to the virus. Geordi (after a friendly reminder from a sniffling Worf) remembers that in command, he must delegate tasks so he can stay on the bridge. Dr Crusher finds that the virus is an airborne organism that produces a sweet smell, to encourage inhalation, after which it becomes viral inside the body. 

Riker gets up to date with the situation, and decides that while Ramsey and his group are at large and refusing to leave the planet, there is little they can do. Before leaving they find that one of Beata's fellow mitstresses, Ariel, has married Ramsey, and was followed by Beata's guards to their camp, where they arrested the survivors and their families. The Away Team attempt to explain to Beata the reason for Ramsey's refusal to leave. Beata and her council reject his reasoning, and threatens to execute them the following day. After failing to convince Ramsey and his group to leave with them, Riker contacts the Enterprise in hopes of transporting Ramsey and his group without their consent (despite it being a violation of the Prime Directive, and almost certainly an end to his career).  However, Dr Crusher (while treating an incapacitated Geordi in the Captain's chair) refuses to allow anyone to beam aboard for fear of them being infected, but allows Data, an android, to return. Riker orders Data to take command and get the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone before it's too late.

 The following morning the Away Team is invited to witness the execution of Ramsey and his followers. Moments after Riker rejects their invitation Data makes contact and informs them that there is a 48-minute window in which Dr Crusher has to find a cure, and Riker must defuse the situation on the planet before the ship must leave for the Neutral Zone. On the planet, Ramsey and his men are prepared to be executed by disintegration despite Ariel's pleas, while Dr Crusher discovers a cure for the virus. Riker is prepared to have the away team and the Odin survivors beamed to the Enterprise, but makes a plea that execution will do Angel One’s society little good. He contends that Ramsey and his men have simply become a symbol for pre-existing dissatisfaction with the current society on Angel One, an evolutionary change that execution may only accelerate by turning Ramsey’s group into martyrs.

After deliberating with her fellow mistresses, Beata announces that she will stay the execution and banish Ramsey, his men, their families, and any others that support them to the far side of the planet. She explains that their banishment will not stop the fall of the oligarchy, but will slow it down enough that Beata will not be around to see its end. The away team return to the ship and Picard, already recovering from the virus but hardly having a voice, orders the ship to the Neutral Zone at high warp. 

Review:

Apparently, the idea of this episode was look at South Africa’s apartheid system, but using a gender-based schism in a female-dominated society to explore the concept along gender lines rather than being more direct and using anything akin to a racial divide.  As a result, the intention is lost behind some very horrendously sexist rubbish that makes the show seem more like a bad parody of feminism.  The episode also has a lousy b-plot of a virus story that adds nothing to the episode, and again showcases how badly the holodeck concept was being handled at this time.  A snowball from a holodeck skiing program should not be able to go through the holodeck doors to hit Picard and Worf in the corridor.  2 out of 10 is all this episode deserves.

[mymoonjin1]

Chris Chibnall ruined Doctor Who

Doctor Who sucks now. I’m sorry for starting this off with such a blatant statement, but we all know it’s true. And this angers me so, so much, because it used to be one of my all-time favorite shows, and now with a female lead it had so much potential, lost in shitty writing. Here we go.

I have to admit, I used to be one of the people against changing the Doctor’s gender. I thought it would be weird, that they were only doing it for PC reasons, etc. I changed my mind since then, but needless to say, I remained disappointed. I think that a female Doctor would have been a refreshing take on the character, it would have shut up people (like me at the time) and it would have made a lot more people take interest in Doctor Who. Jodie’s era could have been amazing, magical and revolutionary. But alas, here we are.

Jodie Whittaker’s first episode was watched by a little over 14 million people if I recall correctly. But why did the show fail in keeping that number? Simple: the writing sucks. Chris Chibnall is not a good showrunner. He took elements he knew of Doctor Who and tried to copy them, without understanding what made them special.

Let’s start with character development. The Doctor. There was a moment in Spyfall when Yaz says: “what would the Doctor do?”, and for the longest moment I thought… “what would this Doctor do?”, which is NOT something I should be thinking this far in Jodie’s run as the Doctor. It’s all been oh’s, wow’s, unnecessary exposition and not a single truly emotional moment, one that makes me feel like I know or relate to this Doctor. I feel like they tried to make a sort of female Eleven without everything that made him special. Jodie said multiple times “yeah, I can play an alien”, and of course, she could have. But the problem it’s not just about playing an alien. The Doctor is an extremely complex character, with extremely complex emotions. Emotions we are yet to see from her. And I am not saying she isn’t a great actress. I absolutely loved her in Broadchurch, a show that was also run by Chibnall. She is capable of showing emotional range. So why hasn’t she? Shitty writing. My guess? Chibnall is scared of criticism saying that this Doctor (a woman) is too emotional, criticism that wouldn’t have existed in previous Doctors' incarnations. Which is bullshit, and also leads me to my next point: the companions.

Having three companions may have sounded good in paper, but the reality is that none of them has had enough screen time to properly develop as characters. My guess? In the eyes of Chibnall (and probably the BBC, I don’t know), a team would lessen the controversy around the new Doctor. But they didn’t bother with them.

If someone asked you to describe Yaz or Ryan’s personality, what would you say? …Exactly. The only one worth watching is Graham, and even he hasn’t had a proper storyline. They tried to show more of their struggles in Can You Hear Me?, but here’s the thing. It is far too late in their arcs for this. At this point, it just felt way too forced. As someone with depression, It would have been great to see more of Yaz’s struggles with it, but just one episode is not nearly enough. Also, she connected with a police officer who we are never going to see again! Don’t you think it would’ve been better to see this development in her relationship with the Doctor? NONE of them have a strong friendship with her. They just say she’s amazing because she takes them places and shit. Not because they actually want to spend time with her. What are Yaz’s reasons to be there? She wanted to be more than just a cop that gave tickets, she wanted to help people, yet she just…left? And she has mentioned being a cop like, once since then. How does this make any sense?

Ryan was supposed to have dyspraxia, which hasn’t been mentioned since the bike thing, I think. It would have been great to see this being an actual part of his character and seeing him coping with it whilst traveling around in space and having dangerous adventures. But nope, they completely forgot about it, as well as his Youtube channel. Also, what are his motivations, his ambitions? Why is he there? In Can You Hear Me? we learn about his friend’s struggles with mental health, but again, shouldn’t it have had more impact coming from Ryan? A character we are supposed to care about at this point?

As for Graham, like I said, he’s the one with a more formed personality. He’s a goofball, he worries about the “kids” of the group, he’s a father figure. Great. But the problem is they presented him as wanting to travel with the Doctor to get over his grief, but they hardly show any of it. And there wasn’t any hint throughout the first season of him having any sort of thirst for revenge, so him wanting to kill Tim Shaw just came out of nowhere. But my biggest problem this season, was when he was opening up with the Doctor about his fear of his cancer returning and she just… said: “I’m sorry, I’m still socially awkward”???? WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? There’s been plenty of times that we’ve seen this awkwardness. It is ALL we’ve ever seen from this Doctor. This was NOT the time to say this. This could have been a beautiful way for them to connect, to show more of the Doctor’s emotional side, yet what we got was a “suffer in silence bro, I’m so awkward lol”. REALLY? The Doctor has always shown compassion. Even if they don’t understand what their companions are going through, they are always there for them. Why would the writers think this was a good idea? It’s infuriating. 

I’ve been watching a LOT of Youtube videos talking about why Chibnall’s run has been a disaster. I really liked one called “Is the Doctor a hypocrite?”, by B-WHERE. In the video, they essentially say that this Doctor’s moral compass is a mess. In Arachnids in the UK, for example, she somehow thinks locking up all of the spiders and letting the queen die suffocating is more humane than just killing them quickly, which is what the villain does in the end. Ummm? Okay? Listen, the Doctor has always faced difficult moral decisions, even scary ones, like in the Family of Blood two-parter. But as the video says, they’ve never claimed to have moral superiority. And maybe this could have been a more distinctive flaw in the character, a flaw that maybe her companions saw and disagreed with. Like Ten’s wake up call at the end of Waters of Mars. But no. Again, it’s just plain shitty writing.

Ok. Now... The Timeless Children. Jesus Christ. There are so, so many reasons this was the worst thing to ever happen to Doctor Who, but y’all are probably wishing for this rant to be over, so I’ll just mention two.

In over fifty years, we’ve NEVER needed an origin story for The Doctor. The show is called “Doctor Who” for a reason, the question that should never be answered. And they just go and shit all over one of the most beloved sci-fi shows of the twentieth century in a single episode. Again, this is mentioned in several videos, but I thought the same thing right after watching the episode: making the Doctor another “chosen one” goes against everything the show represented. The Doctor was an ordinary alien who was not very good at the Academy, ran away with a stolen TARDIS because he disagreed with the Time Lords way, and couldn’t even control where the TARDIS would go at first. The Doctor is an idiot in a box. The Doctor helps because he wants to; because it’s decent and kind. ANYONE could be like the Doctor. And now, it turns out he’s always been special. The Doctor is the reason why Time Lords regenerate. The character is basically a god now. Why is this a bad thing? This changes EVERYTHING, and yet, it WILL CHANGE NOTHING going forward. Ruth’s Doctor says so herself, it doesn’t change who the Doctor is. Oh, but it does. It changes who the Doctor WAS. None of it matters now, none of their sacrifices, it meant nothing. That’s what makes this so heartbreaking. And I had so much faith in this season. I actually enjoyed a few episodes, like Nicola Tesla’s Night of Terror. I thought they were going down the right path. But Chris Chibnall has ruined my favorite show in just one episode. My only comfort is that there’s still plenty of Classic Who episodes I haven’t watched. Those will be the ones I’ll look forward to. 

(Also, that’s nOT HOW REGENERATION WORKS! IT DOESN’T BRING TIME LORDS BACK TO LIFE! IT HEALS/PREVENTS THEM FROM DYING WHEN THEY’RE IN PHYSICAL DANGER. GOD, CHRIS, WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID!) Okay, rant over, deep breaths. Thanks for reading!

[variousqueerthings]

SO WE'VE SEEN EPISODE ONE THE ELEVENTH HOUR (gosh I love the doctor-related silly puns -- Eighth Wonder, Northern Star, You're A Ten, etcetc, good stuff...)

and I remember when I was watching this. I remember being quite excited. I remember being really into the season trailer (which is pretty good, still), and I remember being like "oh what the doctor is holding a gun!!!??!!!" (which is still a pay-off I remember thinking worked overall)

It's a good introduction episode. Murray Gold kills it with the music especially, Matt Smith is not bad, Olivia Coleman is there (pls can she be in DW again as a bigger role??? it's Olivia Coleman and she has nearly nothing to do in this??????) and we get what feels like the central ongoing conceit between the doctor and the new companion: that the doctor left her and so her entire self was formed around her child-self's belief of him -- it's pretty fucked up stuff, great for future work

new Tardis is beautiful. more like a laboratory now, more clean lines than Nine's and Ten's which was put together by scraps (scrap!Tardis my bby). It's shiny now, like a toy

notes the Doctor calling the Tardis "dear" is charming! and "I am definitely a mad man with a box."

Now obviously I know where a lot of things are going, but I will try to be reeelatively episode-minded, as if this were the first time. so on The Measurement of m*ffat's era, here's the rating, and then below some more in-depth explanation as to why. I added two to the initial lot I drew up and clarified a couple of the others

EDIT: retroactively added "politics" to the scoreboard

a criteria will be rated 0-10, with 10 being best score:

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 3/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored): 7/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 7/10

(if tying into wider narrative) furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 6/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 5/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 6/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 7/10

isn't trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 6/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 7/10

politics (how conservative is it): 7/10

FULL RATING: 61/100 (if I can count....)

OBJECTIFICATION: so I had this on 4 and put it down to a 3. Upon rewatch it's pretty egregious, the kissogram joke extends for a fair amount of runtime, from the initial long-shot up her legs to the doctor having kind of a patronising line later on:

little old lady: "I thought you were a nurse... or maybe a nun?"

the doctor: "what sort of a job is a kissogram?" amy: "I go to parties and I kiss people. It's a laugh." the doctor: "you were a little girl five minutes ago." yikes. also worth mentioning that this hinders her ability to. do things. like run. you see her stepping gingerly over a little chain fence and puling her skirt back into place, while the doctor is running to do stuff

PLOT-POINT: she does much better here, with little-girl Amelia clearly being very lonely and adult-Amy never having gotten over the Doctor seemingly abandoning her. I took points off, because for a lot of the episode after Amy is an adult, she's no longer the POV character. The Doctor is. she does get to be re-centred nearer the end again though, with her warring feelings of the thrill of the adventure vs the abandonment coming to the fore several times

she doesn't do much to solve the mystery overall, but we'll get to that in a bit

the bit where the tardis leaves amy again and she has an emotional trigger to waiting up all night for him! and then the doctor leaves again! for another two years! that's interesting stuff! And while she treats Rory poorly, that kind of makes sense, she's not super well-adjusted

COMPLEXITY: the plot is nice and actually relatively restrained, with the exception of the whole "and now we coordinate with the world to make every number a Zero," but that's more like DW silliness than trying to be too big for its britches on narrative level. I knocked off a few points, because it occasionally did some annoying visual m*ffatisms, like the bit where the Doctor is remembering Rory taking pictures of Prisoner Zero, and when Amy was remembering seeing Prisoner Zero. I see you Sherlock...

FURTHERS CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: technically not fair, as this is an opening episode, but I note that the Doctor spends time readjusting to a new body, there's references to the past (including classic!who), and while there's nothing referencing to what happened in The End Of Time, and how the Doctor got to where they were, well... that's forgiveable, it's meant to start a new audience, don't get too bogged down in right before. this may be highly subjective, but I do think there's emotional throughline between Ten's characterisation and Eleven's (I ascribe to the "the Doctor is born out of how the previous Doctor's arc ended" HC which is partially confirmed in some cases at least!) -- Ten ended things badly and Eleven is reckless, forgetful, childish, kind of impetuous, and even casually mean in a sort of "eleven-year-old just says shit" kind of way. Perfect way to keep people at bay, emotionally.

whether that's intentional or just how M*ffat writes his favourite characters, hard to say ofc, but it works in this episode!

COMPANION MATTERS: Tbh I don't think Amy... does much... in this episode. She's kind of running around after the Doctor and getting abandoned, which is fine for a first episode, because she has no clue what's going on yet! happy for it to be way more about her emotional journey (although I note that Rose, Martha, and Donna all saved the Doctor in their first episodes)

however, I think there were opportunities to give her -- and Rory -- more! Geoff is some random guy I'm fairly certain we never see again, and yet he seems to be coordinating the main line of defense for some reason? give that to Rory, he's dead weight after the camera bit

I think one Moment that really didn't need to happen was her calling the Doctor to figure out how to get into the hospital and he has to tell her to use her sexy policewoman outfit to pretend to be an actual cop, when that is like. the one thing this stupid gag could have offered her

GODLIKE DOCTOR: ok, I've seen stuff about the Doctor's final bit opposite Big Eye, and I'm torn about it. On the one hand, the Doctor as earth's defender is well-established at this point, including for that matter, Ten in the Christmas Invasion. Howeeever, Ten actually... did something there, rather than just said "look me up, I'm so impressive," which made the monster run away, and there was a whole thing related to that in that Torchwood then blew up the aliens!

because the Doctor, pointedly, isn't always there to defend earth (Harriet Jones, beloved 4-episode character arc!)

It's a good way to show some highlight's from Doctor Who, including previous faces, but I think more could have been done + I know that's kind of the plot of M*ffat's run... the whole "Pandorica" being about the Doctor, the "Silence Will Fall" is about the Doctor, "Doctor Who" is the question that will be asked- urghhhh, okok this doesn't count here! it's hard to discount when you know!

also tellingly M*ffat did this back in Forest Of The Dead as well, and it felt kind of like a cop-out then. Sure hope it isn't a recurring theme haha...

beyond that, we have the Doctor doing a very "I am smart everyone shut up" thing here, however I think in this episode it can be relatively forgiven, because this is immediately post-Ten and the Doctor is messed up and the Tardis basically was on fire and they're still in the middle of regenerating, and so there's... yeah, there's precedent for that kind of dismissive behaviour and the Doctor does like people in this + there's the aforementioned post-Ten personality, which is like an inverse of Nine's, which was also prickly, but in a different way

"look at your screens, whoever I am, I'm a genius..." -- does a lot of "why am I doing this, because I'm a genius, you'll find out when you need to know" but is tempered by buoying other characters, especially... Geoff, for some reason. who is there. and never will be again

PREV DOCTOR WHO: Yeah pretty good here. Nothing to report. Loved the first 15mins of trying to figure themself out and enjoyed the acknowledgement of previous Doctors and there's no "I'm the new and improved" type nonsense, or writing out the past

HAMFISTED SEXINESS: I mean. Amy. Of course. And also the bit where The Doctor is changing and Amy watches, it's just kind of unnecessary and clearly just there to be like "we dare go where no one has gone before: thinking the Doctor is hot!"

WORLD: Feels like a world. It's called Leadworth I believe? We have a host of characters from the village + a mention of Amy's aunt + Rory and his co-workers. There's a place, there's people, let's see where that all goes.....

POLITICS: Nothing terribly egregious -- its main issues are the aforementioned sexism. And maybe a bit of this. Doctor-as-central kind of makes earth seem comparatively free of responsibility for choices (although I note this is different later on in Hungry Earth/Cold Blood)

Overall I have no sense of whether this is a high or a low rating for M*ffat, we shall see how others fare!

It's biggest failings were: objectification of its main female character and companions not having much to do, while its strongest points were Amy feeling like a real character with real emotional depth, the world in which she lives (which is where it takes place) feeling like a real place, being fair to the narratives that came before it, and the plot not going all over the place in the name of Complexity

[saiilorstars]

Stars Dance

Ch. 17: The Ghosts of Christmas

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: 11th Doctor x Original Female Character

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Chapter summary: It's the first Christmas the Doctor and his companions get to spend together after putting the universe back together. Of course the Ponds aren't having the best of their honeymoon, and Lena is terrified of a flying shark...but Avalon does get to reenact one of the most classic Christmas stories to make everything all better!

(Previous chapters) // Sequel Story!! 

Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

"I'm not doing it," Avalon crossed her arms as she peered down the chimney of a rather large house, ignoring the pouting Time Lord beside her.

"But it's Christmas!" he sighed in exasperation, gesturing to the chimney that was just begging to be climbed into. He thought this would be something Avalon would literally jump to do. It was part of the classic movies, right? Why was she all frowny in the face then!?

"Yes, and I'm not Santa Claus," Avalon snapped at him. "I am going to take the front door like a proper person." She headed back to the TARDIS when Lena stepped out.

"Guys, Amy and Rory are pretty distressed up in that ship of theirs, what are you both doing here?"

They'd recently gotten a distress call from the newlywed Ponds that the cruise ship the Doctor had brought them to for their honeymoon had entered some sort of problem and the ship was actually going to crash if the clouds in the sky weren't cleared up. Apparently, the clouds were controlled by a family in the planet they found themselves in and for some reason the Doctor thought going down the chimney was the best way to enter the house of the man who controlled the sky.

Avalon felt ready to smack him for being such an...idiot. "Your 'big brother' wants to play Santa Claus and go down that chimney," she sighed.

"Cool!" Lena beamed and shut the doors of the TARDIS before running over to the Doctor, "Can I be one of those helping elves? I think they're so cute."

"No!" Avalon turned to them, gaping at her sister. "Lena, you can't jump into a chimney! Do you know how bad that'll be for your asthma?"

Lena rolled her eyes, "Here we go again," she muttered to the Doctor. She really thought Avalon was finally going to let go of her over-protectiveness and simply have fun. But apparently that was going to be something difficult judging by what they were seeing now.

"It's Christmas," the Doctor called back to Avalon, as if that alone was the perfect excuse, "C'mon, Ava," he hurried up to her, grinning widely, "You're fun, you're...a bit wreckless-"

"I am not!" she huffed and crossed her arms.

"But you're fun," he pointed, "And fun people always take the fun route..." he nodded back to the chimney, "...c'mon, Ava," he poked her hair.

"Don't touch my hair," she closed her eyes with irritation as he continued to do just that, "Don't...Doctor, don't...don't...FINE!" she snapped and startled him enough to back off, "Fine, we'll...play Santa," she huffed again, "But I am not gonna be the elf," she warned.

The Doctor hadn't listened as he'd grabbed her hand and brought them back to the chimney where he peeked again, hearing the loud voice of an elderly man coming below, "Geronimo," he smirked at the twins.

"Not with me you don't," Avalon took back her hand, "You go first and break our fall," she smiled sweetly, hoping that it would make the man realize he was being completely childish and ridiculous and would end up getting hurt.

It was like she didn't know the Doctor at all, thought Lena.

The Doctor clapped his hands together and jumped into the chimney.

"You have got to be kidding me," Avalon sighed while Lena giggled.

"Wonder if he got hurt," Lena peered inside.

"Probably," Avalon shrugged and sighed, "Well...better get it over with," she sighed again, unable to believe she was actually going to do this.

If she still had more space in her journal she would've written about it.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor had fallen down the chimney and managed to land with a perfect somersault on the floor. He stood up to greet an elderly man, a family of four with one daughter and son, and a couple of servants. He dusted the soot off himself and grinned, "Ah! Yes, blimey. Sorry! Christmas Eve on a rooftop, saw a chimney, my whole brain just went, "What the hell!" Don't worry, fat fella will be doing the rounds later. I'm just scoping out the general...chimney-ness. Yes," he leaned against the chimney and smirked when he started hearing the shrieks of the twins.

Avalon came toppling down the chimney first and ended on the ground on her stomach. She groaned and lifted her head up to look at the Doctor, "I hate you."

He absolutely grinned at her soot-covered face. "No you don't!"

"Eek!" Lena came down right after and landed on her back, laughing to herself, "Okay, even I have to admit that was fun."

Now the Doctor softly smiled at his baby sister. His hearts warmed seeing her having so much fun again. She was alive and having fun. He still couldn't get over the fact she was back!

"Sorry," Avalon noticed the others after the Doctor helped her and Lena up. "He wanted to play Santa."

"Santa?" the little boy of the family spoke up.

"Father Christmas," Lena offered another alias, "Santa Claus?"

"Or, as I've always known him, Jeff," the Doctor shrugged.

"Shut up, you do not know Santa Claus," Avalon nearly laughed but got paused when the Doctor gave her a smirk. Her eyes widened - did he know Santa Claus? Wait, was Santa Claus real?

"There's no such person as Father Christmas," the boy shook his head, cutting the silence.

"Oh, yeah?" the Doctor pulled out a small, black and white photo from his inside pocket and walked up to the family, "Me and Father Christmas, Frank Sinatra's hunting lodge, 1952. See him at the back with the blonde...Albert Einstein. The three of us together...vrrroom! Watch out! OK? Keep the faith, stay off the naughty list."

"No way!" Avalon snatched the picture right out of his hand to see for herself. "This is impossible!"

Lena sighed and tapped the Doctor on the shoulder. "We have our friends stuck in a crashing spaceship, remember?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor quickly ran to a large panel filled with buttons of all kinds, "Now, what's this? And I love this, a big flashy lighty thing - that's what brought me here. Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them. Not actually, but give me time and a crayon," he sat on the chair in front of the panel and swivels to face the others, "Now, this big flashy lighty thing is connected to the spire in your dome, yeah, and it controls the sky. Well, technically, it controls the clouds, which technically aren't clouds at all," he stood up and walked up to the elderly man, "Well, they're clouds of tiny particles of ice. Ice clouds, love that. Who's she?" he pointed at a silver chamber containing a woman inside.

"Nobody important," the elderly man, Kazran, dismissed.

"That's rude," Lena frowned.

"Do you know, in 900 years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important before," the Doctor agreed and headed back to the control panel to use the controls, "Now, this console is the key to saving that ship, or I'll eat my hat... if I had a hat. I'll eat someone's hat. Not someone who's using their hat-"

"How about you don't eat anyone's hat and we save Amy and Rory?" Lena raised an eyebrow, making him stop his rambles and see he was once again trailing off into another subject.

"You can't know Santa Claus!" Avalon finally looked up from the picture she'd taken from the Doctor, still unable to wrap her mind around it.

"I do," the Doctor returned and took back his picture, smirking at her. "And those controls aren't working!"

"The controls are isomorphic – one to one - they respond only to me," Kazran informed as he moved up to the Doctor.

"Oh, you fibber... Isomorphic! There's no such thing."

Kazran pulled a switch on the panel and shut down the machine to prove his statement. The Doctor went ahead and used the same switch only to see it wouldn't respond. With a frown, he pulled out his screwdriver and used it over the controls and Kazran. Once he checked the readings he blinked and looked at the others, "These controls are isomorphic!"

"The skies of this entire world are mine. My family tamed them, and now I own them," Kazran explained, getting more and more irritated with the Doctor.

"Tamed the sky? What does that mean?" Lena looked at Avalon, knowing that didn't sound very good for their situation.

"It means I'm Kazran Sardick," Kazran glared at them, "How can you possibly not know who I am?"

"Because we get bored easily," Avalon snapped, not liking the attitude the man had taken with her twin, "Point here is we need your help to save our friends."

"Make an appointment."

"I wasn't asking for your help, I was informing you," Avalon crossed her arms.

"There are 4,003 people in a spaceship trapped in your cloud belt," the Doctor stepped in before the ginger went off with a full temper, "And what my friend is trying to say is that without your help, they're going to die."

"Yes," Kazran nodded.

"I think the correct answer is that you're going to help," Lena spoke up again.

"You don't have to let that happen," the Doctor agreed.

"I know, but I'm going to. Bye-bye. Bored now. ..Chuck!"

Avalon's mouth opened with horror, "You old-"

"I'd watch the tongue," the Doctor pointed at her before she finished her sentence.

"I'll take it under consideration," Avalon mock-glared at him as servants neared them from behind to get them out the door.

The Doctor managed to break free from the servants restraining him and rushed back to Kazran as the man had sat down on his chair, "Ooh, look at you, looking all tough now," the man mocked.

"There are 4,003 people I won't allow to die tonight. Do you know where that puts you?" the Doctor asked.

"Where?"

"4,004."

Kazran let out a small laugh, "Was that a sort of threat-y thing?"

"Whatever happens tonight, remember... you brought it on yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, right. ..Get him out of here," Kazran called to the servants again, "And next time, try and find me some funny poor people."

The Doctor was forced towards the doors along with the twins and family. The little boy took a lump of coal on the ground and threw it Kazran, hitting him on the head. Kazran stood up in anger and headed for the boy with a raised hand to strike with.

"No, stop, don't!" the Doctor struggled to free himself of the servants holding him back.

"Don't you dare! You leave him!" the father of the boy was in the same predicament as the Doctor.

After a moment, Kazran seemed to realize what he was about to do and lowered his hand, "Get him out of here! Get that foul-smelling family out of here! Out!"

Although the family was taken, the Doctor remained in the house, nodding for the twins to go ahead and leave as well. He waited a moment until Kazran noticed he was still there.

"What? What do you want?" Kazran rolled his eyes with irritation.

"A simple life," the Doctor shrugged, "But you didn't hit the boy."

"Well, I will next time!"

"No, you see, you won't. Now why? What am I missing?" the Doctor turned and started to focus on the details of the house.

"Get out! Get out of this house!" Kazran shooed him off to no avail.

"The chairs! Of course, the chairs! Stupid me, the chairs!" the Doctor smacked his own forehead.

"The chairs?"

"There's a portrait on the wall behind me. Looks like you, but it's too old, so it's your father. All the chairs are angled away from it," the Doctor gestured to each chair facing the portraits away, "Daddy's been dead for 20 years. But you still can't get comfortable where he can see you. There's a Christmas tree in the painting, but none in this house, on Christmas Eve. You're scared of him and you're scared of being like him. And good for you, you're not like him, not really. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Kazran blinked.

"Because you didn't hit the boy. Merry Christmas, Mr Sardick."

"I despise Christmas!"

"You shouldn't," the Doctor headed for the doors, "It's very you."

"It's what? What do you mean?"

"Halfway out of the dark," the Doctor mumbled as he finally left.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and the twins were outside of Kazran's home where they spoke to Amy and Rory on the phone. Up in the ship things were growing more and more frantic and so it was no surprise that the first thing Amy said to the group below was, "Have you got a plan yet?"

"Yes, I do," the Doctor answered almost immediately, prompting Amy to respond with...

"Are you lying?"

"Yes, I am," the Doctor bowed his head.

"Don't treat me like an idiot," Amy snapped.

"OK, the good news. I've tracked the machine that unlocks the cloud belt. I could use it to clear you a flight corridor and you could land easily."

Avalon took the phone from the Doctor and scolded him, "Don't give false hope," she rolled her eyes and spoke into the phone, "He can't control the machine, Amy."

"Less great," Amy sighed.

"But I've met a man who can," the Doctor shouted into the phone, making Avalon flinch with his voice right beside her ear.

"Ah, well, there you go!" Amy cheered.

"And he hated you," Avalon reminded the Doctor who stuck his tongue out at her for ruining it again.

"Let me guess, he was being extra charming and clever?" Amy sighed.

"To the max," Avalon nodded even though Amy couldn't see it.

"Say what you want but all I heard is that you thought I was being charming and extra clever," the Doctor pointed at Avalon with a smirk.

"Oh don't get too riled up on that," Avalon looked at him with a smirk of her own, "That was my own Christmas present for you, one nice lie."

The Doctor frowned and pointed at her again when Lena cut in, "Alright, stop it." She looked at both with a scolding face before she took the phone from Avalon.

"Sir, sir," the father of the family they'd been thrown out with came towards the group.

"Hang on," the Doctor told the twins and met with the father, shaking his hand.

"I've never seen anybody stand up to Mr Sardick like that," the father remarked, "Bless you, sir, and merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas. Lovely," the Doctor nodded.

"But a bit busy," Avalon reminded.

"You'd better get inside, though," the father warned.

"Why?" Avalon asked as she looked around.

"The fog's thick tonight, and there's a fish warning."

At that, the trio gave the father an odd look, "The fish?" they asked together.

"Yeah," the father nodded, "You know what they're like when they get a bit hungry."

"Yeah, fish, I know fish," the Doctor looked at the twins, "Fish?" both sisters shrugged in confusion.

"It's all Mr Sardick's fault, I reckon. He always lets a few fish through the cloud layer when he's in a bad mood," the father shrugged, "Thank you. Bless you once again, sir," and with that he hurried on out.

"I'm sorry but did he just say fish?" Avalon scratched her head.

"OI!" they heard Amy's voice from the phone, "The Captain says we've got less than an hour. What should we be doing?"

"Uh, hang on..." Lena said to her while she and the other two looked around and saw small fish swimming around a streelight as if they were moths.

"Fish," the Doctor blinked.

"Fish that can swim in fog?" Avalon frowned, "That's a real thing?"

"How's that for impression Miss Reynolds?" the Doctor shot her back a smirk.

"Now I feel terrible for my lousy present," she playfully rolled her eyes.

He shook his head and stepped closer to the fish, "Now, why would people be frightened of you tiny little fellas?" he held up his hand and let the fish go near it, "Look at you, sweet little fishy-wishies. Mind you, fish in the fog, so the cloud cover... Ooh. Careful up there."

"Big brother, Amy's very adamant about being saved," Lena called, holding the phone from her ear as the ginger shouted over it, "And she says they've got less than an hour."

"I know,' the Doctor mumbled as he glanced at a nearby clock.

"Then best stop messing around with the 'fishy wishys' and get to work," Avalon clapped her hands to get the attention off the fish.

"Big Brother, it's Amy again," Lena sighed, her ear partially ringing from the loud tone Amy was taking with her.

"Oh alright, let's see," the Doctor started pacing as he thought, "Can't use the TARDIS, cos it can't lock on. So that ship needs to land, but it can't land unless a very bad man suddenly decides to turn nice, just in time for Christmas Day!"

"Oh!" Avalon suddenly squealed, startling him and Lena, even Amy as the phone had gone quiet for a moment.

"What?" the Doctor looked back to see her clapping her hands excitedly with a huge smile.

"I got it! I got the plan!" she cheered, "Don't you hear the singing?" she gestured to the speakers of the town that were playing a Christmas song, "A Christmas Carol! A Christmas Carol! A Christmas Carol!"

"I'm scared," the Doctor looked at Lena, never seeing the ginger acting like such a...ray of sunshine? If that even made sense.

"Me too," Lena admitted as she stared at her squealing twin.

"We have to do this," Avalon ran up to the Doctor who instinctively took steps back, "Oh please, oh please, oh please!?" she clapped her hands together, "A Christmas Carol is one of the best stories I've read!"

"That's great...what does it have to do with this though?" the Doctor asked, taking one more step back for caution.

"You said it yourself!" Avalon laughed, "How do we turn a man who's been bitter and mean his entire life? A Christmas Carol!"

The Doctor blinked as he finally got what the ginger was so excited about. Of course, a story, a classic story that Avalon loved. She had the opportunity to play out an entire story...on Christmas...of course she was squealing and clapping about it. That made more sense.

"You are clever," he concluded, "Well done," he did a mock-bow, making her laugh.

"Can someone explain to me, please?" Lena came up to them, "And perhaps Amy?" she held the phone between them, "She's yelling again," she whispered.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and the twins managed to sneak back into Kazran's house, after the servants had 'luckily' won the lottery. The Doctor set up a projection of a young Kazran while the current, elder Kazran slept. With a loud shout of his father in the

projection, the current Kazran awoke with a startle. He was stunned to see the projection of his younger self talking about the fish in the skies when his father came in...and struck him. He quickly stood up from his chair and rushed up to the wall where the projection played.

The trio had entered the room without Kazran noticing and the Doctor cautiously walked up to him and set a hand on his shoulder, "It's OK. It's OK."

Kazran jumped and turned around, angrily shouting, "What have you done? What is this?"

"Found it on an old drive. Sorry about the picture quality, had to recover the data using quantum enfolding and a paperclip," the Doctor stepped back as the twins joined him.

"Oh, I wouldn't bother calling your servants, they quit. Apparently they won the lottery at exactly the same time," Lena crossed her arms with an innocent smile, "Which is a bit lucky when you think about it."

"There isn't a lottery," Kazran pointed at her violently.

"Extra lucky," Avalon remarked as she plopped down in Kazran's chair.

"Who are you?"

Avalon smirked and looked at her sister and the Doctor, "I've always wanted to do this, eek," she took a breath and got into character before she leaned back on her chair, "Tonight, I am the Ghost Of Christmas Past," she dramatically waved her hands.

The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes at her, glad to see she was at least beginning to have some actual fun, "Did you ever get to see a fish back then, when you were a kid?" he asked Kazran who scoffed.

"What does that matter to you?"

"Look how it mattered to you," Lena softly said, gazing back at the projection where the young Kazran cried.

"I cried all night, and I learned life's most invaluable lesson," Kazran turned to her with a dark look in his eyes.

"Which is?"

"Nobody comes. Get out!" he startled them with his shouts, "Get out of my house!"

"Okay, okay, but we'll be back," the Doctor warned as he gathered his two companions and brought them behind him, "Way back, way, way back," they moved to the door where the projection played, the TARDIS waiting behind.

Kazran heard the wheezing sound of the TARDIS slowly leave his house...only to be heard again in his younger self's room...

~ 0 ~

The Doctor excitedly opened the window of young Kazran's bedroom, "See? Back!" he shouted to the recorder young Kazran had on his desk.

"Nice, Doctor, just enter a boy's room without greetings and introductions," Avalon came through the window next and helped Lena last.

"Who are you?" young Kazran asked them all, debating whether he should start calling for help.

"Right," the Doctor agreed with Avalon's statement and turned to the boy, "Hi, I'm the Doctor, that's Avalon and her sister Lena. We're your new babysitters."

"Where's Mrs Mantovani?"

"Oh, you'll never guess!" the Doctor hopped onto Kazran's bed and started jumping on it, "Clever old Mrs Manters, she only went and won the lottery!"

"There isn't any lottery," Kazran frowned and looked at the women.

"She got extra lucky," Avalon shrugged then looked at the Doctor with a sigh, "And so your dad got a babysitter that acts younger than you."

Lena laughed as the Doctor stopped jumping and let himself fall on the bed with a small bounce afterwards, "I would've liked one like that," she shrugged.

Kazran checked his open window and frowned, "If you're my babysitters, why were you climbing in the window?"

"That is a very good point," Avalon mused for an excuse and glanced at the Doctor, "Doctor?"

"Need saving again?" he smirked and raised an eyebrow, earning a mock-glare back, "The answer is simple, really," he turned to Kazran, the boy still expecting an answer, "Because if we were climbing out, we'd be going in the wrong direction. Pay attention."

"Smooth," Avalon rolled her eyes.

"Mrs Mantovani's always my babysitter," Kazran slowly said, still unsure they were actual babysitters.

"Times change," the Doctor peered into the camera, "Wouldn't you say? You see... Christmas Past."

"Who are you talking to?" Kazran frowned.

"You," the Doctor pointed, "Now, your past is going to change. That means your memories will too. Scary, but you'll get the hang of it."

"I don't understand," Kazran turned to the women again, wondering what kind of answer he'd be getting from them.

"I'll bet you don't! I wish I could see your face!" the Doctor exclaimed as he pointed between Kazran and the camera.

"And you're scaring him," Avalon pushed down his finger, "Quit it."

"Yeah, maybe we should focus on the plan," even Lena agreed that the boy looked a bit frightened and confused.

"Right then," the Doctor finally focused and looked around, "Your bedroom. Great! Let's see, you're 12 years old, so we'll stay away from under the bed. Cupboard! Big cupboard, I love a cupboard," he ran up to said cupboard and opened it up, poking his head inside.

"What've you been doing inside cupboards, Fairy Tale Man?" Avalon smirked, even making Lena giggle when the Doctor nearly slipped inside from her comment.

"Ava!" he turned around, a scowl on his face as the two sisters laugh.

"I don't get it," Kazran said to the Doctor, thinking it must have been a girl thing as the women kept laughing.

"Good," the Doctor pointed at him then sighed, "So what are we going to do? Eat crisps and talk about girls? I've never actually done that, but I bet it's easy. Girls! Yeah?"

"I'm not so sure you can do that," Avalon looked at Lena with another laugh wanting to slip out.

"Shut up!" he pointed at her.

"Are you really babysitters?" Kazran had to question again, "You keep arguing..."

"Bantering," Lena corrected with an amused smile.

"Wish it would stop," the Doctor shot Avalon a look before he pulled out his psychic paper and held it to Kazran, "I think you'll find I'm universally recognized as a mature and responsible adult."

Kazran looked at the paper and tilted his head, "It's just a lot of wavy lines."

The Doctor took a look and raised his eyebrows, "Hm, it's shorted out..." he looked up at Avalon who was biting her lip with a smile that was threatening to turn into another laugh. She was making the effort not to laugh but the psychic paper had really done it this time. "Oh alright, have at it!" the Doctor rolled his eyes, resigned to another round of bantering.

Avalon instantly burst into laughter that could probably be heard a mile off. "You shorted out a paper designed to lie to everyone about anything! This is too good!" She clutched her stomach, her face beginning to match the color of her hair from how much she was laughing.

The Doctor huffed after a few minutes. "Okay that's enough!" But Avalon kept going. Her legs almost buckled that she had to go near the bed to keep her footing. The Doctor followed her wobbly walk with another huff. "Ava, c'mon! Stop it!"

"I don't think she can..." Lena remarked, genuinely surprised to see that side of Avalon. She'd seen Avalon laugh, sure, but not even Rory had made her laugh that much, "...well done, big brother," she looked at him with a big grin.

"Welcome...sure..." the Doctor wasn't paying attention as he was focused on the ginger making fun of him, "I know someone who's getting coal for Christmas."

"I never get anything anyways," Avalon wiped some tears from her eyes, "Woah, that was a fun," she glanced at young Kazran, "Sorry about that, kid. Now then, you're right...pretty clear we're not real babysitters."

"That's an understatement," he crossed his arms.

"Oh, smart boy," she raised an eyebrow and straightened up, "Then I can tell you right now that we're gonna be much cooler than a regular babysitter who gives you a bedtime."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"Doctor," Avalon pointed at him, "You're going to show the kid the fish he wants to see."

"You don't have to point," he moved over and pushed her finger down, "But she's right," he nodded to Kazran, "It's going to be fish time!"

"Mind you, that's a bit strange," Lena thought about the creatures, "There's fish in the fog and the clouds..."

"My dad's invented a machine to control the cloud belt. Tame the sky, he says. The fish'll be able to come down, but only when we let them," Kazran said what he'd been told so many times, "We can charge whatever we like."

"Yeah, we've seen your dad's machine," the Doctor sighed, "Big, bad machine," he mumbled.

"Why would you charge, though?" Avalon asked, "Wouldn't it be fun to just let the fish down for everyone to enjoy? C'mon, fish? In the air?"

"Well technically," the Doctor began, "It's-" but he received Avalon's hand on his mouth.

"Like I was saying," she shot him an irritated look, no one needed to know the technicalities of the fish, "We can see a fish right now, and I won't charge you a thing for it," she tapped Kazran on the nose with her free hand.

Kazran raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you going to tell me it's dangerous?"

The Doctor pushed Avalon's hand down and looked at him, "The woman's been to jail many times, she's way past playing the goody too-shoes."

"He's right," Avalon agreed.

"But it's still dangerous," Lena had to remind as she moved closer.

"Dangerous!?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow and stepped beside Kazran, "We're boys," he put an arm around Kazran's shoulders, "And you know what boys say in the face of danger."

"What?" Lena looked at Avalon who already had a hand over her forehead, just knowing the Doctor would come up with something utterly stupid like...

"Mummy!" the Doctor grinned.

"And there we go," Avalon looked up and shook his head at them, "And then the girls-" she pointed at Lena and herself, "-will have to come and save your sorry behinds."

And so, the Doctor's screwdriver had a string tired around it and was hung in the center of Kazran's room, the string rigged up and going through the cupboard door where inside the Doctor held onto it. Kazran sat beside him while the twins across, the camera that would allow the older Kazran to see, being held by Lena.

"Are there any spiders in here?" Lena whispered to Avalon since she was deadly afraid of the creatures.

"No," she shushed her, for they had to be quiet.

"Are you afraid of spiders, baby sister?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Don't encourage it," Avalon sighed, "Why don't we ask Kazran why he likes the fish so much instead of poking at the fears of Lena?"

"I like that idea," Lena meekly nodded.

"Cos they're scary," Kazran went ahead and answered as he saw how pale the brunette woman looked just at the talks of spiders.

"That's a good answer," the Doctor pointed.

"What kind of tie is that?" Kazran looked at his bow-tie with a face that didn't exactly spell 'like'.

"A cool one," the Doctor tweaked his bow-tie.

"Why is it cool?"

"It's not," Avalon whispered, making the boy chuckle.

"Avalon," the Doctor sounded like he was pleading for her to stop.

The ginger playfully rolled her eyes, "So why are you really interested in fish?" she decided to give the man a break for the moment.

"My school. During the last fog belt, the nets broke and there was an attack. Loads of them, a whole shoal. No-one was hurt, but it was the most fish ever seen below the mountains."

"Were you scared?" Lena wondered, knowing she would probably be screaming about with terror if something like that happened.

"I wasn't there. I was off sick."

"Ooh, lucky you. Not lucky?" the Doctor observed the boy's disappointment.

"It's all anyone ever talks about now, the day the fish came. Everyone's got a story."

"But you don't," Avalon gave a small smile.

"Why are you recording this?" Kazran looked at Lena curiously.

"Do you pay attention at school, Kazran?" the Doctor asked.

"Sorry, what?"

"Cos you're not paying attention now," the Doctor's finger was tugged towards the door via the string, "Sh!" he quickly said as he stood up.

"Doctor, are you sure about that?" Kazran watched the man, debating whether he should stand or not.

"Trust me."

"Okay..."

"Oi! Eyes on the tie. Look at me. I wear it and I don't care. Trust me?"

"Yes," Kazran nodded and looked at the twins.

"That's why it's cool," the Doctor smirked to himself.

"It usually works out fine," Avalon gave a shrug, assuming what the boy was going to ask, "Just be ready to pull him back when he gets into trouble."

The Doctor had taken that as another sarcastic remark and was about to make a comeback...when he realized that had actually been something true. He shrugged and focused back on the doors, "Stay inside..."

"Now are you sure that's the best choice?" this time even Lena was hesitant to let him go out on his own.

"Listen to your sister, baby sister," the Doctor looked back, "And just be ready to pull me out when I get into trouble."

With that the Doctor slowly entered the bedroom and closed the cupboard, seeing the small fish repeatedly hitting his screwdriver, "Hello, fishy. Let's see. Interesting. Crystalline fog, eh? Maybe carrying a tiny electrical charge. Is that how you fly, little fishy?"

"What is it? What kind? Can I see?" Kazran gently knocked on the cupboard to be heard.

"Just stay there a moment."

"Is it big?"

"Nah, just a little one," the Doctor moved closer to the fish, about to try and touch it, "So, little fella, what do you eat?"

And then a shark zoomed into the room and swallowed whole the small fish along with part of the screwdriver.

"How little?" Kazran's voice was heard again.

"Erm..." the Doctor had jerked away from the shark.

"Is it time to pull you back inside, now?" Avalon inquired, the Doctor a bit surprised she'd pick up on the change of mood.

"No, no. Maybe just...wait there for a moment," he tried to play it 'cool' as he slowly made his way towards the cupboard.

"Don't think you can pull one over me, fairy tale man," Avalon warned.

"Yup, sorry," he swallowed and ran the rest of the way back to the cupboard, hastily leaning against the shut doors as the shark banged from the other side.

"What did you do!?" Avalon frowned and tried helping him keep the doors shut while Lena brought Kazran back with her.

"Well, concentrating on the plusses, Kazran's definitely got a story of his own now," the Doctor tried to smile but the shark was getting tougher and tougher, "Also, I got a good look at the fish, and I understand the fog, which'll help me land a spaceship in the future, and save a lot of lives. And I'll get some readings off my sonic screwdriver when I get it off the shark in the bedroom."

"There's a shark in my bedroom?" Kazran gaped, his eyes wide as could be.

"Oh, fine, focus on that part!" the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"It stopped," Avalon whispered and stood off the door.

"What's it doing, then?" Lena trembled with the eery silence that now laid around them.

"What do you call it if you don't have any feet, and you're taking a run-up?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, this is no time for-"

The Doctor didn't wait for the finish of Avalon's words as he grabbed her and pulled her to the others, both falling a bit too close to with each other, while Lena and Kazran had fallen beside them. They looked at each other with mesmerization, even forgetting about a pending danger literally in front of them. Avalon then recalled her newest dreams and blushed like mad.

"It's going to eat us!" came Lena's cry, startling them back to reality.

Avalon cleared her throat and shuffled to turn away from the Doctor and to her twin, "Not on my watch," she managed to say, "Is that your screwdriver, Doctor?"

"Hm?" the Doctor blinked and looked at the shark that was stuck in the doorway with its mouth open with a green glow inside, "Oh, look at that..."

"That looks in reach, right?"

"Are you actually going to stick your hand inside that shark?" Kazran had seen where the woman was headed with her words and gawked.

"Lesson number one, kid, girls are so much better than boys," Avalon shot him a smirk.

"Ah, you will not be doing any of that," the Doctor kept her back as soon as she tried moving forwards, "My screwdriver, my arms," he gestured.

"Fine, but after two goes it's my turn," she gestured to her own arms, "And then Lena...and then Kazran..."

"Get the screwdriver!" Lena cried again, horrified to think of putting her arms inside a shark. She now recalled why exactly she didn't want to keep traveling.

"Right then! OK. Geronimo! Open wide," the Doctor took a breath and moved for the shark.

~ 0 ~

After managing to get his screwdriver back, the Doctor had gotten the rest of the group out into the patio outside Kazran's bedroom, the shark seemingly weaker all of a sudden. It had tried to make a move on them again but after entering the patio, it had slowly fallen to the ground and remained there.

Worried, Kazran moved to its side along with Lena, while Avalon stayed behind them just in case the creature tried to do anything more.

Meanwhile, the Doctor stood a bit to the side, checking his meek piece of screwdriver, "What's the big fishy done to you? Swallowed half of you, that's what. Half a screwdriver, what use is that? Bad, big fishy."

"Doctor? I think she's dying," Kazran called quietly, not wanting to startle the shark.

"Half my screwdriver's still inside, but yeah, I think so," he turned around, "I doubt they can survive long outside the cloud belt. Just quick raiding trips on a foggy night."

"Can't we get it back up there?" Kazran began sniffling, "We were just going to stun it. I didn't want to kill it."

"She was trying to eat you, Kazran," Avalon pointed out the events that had led to the shark's demise, "All of us..."

"She was hungry," the boy defended.

"I'm sorry, Kazran. We can't save her," the Doctor walked over, "I could take her back up there, but she'd never survive the trip. We need a fully functioning life-support."

At that, Kazran looked up with new sudden hope, "You mean like an icebox? OK."

And that was how the trio found themselves chasing after the boy, running down the stairs while Kazran only grew farther away, now even carrying a lamp to lead the way.

On their way to wherever Kazran led there was a large, decorated Christmas tree where the Doctor had to stop and gawk at, "Ooh, a tree!"

"C'mon," Avalon rolled her eyes as she walked past him, yanking him by the arm after her.

Kazran had taken the group into the basement of the house where a large, metal door with a security keypad on the side blocked their way into a new room full of ice by the glimpse they got from a small window. As the Doctor took a better look he saw the room was covered in ice and full of chambers like the one he'd seen earlier.

"What is this?" he asked Kazran with curiosity.

"The surplus population. That's what my dad calls it."

"Well that's nice," Avalon blinked.

Kazran was trying to turn the wheel for the door to open, even Lena trying to help as she thought the boy would need some extra strength. Unfortunately, the wheel wouldn't work, "Oh, it's not turning! Oh, why won't it turn?" Kazran stepped back while the Doctor used his remnant of a screwdriver on the keypad.

"Ah, what's the number?" he saw the keypad asking for the security code.

Kazran shrugged, "I don't know!"

"This place is full of alarms, it's not just the door. I need the number!"

"I'm not allowed to know until I'm older."

The Doctor huffed and ran out without a word, leaving Kazran to call after him.

"He'll be back," Avalon assured as she moved up to the window to take a look.

Just like Avalon assured, the Doctor had come back running only a minute after he'd left, hollering, "7258!" repeatedly.

Lena hurried to the keypad and typed in the numbers, opening the doors for them. Together, they entered the cold room full of thicker fog, Kazran once again taking the lead and sprinting over to a specific chamber.

"Ah, there's fish down here, too," the Doctor looked around as small fishes swam around them.

"Yeah, but only tiny ones. The house is built on a fog lake. That's how Dad freezes the people," Kazran stopped in front of a chamber, "They're all full, but we could borrow one," he pointed at the chamber he stood by, "Yeah, this one."

The Doctor held up the lamp they'd carried in to the chamber's window and saw it was the woman the family had been arguing over, "Hello again," he whispered.

"You know her?" Kazran looked at them all, seeing the similar expressions on each of their faces.

"What is so important about her?" Avalon wondered and blinked, "Sorry, that came out completely wrong," she amended her error with embarrassment, "I meant why this specific chamber? What's the significance?"

"She won't mind. She loves the fish," Kazran quickly typed in a number into the woman's chamber's keypad, starting a holographic video on the window of the chamber for them.

"My name is Abigail Pettigrew, and I'm very grateful for Mr Sardick's kindness. My father..."

"She starts to talk about the fish in a minute," Kazran assured with excitement.

"…but I would not allow it. I could not have chosen this path were it not for the compassion and generosity of the great philanthropist and patron of the poor, Mr Elliot Sardick, but I'm also surrounded by the fish, the beautiful, iridescent, magical fish..."

While the video played, the Doctor took the lamp with him and made a small walk around the other chambers nearby, "Why are these people here? What's all this for?"

Kazran sighed, "My dad lends money. He always takes a family member as... He calls it security."

"Hard man to love, your dad," Lena made a face and looked down at the boy, "But I suppose you know that." She thanked the heavens she had been given the type of father she had. He never struck her nor her siblings and always gave the best he could for them all.

Kazran had pressed more buttons on Abigail's chamber and lighted it up, activating the defrosting, "What's wrong?" he looked over at the Doctor who had been tampering with his screwdriver again.

"Just my half a screwdriver trying to repair itself. It's signalling the other half..."

The twins looked at each other with concerned looks, the same looks slowly making its way onto Kazran's and the Doctor's faces.

"The other half's inside the shark," Avalon breathed.

"Yeah. Sounds like she's woken up," the Doctor nodded, "OK. So it's homing on the screwdriver..."

The shark reappeared with its mouth open for another attack. The group quickly dispersed and ran off as the shark tried to attack once more, some of the chambers were even knocked down with the attempts. While each of them had taken a position to hide in, a new voice had taken over the entire vault room, a singer. With the singing, the shark seemed to have retreated from its attacks and so the group was able to come out of hiding and go check what/who was singing.

It was Abigail, who'd come out of her chamber, and was now singing to the shark, the creature at her side in a complete calm manner.

"It's not really the singing, of course," the Doctor began once he'd rejoined the group, all standing several feet away from Abigail.

"Yes, it is," Lena observed the manner in which all the fishes seemed to grow close to Abigail.

"Nah, baby sister..."

"The fish love the singing, it's true," Kazran agreed.

"Nah. The notes resonate in the ice, causing a delta wave pattern in the fog," but the Doctor stopped with a slap on the back of his neck, "Ow! A fish bit me."

"Shut up, then," Avalon smirked, guessing the fish had meant for him to be quiet so they could hear what they wanted.

"Of course!" the Doctor didn't seem to capture the message, "That's how the machine controls the cloud belt. The clouds are ice crystals. If you vibrate them at the right frequency, you could align them..." he slapped the back of his neck again, "Ow! Why do they keep biting me?"

Kazran rolled his eyes and looked up at him, "Look, the fish like the singing, OK? Now shut up!"

"Okay," the Doctor grumbled and finally stayed quiet like everyone seemed to want.

~ 0 ~

Once the shark had been placed into Abigail's chamber, the group, now with Abigail, had gone into the TARDIS. Upon entering, Abigail and Kazran had fallen into shock of the dimensions of the box.

"It's bigger on the inside," Kazran turned around in a circle.

"Yeah, it's the colour. Really knocks the walls back," the Doctor tapped the chamber on the floor.

"I don't think that's what he meant," Avalon gave him a look.

"Anyways,"" he rolled his eyes, "Shark in a box, to go," he ran to the console to set the box in motion.

Abigail was taking several steps around the room to gaze at every detail of the bigger place, "This is...amazing!"

"Nah, this is transport," the Doctor played innocent, "I keep amazing...out here," he ran for the doors and flung them open to allow them the view of millions of fish swimming among the cloud belt.

"Now that's just showing off," Avalon shook her head but nonetheless ran for the doorway to look out.

"Point one: big brother," Lena congratulated the Doctor as he returned for the chamber, chuckling to herself as Avalon poked her head out the doorway along with Kazran and Abigail.

The Doctor smirked to himself as he punched in numbers on the chamber, "Come on, then, let's get this shark out."

It was only a couple minutes when the shark was finally able to return back to its home with the other fish.

"Hey, look at her go!" Kazran cheered and laughed.

As the Doctor went to close the chamber he saw a couple numbers on the front of it, not belonging to any security code, "Abigail, this number, what does it mean?" he assumed she would know best.

"It pertains to me, sir, not the fish," Abigail tried to keep the smile she'd had since she stepped out of the chamber as best she could.

"Yeah, but how?"

She stepped towards him, slightly sheepish, "You are a doctor, you say? Are you one of mine?"

"Do you need a doctor?"

The bell chiming at the console broke through the conversation and made the Doctor hurry back to to the console.

"Ah! Sorry! Time's up, kids!"

"Why?" Avalon looked back with genuine disappointment, only making the Doctor smirk again of triumph.

"It's nearly Christmas Day," he informed and looked away before he was caught.

~ 0 ~

Abigail and her chamber were brought back to the Ice Vault to resume her 'sleep'. Abigail gave a small, genuine smile at the group, "If you should ever wish to visit again..."

"Well, you know, we're ever in the neighborhood..." the Doctor began to say when Kazran cut in.

"They come every Christmas Eve. Yeah, they do, every time. They promise!"

"We do?" Lena looked over at the Doctor, confused.

"No, we don't..." the Doctor blinked, confused himself, as Kazran closed Abigail's chamber's door.

But it had already been decided, apparently, that he and the twins would come back every year on Christmas Eve for Kazran ans Abigail. The Doctor hoped that by doing this they would be able to help Amy and Rory in the future with Kazran now a good man. So, every year, Abigail was greeted by him, Kazran, and the twins and was taken out to celebrate Christmas Eve. Beginning with a shark - carriage flight throughout the sky and to the rest of time and space. Young Kazran ended up growing up with each visit the Doctor and the twins made, entering his early teens ans finding a new, shy, personality...and a bow-tie.

While Abigail and the older Kazran walked (slowly) towards the console, the Doctor and the twins were battling it out to see where exactly they would be headed for this Christmas.

"You've grown," Abigail tried to be as discreet as possible.

Kazran gave a small nod, "Yeah."

"And now you're blushing," Abigail chuckled.

"Sorry," Kazran looked away.

"That's OK," Abigail shrugged.

"So, Doctor, where this time?" Kazran quickly looked at rhe others in hopes of ending the awkward conversation.

"Weeell..." Avalon discreetly walked around the console, "I've got Hollywood in mind!" she beamed excitedly.

"And I just want a snowy place," Lena remarked.

"And I've got time and space," the Doctor smirked.

"Might I make a request?" Abigail sheepishly stepped up.

"Of course," the Doctor moved over to them.

"This one," Abigail nodded.

~ 0 ~

After Abigail made her request, the Doctor brought them to her sister's house, the family that had been pleading for Abigail's release in the future. The blonde stood in front of a window of her sister's house, wearing a cloak over her. Off to the side stood the rest of the group, watching her begin to quietly cry.

"Who are they?" Kazran didn't understand why they stood in a random street.

"Her family. The lady's her sister," the Doctor answered, "We met her once, when she was...older."

"Abigail's crying," Kazran whispered.

"I think we've noticed," Avalon crossed her arms.

"When girls are crying, are you supposed to talk to them?"

"I've learned it helps," the Doctor glanced at Avalon with a small smile.

She caught the words and shared a look with him, "Yeah, it does..." she whispered with her own smile.

Lena looked between them and assumed it must be something while she'd been 'dead'. She had to admit it was a bit odd to see them closer, even their bantering had changed. Still, she preferred them this way than the early days. She turned to Kazran, about to suggest he go and talk to Abigail when she realized he was already doing that, "Smart guy," she smiled and then gasped, "Do you know what we should do?"

"What did you have in mind, baby sister?" the Doctor wondered, seeing her overly excitedly about something.

"Christmas with the family! C'mon!" Lena took his hand and Avalon's, rushing them for Abigail's sister's house.

~ 0 ~

Christmas Eve had been moved to be celebrated with Abigail's family. Although it was a strange for Abigail sister, Isabel, to see her sister with Kazran and time travelers, she had accepted Abigail right away. And while the two sisters caught up, Kazran had taken to helping Isabel's husband with the house decorations while the Doctor and the twins entertained the children.

The Doctor held up playing cards for the son, "Pick a card, any card at all. Memorize the card, put it back in the deck. Don't let me see it," the son took a card and studied it for a minute then returned it to the deck. The Doctor then took a card out and held it for the boy to see, "The three of clubs."

"No," the boy shook his head.

"You sure? I'm very good at card tricks," the Doctor made a face at the card he'd pulled out.

"It wasn't the three of clubs."

"Well, of course it wasn't," the Doctor chucked the card to the side, "Because it was the seven of diamonds!"

"No," the boy looked at the card with amusement.

"Oi, stop it, you're doing it wrong," the Doctor set the cards down with a huff.

"It's not his fault you're a bad card player," Avalon took a seat beside the boy and picked up the deck.

"Oh, and you can do better?"

Avalon raised an eyebrow, accepting the challenge, "Tell you what, let's make this interesting," she motioned for the son to move over so she could take his place.

"How so?" the Doctor curiously asked as she shuffled the cards.

"I wouldn't do that, big brother," Lena came over as soon as she saw Avalon shuffling playing cards.

"You place your wager and I'll say mine," Avalon smirked.

"Anything I want?" the Doctor ignored Lena's warnings. This was sounding pretty interesting and he could never resist anything interesting.

"Anything," Avalon assured him, her smirk widening once she knew he was hooked. Sucks for him because I always win.

"Fine," the Doctor officially agreed. "If I win, you stop all your sarcastic remarks for the rest of Christmas Eve and Day. No making fun of me at all."

"Difficult, but manageable," Avalon nodded, "I'll take it. But if I win..." she eyed him for a minute as she thought of what she could possibly want from him. She soon noticed the watch on his wrist. He always wore that thing even when he barely looked at the time. "I get your watch."

The Doctor immediately held his wrist wearing the watch to his chest. It was his favorite watch. Yes, he didn't really use it but it was a really cool watch. Why would Avalon want that? To make me suffer that's why, he rolled his eyes.

"Don't do this, please," Lena bent down beside them, almost begging them to stop altogether. But if she was being honest, she knew that they were practically the same person. Both Avalon and the Doctor craved adventure even in the smallest of places...like a stupid card game with a bet.

"Well?" Avalon raised an eyebrow at the Doctor. "Scared of little ole me?"

The Doctor scoffed and lowered his hands to his lap. "It's a deal." He shook hands with Avalon, truly making it official.

"Guys..." Lena tried again but Avalon was already shuffling the cards.

"Same rules go for the game," Avalon warned the Doctor, "Pick a card and study it, put it back and I'll pick out that same card."

"I know how the game works," the Doctor rolled his eyes as he pulled out a card, showing it to Lena, "Lena will be our cheater detector."

"I'm not gonna cheat," Avalon shook her head and held the deck for him to return his card. She shuffled them again and took out a card, "Was this your card?"

The Doctor blinked when he saw his card being held in front of him. "How did...?" he snatched the card from her and turned it around. She couldn't have done it! It was impossible! "That...that is..."

"Hand over the watch, Fairy Tale Man," Avalon chuckled as she set down the deck between them. He was utterly shocked. It was too priceless! "I wish I had a camera right now!"

"That was...but...no!" the Doctor snapped, throwing his card to the side.

"I did warn you not to do it," Lena sighed. "She's a very good card player."

"How did you do that!?" the Doctor was narrowing his eyes on Avalon, searching for anything on her that would prove she hadn't played an honest game. You cheated!"

"Like I said, it's not our fault you don't know how to play," Avalon wiggled her fingers at him. "Watch, now, please."

"Lena!"

"I'm gonna go help decorate," Lena cautiously stood up and hurried away, preferring to stay out of it.

"Hand it over, fairy tale man," Avalon insisted.

"You cheated," the Doctor pointed at her.

"No, I'm just really good at cards!"

"How do you even know how to play!?"

"My Dad taught me," Avalon smirked. "So cough it up."

The Doctor glared for a minute before finally removing his watch from his wrist. A deal was a deal no matter how badly he wanted to take it back. Avalon held her left hand out and watched with giddy smile as he wrapped the watch around her wrist. He had to admit, it was nice to see her openly happy...even if it was because she was taking something of his.

"You like my new watch?" she bared a teethy smile at him as she raised her left hand.

"You are evil," he said flatly, making her laugh.

Isabel suddenly cleared her throat and stood up at the dinner table. "Tomorrow's dinner is cancelled, as my sister refuses to attend."

"Isabella..." Abigail tried to sit her back down.

"Instead...we'll have it tonight," Isabel smiled, surprising the others.

And within the hour, dinner had been set up for everyone to be a part of. They even had all the crackers to pull!

"Three! Two! One! Pull!"

Everyone cheered after seeing the gifts inside, although the little boy was more surprised to see a playing card inside his cracker, "How did you do that?" he looked at the Doctor with awe.

"Your card, I believe," the Doctor pointed, smirking, until...

"No!" the boy laughed and set the card down.

"Oh, shut up!" the Doctor gave up on the game altogether.

"Maybe I can teach you later," Avalon laughed, "And maybe even win your screwdriver this time!" The Doctor looked horrified at that and quickly shook his head, making Avalon laugh even more.

Kazran cleared his throat and raised his glass, "Er, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" the rest cheered.

~ 0 ~

Once more, Abigail was brought back to the Ice Vault, the blonde thanking the group for their gift, "Best Christmas Eve ever," she hugged the Doctor last.

"Ah! Till the next one," he stepped back.

"I look forward to it. Now I'd like to say good night to Kazran..."

"Of course," the Doctor nodded, "Well, on you go."

"You really are clueless," Avalon shook her head, "We'll be on our way," she waved at Abigail then took the Doctor back, with the help of Lena, towards the TARDIS.

"Wait!" Kazran rushed after them, "Doctor! I, er, I think she's going to kiss me."

"You are not asking him for advice, are you?" Avalon sighed.

"I can give good advice," the Doctor argued and pushed Kazran towards Abigail.

"I've never kissed anyone before. What do I do?" the teenage boy urgently asked.

"Well...try and be all nervous and rubbish and a bit shaky."

"Why?"

"You'll be like that anyway. Make it part of the plan!"

"That is the worst advice I have ever heard!" Avalon exclaimed, though not so surprised by it.

"Well, it's not that bad of an idea," Lena stepped forwards, "Just go for it, Kazran!"

"What, now? I kiss her now?" he blinked with wide eyes.

"Kazran," the Doctor put an arm around his shoulder, "It's this or go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver. Don't make my mistakes. Now, go!"

"I am so not gonna let that one go," Avalon pointed and walked off, laughing to herself. "Of course that's what you would do!" her laughter because like a howl all the way into the TARDIS.

"Oh c'mon!" the Doctor went after her, Lena scurrying behind them to try and stop their newest banter.

~ 0 ~

California, 1952.

The Doctor hurried through some bushes that led into the pool area of a lovely Hollywood party. He'd listened to Avalon's request to bring them to the era - that was his first mistake - and even got dressed for the occasion as Avalon suggested...that had been his second mistake.

The third mistake had been listening to her to make friends at the party.

Now, he was on the run to gather up his companions and get the hell out of there. He came to find Kazran and Abigail kissing by the pool, "Guys, we've really got to go quite quickly. I just accidentally got engaged to Marilyn Monroe!" he rambled but the pair did not break apart, "How do you keep going like that? Do you breathe out your ears? Hello? Sorry, hello? Guys, she's phoned a chapel, there's a car outside, this is happening now!"

"Yoo-hoo! Yoo-hoo!" he heard Marilyn Monroe calling for him.

"Twins," the Doctor blinked and dashed off, hoping to at least get them to help him...even if it meant hearing the nonstop laughter of Avalon once again.

~ 0 ~

Lena plopped down beside Avalon at a table, Lena a bit distressed, "I can't find any of our friends," she sighed.

Avalon had a plate of food in front of her, the fork already in her hand, "Who cares, Lena. Kazran and Abigail are probably snogging somewhere and the Doctor is probably getting himself into trouble. Let me eat!"

"What is that?" Lena crinkled her nose at the scent the food was giving off.

"No idea," Avalon shrugged, "Nice fella handed it to me, asked for a dance afterwards."

"Avalon!" Lena took the plate from her before Avalon dug her fork into it, "You can't accept things from strangers!"

"He's a celebrity!" Avalon took back from her plate.

"Oh yeah, who was he?" Lena pulled the plate again.

"Um..." Avalon thought for a moment and realized she didn't have the foggiest idea, "...well, he's a celebrity so everyone knows him! That's not a stranger! Now give me!" she pulled the plate again and finally sunk her fork into it.

"Do you even know what it is?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Nope!" the ginger toasted with her fork and was about to put it in her mouth when she heard the Doctor calling for them.

"Ava! Lena!" the Doctor rushed up to them in urgency.

"What happened to you, big brother?" Lena asked, making Avalon look up to see what her sister was talking about.

The Doctor had been dressed in a white evening jacket and black trousers, only now his face wore the smudges of someone's lips on his cheek.

"Who have you been snogging?" Avalon raised her eyebrows.

"Shut up! Help me!" he clapped his hands together.

"Let me eat," Avalon shifted back in her chair, waving him off.

"Oh, don't be so mean," Lena looked at the Doctor who seemed very desperate.

"I'm eating!" but then Avalon tasted a bit of the food and spit it back out. That was horrible. "Okay, what do you need?" she turned to the Doctor, pushing her plate away from her.

"Marilyn Monroe! Engaged! Marriage! Chapel! Help me!"

"Okay," Avalon stood up and took a sip of her drink to get rid of the awful taste, "This is what we're going to do. Lena, give me your bag," she held her hand out as Lena gave her purse.

"What are you going to do?" the Doctor frowned as the ginger pulled out a lipstick tube.

"Oh, I get it," Lena stood up as Avalon applied the lipstick.

"I don't! What's going on!?" the Doctor flapped his hands with urgency, "I don't have time!"

"No, no, it'll be fine. She's done this before and it worked perfectly!" Lena assured and received her purse back.

"What?" the Doctor waited impatiently.

Avalon moved over to the Doctor's side and grabbed his face, kissing the corner of his mouth and making sure her smudge stayed on.

"Wh-what are you doing?" the Doctor stiffened, thoroughly confused.

He was expecting some kind of teasing laughter instead of kisses! Avalon had kissed him on the other side of his face, also making sure that her smudge would stay. He could feel her breath on his skin and frankly it...hadn't felt so bad. He looked down at the wrong time, for her lips were dangerously close and for a split second he wondered what it might be to k...

"Don't forget the jacket!" Lena exclaimed, startling the Doctor from his thoughts.

He blinked and stepped away from them while he gathered himself. What had that been about? He shouldn't have those thoughts at all! It was Avalon, his baby sister's twin (or step-sister, but no one really knew that), the woman who laughed and teased him all the time! What was wrong with him?

"What about it?" Avalon looked back at Lena, sporting her own blush from her kisses.

"It's not gonna work if you don't mess that up too," Lena moved up to the Doctor, "Sorry big brother," she apologized before pulling his bow-tie undone and ruffling his hair, "There!" she stepped back.

"What is the point of all this?" the Doctor frowned moving to fix his hair when Lena smacked his hand, "Ow!"

"No woman wants to share her man, whether boyfriend or husband," Avalon remarked, "Duh. That's why you and Lena are going back to Marilyn where Lena's going to play your wife, or girlfriend, whatever you want. I'll act as the previous woman you've been engaged to."

"And this works?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, full of doubt.

"I've done it before with Mels and it is hilarious." Avalon crossed her arms, "Now go on! I bet Marilyn is getting frustrated!"

"I don't want to be his wife," Lena made a face.

"Thanks baby sister," the Doctor mock-glared at her.

"No, not like that," Lena chuckled, "You're my 'big brother', remember? I feel weird playing your wife..."

"Yoo-hoo!" they heard Marilyn calling.

"Well someone's got to do it or he'll be walking down that aisle in ten minutes," Avalon reminded.

"Yoo-hoo!"

"Ava please!" the Doctor hurried up to her, "Please! Please! Please!"

"Alright, alright," Avalon rolled her eyes, "Stole your watch and I keep making cheap remarks, least I could do is get you out of a marriage," she linked arms with him, "Let's go!"

Lena laughed as they all headed to get the Doctor out of his terrible mess, none of them aware of what was happening with Kazran and Abigail at the same time.

~ 0 ~

The group finally returned back to the Ice Vault to place Abigail back in her chamber, everyone alright and no one married. Abigail and Kazran asked for a moment to be alone before parting but when Kazran rejoined the group afterwards, there was an evident change in his mood and expression.

"There we go. Another day, another Christmas Eve. We'll see you in a minute, eh? I mean, a year," the Doctor clapped Kazran on the shoulder.

"Doctor... Listen, why don't we leave it?" Kazran quietly asked.

"Sorry, leave what?"

"Oh, you know. This. Every Christmas Eve, it's getting a bit old."

"Christmas never gets old," Lena frowned.

"Well, Christmas is for kids, isn't it?" Kazran countered, "I've got some work with my dad now, I'm going to focus on that. Get that cloud belt under control."

"Did we bore you or something?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, "Or is there something you don't want to tell us?"

"It's just times changing," Kazran shrugged and started walking away.

"Not as much as I'd hoped," the Doctor went after the teen, "Kazran," he handed his screwdriver to Kazran, "I'll be needing a new one, anyway. What the hell, Merry Christmas. And if you ever need me, just activate it. I'll hear you."

"I won't need you," Kazran took the screwdriver and mumbled.

"What's happened? What are you not telling me?" the Doctor eyed him suspiciously but Kazran walked off again, "What about Abigail?" he called.

"I know where to find her," Kazran shouted and disappeared through the chambers.

"Well that went well," Lena frowned, "What happens now?"

"I'll tell you what, the Ghost of Christmas Present happens now," Avalon stared at Abigail's chamber up ahead, "He won't tell us, fine. But he'll have to tell in the present," with that, she hurried back to the TARDIS, "Doctor! C'mon!" she called.

~ 0 ~

As Avalon directed, Amy took the role of the next 'ghost' and projected herself to the older, current Kazran in hopes of changing the man's mind and help the ship in the clouds. Once that didn't happen, Kazran was brought to the Ice Vault...in front of Abigail's chamber. It was there that Kazran explained the illness Abigail had before going into the chamber, the ice barely able to keep her alive. But with each Christmas Eve she spent out of it, her moments of life went down, hence the number in front of her chamber. None of them had realized it had went down to number '1'. She only had one more opportunity to go out before she would die, which was the reason Kazran had forgone the traditional Christmas Eve's.

"We're really sorry about Abigail," Lena had come towards the current Kazran, the Doctor and Avalon behind her, "We didn't know..."

"Because you didn't tell us," Avalon muttered, getting a look from the Doctor to get her be quiet. She was just upset that Kazran had left them to the side and then got angry with them for what happened to Abigail. It can't be their fault if they weren't even informed. But on requests of Lena and the Doctor, she was forced to say quiet about it.

"All my life, I've been called heartless. My other life, my real life, the one you rewrote. Now look at me," Kazran stood in front of Abigail's chamber with a heartbroken expression as he looked into the window.

"Better a broken heart than no heart at all," the Doctor tried to comfort the man.

"Oh, try it. You try it. Why are you here?"

"Have you even read A Christmas Carol?" Avalon huffed, "It's time for the Ghost of Christmas Future. The future's about to be shown!"

"Fine! Do it! Show me! I'll die cold, alone and afraid. Of course I will, we all do! What difference does showing me make? Do you know why I'm going to let those people die? It's not a plan. I don't get anything from it. It's just that I don't care. I'm not like you, any of you. I don't even want to be like you! I don't and never, ever will care!"

"And we don't believe that," the Doctor stood straight, looking the man in the eye.

"Then show me the future. Prove me wrong."

"We're showing you the future right now," Lena corrected, pointing past Kazran, "What do you think, sweetheart?" she called, "Is that who you want to become, Kazran?"

The current Kazran turned around and found his younger 12 year old self standing in front of him, "Dad?" young Kazran blinked.

The current Kazran dropped his cane and went for the boy, about to strike when he got the flashes of his father beating him then of himself trying to hurt Abigail's nephew. He came to a halt and realized the man he had become over the years, certainly not one he wanted to continue to be, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," he reached out to hug his younger self, "It's OK, don't be frightened. I'm...I'm so, so, so..."

"Kazran. We don't have much time," the Doctor reminded.

There was only a couple minutes until the ship above would come crashing down...

~ 0 ~

With Kazran now changed, the group hurried back to the control room to turn off the cloud belt...only to realize the controls wouldn't work anymore. The Doctor realized they had made a mistake in changing Kazran too much. The controls were programmed for a man like Kazran's father, and since Kazran wasn't like that anymore...the controls were useless. Another option had to be thought of and fast because the ship would be coming down soon. The option, when thought of one, hadn't been the happiest of choices but it was the only thing that was sure to work. That was how Abigail had gotten out of her chamber for the last time, to sing for the fishes up in the sky. She stood outside Kazran's house, singing into the Doctor's screwdriver that was wired to Kazran's machine inside.

"Well?" Kazran quietly turned to the Doctor frantically, wondering if it had been worth it to take Abigail's last moments of life.

"Well, the singing resonates in the crystals. It's feeding back and forth between the two halves of the screwdriver. One song, filling the sky. The crystals will align, I'll feed in a controlled phase loop, and the clouds will unlock."

"And in English...?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, young Kazran and Lena wondering the same thing.

"Something that hasn't happened in this town for a very long time now will happen right about..." the Doctor didn't finish when the first couple of snowflakes began falling from the sky.

"Snow!" Lena cheered, "Yes!"

With the snow falling, the other townsfolk started coming out of their houses to celebrate. While the ship did its clear landing, the Doctor and the twins went to return young Kazran to his own time...while leaving the current Kazran and Abigail a familiar gift: a carriage, a harness and a familiar shark swimming above.

~ 0 ~

Once Amy and Rory had been released from the ship, they had quickly went to find their friends, hoping they were alright after such events. They didn't have to do much searching when they heard the calls of Avalon and Lena, both nearly tackled with great, big hugs.

"You guys alright?" Avalon pulled Lena back with her.

"Yeah, yeah, nothing like a crashing ship for a honeymoon," Amy joked and laughed.

"The best, I hear," Avalon joined in with a small laugh.

"Ah, yes, you two! About time!" the Doctor joined them, immediately eyeing the clothing they wore, Amy with her Kissogram outfit and Rory dressed as a Centurion, "Why are you dressed like that?"

The twins chuckled, "You are way too clueless," Avalon mumbled to Lena.

"Ah, kind of lost our luggage. Kind of crash landed," Rory rubbed the side of his neck.

"Yeah, but why are you dressed like that at all?" the Doctor insisted, genuinely curious of the attire.

"They really love their snowmen around here," Amy desperately changed the topic and looked at a nearby snowman, "I've counted about 20."

"Yeah, I've been busy," the Doctor easily followed without noticing the blushes of either married human.

"Yeah, yeah, you have," Amy nodded and hugged him, "Thank you. "

"Pleasure. Right, come on, then, let's go!" the Doctor clapped his hands and headed for the TARDIS.

"Got any more honeymoon ideas?" Rory dared to ask as they followed.

"Careful what you ask for," Avalon put a hand on his shoulder.

"Is that...is that your watch?" Amy looked at the Doctor with confusion when she spotted the familiar watch on Avalon's wrist.

"She conned me out of it," the Doctor muttered.

"Did not!" Avalon exclaimed, "I won it fair and square and Lena is a witness!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Anyways, I do have another honeymoon idea, not sure if anyone's interested. There's a moon that's made of actual honey. Well, not actual honey. And it's not actually a moon. And technically, it's alive and a bit carnivorous, but there are some lovely views."

"Yeah, great, thanks," Rory shot Amy a look and mouthed 'no' to her before going inside the TARDIS with Avalon.

"Are you OK?" Amy looked between the Doctor and Lena.

"Course we're okay," the Doctor nodded and glanced at Lena for confirmation.

"Yeah," she agreed, "Just a bit sad that I'll be leaving."

"You can always stay, you know that," the Doctor pointed, Amy nodding in agreement.

"No, I just...I remember now why I was going to leave the first time around," Lena sighed, unaware of the questioning look Amy was now giving her, "I get scared easily and I become a burden. Plus, it's just not me," she shook her head, "Doesn't mean I don't want to take a trip here and then, it's always fun to be with my friends and sister. But, I think like Avalon, it's time I figure out who I want to be. I'm not going to stay as the 'sick girl' forever." She smiled and went inside.

"That was...wow," Amy didn't even know how to comment on that, "When was she going to leave?" she asked the Doctor quietly.

"Before she died'," the Doctor sighed, preferring not to remember that day.

"And let me guess, Avalon had no idea?"

"None whatsoever."

"Sounds right," Amy nodded and looked up to the clear sky, "It'll be their last day together, won't it?" she sighed when she thought of Kazran and Abigail.

"Everything has to end some time, otherwise nothing would ever get started."

Rory came back out with a concerned expression on his face, "Your phone was ringing. Someone called Marilyn. Actually sounds like the Marilyn. Avalon took the call and it sounds like it's not going so well..."

The Doctor blinked, "Right..." from now on, neither Avalon nor Lena were fans of Marilyn Monroe and vice versa. The blonde woman hadn't been too happy to hear that he had 'tricked' another woman (Lena) into marrying him while he was already 'married' (to Avalon).

"Doctor?" Amy smiled in amusement at his expression, "Something you want to tell us, maybe?"

"You may want to get Ava off the phone, I've learned her words are very colorful when she gets into her temper," the Doctor took a breath and shook his head.

"Yeah," Rory knew exactly how Avalon would get and so hurried back inside.

"Where are they, anyways? Kazran and Abigail?" Amy got over her chuckle from the Doctor.

"Off on a little trip, I should think."

"Where?"

"Christmas."

"Christmas?"

"Yeah, Christmas," the Doctor opened the door for her and let her go inside first. He glanced up with a small smile, "Halfway out of the dark," he went into the TARDIS a moment after.

~ 0 ~

"Oh my one, I'm so happy

That you've got so far

I know the good, the great

Is working you like a charm.

Oh my one, rushing away,

With a bag full of bones,

I know the place you left,

Still won't leave you alone.

The Doctor had come to a stop in the corridors of the TARDIS after hearing those melancholic words. He was looking for Lena since the brunette would be returning to her father and brother in a couple of minutes. She'd just excused herself to say goodbye to Avalon but was expected she'd taken slightly longer. The Doctor knew this would probably be the first time in their lives they would be apart, whether twins or step-sisters they loved each other sincerely. Of course, in his mind Avalon didn't know her status as a Reynolds was in question.

The Doctor had allowed Lena to spend as much time as she wanted in the TARDIS but after some time he was curious to see what the twins were up to. Now hearing the sound of a piano, he wondered if it had been wise for him to allow them the time together if they were going to be sad about it.

He stopped in front of the room the sounds were coming from and found Lena standing by a piano (one that he had no idea even existed in the box) where Avalon sat and played, and sang...sadly. He didn't like it, he didn't like it one bit for either of them to be sad. He strode into the room and cleared his throat, ending the music, which admittedly wasn't bad. He knew Avalon had a lovely singing voice, he just didn't know she had musical instrument talent as well.

"It's Christmas, why are we so sad?" he sighed as he came up beside Lena, giving her a side hug.

"I asked her the same thing," Lena agreed with a nod.

"I like the song, sue me," Avalon tried to defend herself, "I love its chords, the sounds, the lyrics..."

"Gloomy," the Doctor accused.

"I didn't force anyone to stay nor come," she pointed, "Sorry if I was bad."

"No, no, I think you were fantastic," the Doctor quickly clarified, "You're 'Ava Williams', of course you're fantastic!" she managed to smile at his words, "But perhaps your voice could do even better at joyful songs...Christmas songs."

"Hard to do so when you're not exactly in a cheery mood," she ran a finger down the piano's keyboard, "Christmas or no Christmas," she mumbled under her breath as her gaze fell down. "Everything's changing now. Lena's leaving and...I don't know what to do about that."

"Be happy," Lena gave her sister another side hug. "Plus, we've got our matching bracelets now, see?" she put her wrist and Avalon's side by side so the Doctor could see matching bracelets on their wrists. They were both pink and blue but one sister had a little charm with the letter 'L' and the other sister had the charm with the letter 'A'. "Thought they would be a nice gift."

"And they are," Avalon assured her. "Just doesn't mean it makes me any less sad."

"Baby sister, do you think you could give me a moment with Avalon?" the Doctor looked down at Lena, "I'll take you back home right afterwards, promise."

Lena nodded, "Sure," she moved over to Avalon and gave her a big hug, Avalon quickly retreating into it, "You take care, alright? And don't worry about me, you just have fun."

"It's impossible not to worry about you, Lena," Avalon pulled back, "Your my sister..." And she meant that with all of her heart, despite not knowing whether or not she was actually Lena's sister.

Lena felt that ping of guilt in her chest. She still didn't have the courage to tell Avalon the truth. "Yeah," she gave Avalon one last hug. She turned around and gave a nod to the Doctor, hoping that he could do something to help her sister when no one else had been able to.

"I don't need a pep talk, you know," Avalon spoke quietly as Lena left, her fingers playing with the piano keyboard.

"I'm not here to give you one," the Doctor took a seat beside her.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Then what do you want? No offence, but...yeah."

"I just want to know one thing," the Doctor turned to her, looking her in the eye, "One thing that I bet no one has asked you since the wedding..."

"What?"

"How do you feel?"

Avalon stiffened and looked away, "Why...why do you ask?"

"Because you got a strange letter warning you of danger and your sister - whom you've never been separated from - is leaving you. I think it's valid for someone to ask how you feel about that."

Avalon had to agree with that but wasn't going to openly agree, "It's...I don't know," she shrugged, "There's no words that come close to describing it, honestly."

"I get that, but maybe you can say something so it doesn't stay bottled up inside. You remember how that went the last time with your nightmares, right?" for some reason, he saw her blush and was going to ask about it when she spoke again.

She let out a big breath. "I mean, what do you want me to say? That maybe it scares me a little? What'd be the point?"

"Ava, you know it's never a good idea to keep things bottled inside. We've been over this," the Doctor sighed.

"Yeah, fine, maybe I am a little scared. And I'm sad because Lena is leaving but at the same time I'm thinking it's better for her to be away for whenever this thing comes for me..."

"Nothing is going to come for you, Ava, I promise," the Doctor placed a hand on her arm.

"We'll see, won't we?" Avalon gave a brief smirk that the Doctor knew was just meant to make him believe she was better.

"How's about a small gift, hmm?" he surprised her with instead.

"What?" she frowned in confusion. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a rectangular box wrapped in red and green wrapping paper. "What?" Avalon blinked as the gift was held between them, "But...I don't understand..."

"What's to understand?" the Doctor chuckled, "It's Christmas, it's a gift, and it's for you."

"You didn't even know it was going to be Christmas," she took the gift and turned it over, trying to learn what it was by shaking it. "Lena just stopped by a store before leaving, but you-"

"This is sort of something I've been working on for some time. Christmas just happened to complete it," the Doctor smiled, "Go ahead, open it."

Avalon studied the gift for another moment before she began unwrapping it. She found a white box underneath in the shape of a rectangle and took off its lid. Inside laid a silver journal with her initials 'A.H.R.' engraved on the bottom of the cover and a latch binding the journal shut, "It's a journal," she whispered as she took it out the box, "You got me a journal," she looked at the Doctor with blinking eyes.

"Well, yes, but there's more to it," the Doctor was now in complete smiles, nervous, but still smiles, and nervous. Why was he nervous? It was just a journal, "I know you said you didn't want to buy a new one because of the last one's special value to you, but this one might change your mind."

"Not to be rude or anything but I find that a bit difficult," Avalon admitted with a sad smile, "My mother, Emmalina, gave me that journal and it had this…" she swallowed hard, unable to finish her words anymore.

The Doctor set a hand on her shoulder, "I know…that's why I went ahead and did this…" he took the journal from her and kept it between them as he opened it up to the first page, making sure Avalon could see it.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the page that had writing on it, "Oh my god…"

"I didn't look, I just scanned and moved it," the Doctor quickly said before she jumped to conclusions, "I swear."

But Avalon had no doubt about it. Out of everyone of their group, only he and Rory had stayed away from all her writings in the past. She slowly took the journal from his hands and read the familiar words of the first page, "…these are my mother's words she wrote in my first journal. The ones that inspired me to write…" she looked up with teary eyes, "You did this?"

He nodded, "I know it's not the same as the original and that's okay, but this is a very special kind of journal that you'll never finish."

"Why do you say that?"

"Cause it's bigger on the inside," he whispered with pure excitement.

"What?" she frowned and turned the pages of the journal, "It seems ordinary to me…"

"It's like the TARDIS, it's infinitely endless," the Doctor declared, "You can keep writing in this thing forever and you will never run out of pages. It's the ultimate journal. Best of all is it contains all of your original journal's entries with your mother's writing in the beginning, see?" he made her flip to the first couple of pages, making sure to keep a look on the side so she wouldn't think he was looking at her writing, "You'll never have to buy another journal."

"This is…" Avalon bit her lip as she went through her old entries, "…there are no words to describe how perfect this is! It's truly fairytale like," she looked up with a happy smile, "I love it, thank you."

"Merry Christmas, Avalon," he smiled softly.

She hugged her journal with joy at the thought of writing again. Oh she had a lot of things to write about now and she finally could without feeling guilty, "Thank you," she looked at him and kiss his cheek.

As she pulled away, the Doctor had turned his head to kiss her cheek as well but accidentally found himself a bit too close to her lips. That was the second time something like that happened and it was really starting to take a toll on him. It made him feel...odd, not in a bad way but...odd. Avalon realized how close they were to each other and blushed as she looked away, a faint image of her dreams coming back and only making things worse.

"I, um...I think Lena is probably waiting," she finally said, her gaze locked on the piano's keyboard, "We should go take her."

"Um, yeah, yeah, don't worry," the Doctor quickly stood up, clearing his throat.

"Thank you, though," Avalon smiled softly as she gazed back at her new journal. "I won't forget this present ever, trust me."

She really wouldn't.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

To be continued in...Falling in Temptation! 

Thank you to everyone who's read, commented, liked and reblogged! I hope you guys continue onto the second story!

I thought it might be fun to include a couple fun facts about the story while I was drafting? If it was boring then let me know and I'll never do it again xD

Fun Facts:

1. Avalon's name was taken from the street name of my old college!

2. Lena was originally named 'Melina' but since I totally fell in love with the character ‘Lena Luthor’ from Supergirl, I had to make the switch!

3. Originally, I was going to make Avalon confess to her dad that she knew she was adopted - it was going to blow up into a whole argument! I decided against it in the end because I didn't want her to join the Doctor out of anger. This way she joined because she wanted to and she's also going to be safer with him!

4. I originally intended on bringing Avalon along right after the Eleventh Hour but I thought it would be better to introduce each OC separately, leaving Avalon for last since she's the main OC.

Once again, thanks for reading and see you in the next story!!

[girl-in-the-library]

Rambling about Doctor Who? In this economy?

I’m in the process of catching up with Doctor Who. I had stopped a while ago most of the way through Capaldi’s second season, after having stopped for a long time before watching his first season and a half.

Well, I just watched Capaldi regenerate into Jodi Whittaker and I have some things to say. This is primarily focusing on the end of Clara’s run as a companion and Bill’s story, because it’s been a while since I watched that first part of Capaldi and Clara, and even longer since I watched anything before that. I came back to catch up because I’d been seeing gifsets of Nine and Ten, and I miss them so, so much. But I decided I wanted to catch up before going back and doing an entire rewatch of New Who (I have no idea anything about Classic Who, honestly...and there’s so much that’s missing and I have no idea where to get the rest of it anyway).

Point is. I have feelings. Some good. Some bad. And they’re going under the cut.

First things First: I hate Steven Moffat.

All his episodes are the worst! Whenever his name would come up as the main writer credit, the episode was trash! Of course, some were more trash than others, and some were good ideas, but they all got the Doctor so, so wrong.

Two egregious examples that I hated, both from Moffat written episodes:

In “The Husbands of River Song,” River gives this whole big speech about how she’s the woman who loves the Doctor, but he will never love her, because that’s like looking at a sunset and asking it to love you back...or something like that. The Doctor would never come for her, because she wasn’t important enough.

That’s wrong on two big levels. 1! The Doctor is the Doctor because he loves. Nine was broken because he was so hurt, and he had forgotten how to love. Rose taught him to love again, and brought him back from the brink of self-destruction. I dislike the idea of the Doctor and River being a couple because I think Steven Moffat wrote it very, very badly (just like...a random woman comes out of nowhere and claims to be the Doctor’s wife! And then she is...because she is?) However, she is, in fact, the Doctor’s wife, as written, and he /does/ love her. She /is/ important to him. And the fact that she doesn’t think so just proves a misunderstanding in character and out of character. The second point? That she’s not important enough? She’s obviously important enough for the Doctor...but the other point is that that shouldn’t matter.

Nine once said that he had never met anybody who wasn’t important. But later on in the episode about the Monks that had taken over, Bill asks why the Doctor puts up with humans if he finds them so ridiculous. And the Doctor says something about “every so often I meet one like you [Bill]” and that makes up for putting up with the rest. No! The Doctor loves humanity! AND EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT TO HIM.

The thing about the Doctors that Moffat has written...both Eleven and Twelve (and the War Doctor, I guess too) is that specific people are important to those Doctors, and the Doctor would do anything for them. Anything for Amy, for Rory, for River. For Clara. For Bill. And they fail, but they fail doing things to save these specific people, not necessarily for their sakes, but for his own. And then they would die, and he would be sad, but there would be no consequences for his actions. 

Nine and Ten loved Rose, but Ten left her behind /twice/ because he needed to. Martha got herself out. And Ten erased Donna’s memories to save her life. He lost them, in the end. And it hurt him. And he continued on, learning because of it. He died and regenerated twice because of his love for people. But there were still consequences for everyone around him, as well as himself. Sad things happened.

But Amy, Rory, River, Clara, and Bill? He hung on to them until they were burned away, but they were all fine in the end. Amy and Rory were there for a long time, but then the weeping angels sent them back, and the Doctor couldn’t see them anymore, but they were totally fine and grew old together. River died the first time the Doctor met her, but he clung to her for centuries (without proper character development, I tell you!) until she eventually died, but her whole life was centered around the Doctor. Clara he did everything he could to save, including break the laws of time. And he still lost her but also she was totally fine at the same time, traveling across time and space with Asheildr/Me in their Diner TARDIS. And Bill? Bill literally was turned into a Cyberman because of the Doctor’s hubris. He couldn’t save her. But she ended up okay anyway.Why? Because after she died as a human, then died as a Cyberman, she lived as something else, along with Heather, and got some sort of happily ever after (until she ultimately died again, but that’s off screen, we see her memories.) And then the Doctor got HIS memories of Clara back! So there were no consequences!

The Doctor as Moffat wrote them had no regard for life. They loved specific people, and specific conditions, except when Humanity was in Danger, and then he was The Big Damn Action Hero. But he also turned all of humanity into murderers when he basically brainwashed them into killing the Silence on sight, because otherwise they wouldn’t remember seeing them (this happened in Amy and Rory’s time, but it’s relevant).

In one episode, he tells the executioners to look up the Doctor under cause of death, and they flee out of fear for just how many people wound up dead because of him. In the next, he berates Missy for just how many people has she killed? It’s inconsistent.

The Doctor is a Perfect Hero, when he needs to be, and a Perfect Killer, also when he needs to be. “The Doctor of War” - as the glass memory people call him (I can’t even remember what they were called even though I just watched the episode) - isn’t who the Doctor is...but it’s who Moffat made him. 

And of course, almost every major plotline ends up with Moffat’s favorite trope: The Big Friendly Reset Button. Because what does it matter if things happen? There’s time travel and everything will be okay for Earth in general and the people we care about, even if it’s not actually okay.

I hate Steven Moffat. I do think he has some good ideas! The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances were some of my favorite episodes! I just think he can’t be allowed to be in charge.

I also hate Clara’s Magic Tears that make the Doctor do something he wasn’t going to do (that it would have made sense for him to do) just because she cried. Like...in the 50th. When she cried and told the Doctor that pushing the button wouldn’t be like him. That he couldn’t do that to his entire civilization. But the thing is...he already did. His character development was based on that. And it changed him. But then, Clara cried, and he didn’t. And it was like the Time War never happened. (What I think would have been great would have been if the three Doctors decided to push the button together. They had made the decision in the past as Eight/the War Doctor. Now, together, as the War Doctor, Ten, and Eleven...knowing everything they had been through and everything the universe had been through...they pushed the button to make the decision they knew needed to be made. But they didn’t do that. Clara cried and they didn’t do that. And then it wasn’t like the War even mattered anyway, because literally nothing changed). But I digress. There was another time or two that Clara cried and the Doctor did something stupid, but I forget the specifics right now.

Now, from the bad to the questions.

Why are the Time Lords? Where are the Time Lords? If they’re back, how come they’re not interfering more, especially as they were looking for the Doctor? If they’re not back, then why are they there?

What was with the orphanage thing on Gallifrey? Is that where the Doctor grew up? Is this a question that was answered in Classic Who, or earlier New Who that I just don’t remember, or did Moffat just shove in a confusing backstory then not answer questions about it?

Why was Missy being executed? And speaking of Missy, why couldn’t she still call herself the Master, just because she was female? 

Who was that child in the picture on the Doctor’s desk in the office at the university? The one in the frame next to River’s frame? I feel like this is something I just don’t know...not something that wasn’t explained.

How old is the Doctor? That’s been all over the place for a long time now. 

How did Bill survive the mind-thing with the monks?

I had more questions but I forgot them.

And from the questions to the good.

I liked Bill! I liked Bill a lot! I feel like I never got the sense that she developed any sort of relationship with the Doctor, that it was just like...she was a student and then suddenly they were super important to each other, but I guess that’s how it goes sometimes.

I actually really loved Capaldi! I thought he could be a great Doctor if he wasn’t hindered by the writing. But I definitely enjoyed this run and will miss him, which is honestly more than I can say for Matt Smith. Not that I don’t think Smith did a good job. I like Smith well enough, but not enough to miss him as the Doctor when he left.

The episode Hell Bent was really, really good.

And overall, I just enjoyed it.

I know I listed a lot of problems up there, and not a lot of good stuff down here...but I was having fun watching Doctor Who again! I was just taken out of it sometimes by the Moffat garbage fire.

But I cried when Bill died. I cried when the Doctor died. I cried when he said, “What about me? Don’t I get to rest?” I cried when he regenerated, though his speech to himself was stupid.

I liked Bill better than Clara, but Clara still had a lot of good moments!

I am /happy/ that I got back into Doctor Who. And I can’t wait to see what comes next.

[youngster-monster]

Pansy, peony, yellow poppy - caring, bravery, success

(fuck it. three prompts in one.)

1.

When the Red Legion invaded the City, its sight set on the Traveler and its Light, they fought back. They killed and they struggled and they died for the Light. In some timelines, they even won.

Not in this one.

Here, when the Traveler senses their approach through the fog of its comatose state, it makes a choice. Stay or run; hope the Guardians can save it or leave to give itself a chance to heal before the Darkness inevitably finds it again.

It chooses to run, gathers the last of its strength and flees the system, never to be seen again. And so when humanity stands against the Red Legion, it does so alone.

Because of course Ghaul doesn’t give up. One does not lead an undefeated legion by having mercy. When he finds the Traveler once again out of his reach, he turns his sight on the Light remaining in the Guardians instead. Bitter and angry from the unexpected failure, he swears to put an end to humanity as a whole.

But they’re not going down that easily.

This time they do not fight for the Light. They do not fight for the Traveler, threatened by Ghaul’s hunger for power and glory. Hopeless after the departure of their protector, abandoned by the Light, they fight because it’s the only thing left to do. Because it’s that or death and humanity has never been one to go gentle into that good night.

They’ve got to hope for victory and to hold on until then, because if they don’t they will have nothing left. And isn’t that the whole point of being a Guardian? Faith that they can make it through, with or without Light.

Be brave, Guardian.

They’ll have to be.

The Vanguard does not run; without the immediate threat of the Traveler’s death — without the hope of its presence — they step up to their role and lead the survivors of the initial onslaught to the EDZ to regroup. Suraya Hawthorne offers them the Farm as a base of operation in exchange for a say in the way things are run.

Sam is there when it happens, standing at her side as something a little like a Guardian-civilians liaison. Despite that he’s not sure how they settle the debates on who should or shouldn’t lead the survivors in this conflict.

He thinks the Future War Cult bartered their resources in exchange for a place on the war council. From what he hears Dead Orbit is arguing for the merits of fleeing the system again and are supported by many Guardians disillusioned by the Traveler abandoning them. He keeps an eye on the proceedings in case they try to stage a coup, but apart from that he’s too busy to listen to politics that don’t involve him.

At first he works with the other doctors of the Farm, setting up a triage area for the wounded coming in every day. The first two weeks are a haze of blood and exhaustion, Guardians unused to mortality falling back on old habits and getting nearly killed. They lose more than they save.

One day he finds himself with his hands in the guts of one of his rookies. He kind of expected it to happen. He’s been training Kinderguardians for years, one of them was bound to find their way on his operation table eventually.

But when he thought about it he had hoped, perhaps selfishly that he’d find one of the older ones — a Guardian who had already earned their stripes. As if it would be any easier.

Instead, he gets one of the kids. He mentored her maybe two years ago, at most. And now here she is with shrapnel embedded in her stomach, and as he digs them out he can’t help but feel like it’s a failure on his part. As if maybe, if he’d trained her better — if her and her comrades had been more careful — she’d be alright.

He walks into the improvised war room, still covered in blood from the elbows down, and demands of the Vanguard that they train their Guardians to fight like they could die at any time, because they can.

They agree, and put him in charge of it. No good deed goes unpunished indeed.

It’s the right call to make though. Because Sam has been ghostless for more than a decade and a mentor to Kinderguardians for nearly as long, he finds himself uniquely qualified to deal with the newly-mortal Guardians. He calls every surviving ghostless he knows, old friends and people he ran missions with back when Sasha was still alive. Devrim brings in active duty civilians as well, and together they create a training course focused on survival. On guerrilla warfare, long-distance, strategy. Guardians already used to these tactics, such as snipers and lone Hunters who specialize in dangerous long term missions, are put in charge of small groups of trainees in the field while the civilians and ghostless coordinate their efforts in some weird reversal of their usual roles.

They get fewer deaths and grave injuries. The war goes from a constant slaughter to a slower, more frustrating near-stalemate, as humanity and the cabal both refuse to give an inch of held territory to the other.

It takes Sam longer than he’d like to admit to realize they’ve somehow recreated the trench wars, and stumbled into a stable chain of command while doing so.

More than ever he’s thankful to be a medic, meaning he’s called to the front too often to be put in any meaningful leadership roles. It suits him just fine. He’ll take the blood and fire of active combat over politics and strategy any day. And it’s better if Devrim is in charge of that anyway. Light knows it’ll be easier on Mark’s nerves than sending him off to the front line.

2.

“Sergeant Fletcher, sir!”

Sam glances up at the soldier who barged into the infirmary tent. He’s still not sure how he feels about the whole ‘addressing him by rank’ thing — or even about the fact that he has an actual military rank now. He blames it on the Future Car cult. But he can’t argue with how much easier it makes it to know when someone’s talking to him. There are only so many Sgt. Fletcher around.

He writes down the last of the meds that need replenishing and gestures to the soldier to speak up.

“There’s-” They stop as if unsure how to proceed before saying carefully, “We’ve got a Fallen wanting to talk to you.”

“A what?”

“A Fallen, sir. Captain rank by the size of it.”

Sam rubs his face, grimacing. “And why am I supposed to deal with that?”

“Well you’ve got kind of a… reputation? Also it asked for someone in charge and you’re the highest ranked officer present at the moment.”

Light. Save one Dreg (or a few) and you’ll never hear the end of it. It’s not his fault he’s got a soft heart for small, vulnerable bug aliens.

He slings his rifle over his shoulder and follows after the soldier with a faint sigh.

It’s not hard to tell where the Captain is: there’s a crowd gathered around it, some watching it with open hostility and others gossiping in low voices. Sam could hear the chatter long before he reached them. His guide hovers a second at his shoulder once they get there before joining his fellow soldiers.

“Don’t you have a job to do?” Sam barks, striding through the crowd and glaring at the lot of them. “You think the Cabal’s gonna wait patiently while you gossip? Get movin’!”

They disperse and soon Sam is left with a handful of Guardians at his back and one lone Fallen looming over him. The looming might be accidental. It’s been years since he’s been that close to a Fallen and he forgot how tall these fuckers get. He crosses his arms and looks up into the four glowing eyes of the alien.

The Fallen takes out its blades, and he tenses, hears guns being aimed down at the alien behind him, but it only crosses them in front of its chest and bows its head slightly.

He shakes his head and pushes the confusion away. As long as it’s not attacking he’s willing to give it a chance. “I’m Samuel Fletcher, I’m in charge of this unit. You wished to talk.”

“I am Mithrax, Kell of Light” it says, sheathing its blades once again. “I come to speak in House-mine name.”

That gives him pause. A Kell alone in hostile territory sounds… impossible. Or stupid, depending. The Fallen have a near-fanatical loyalty to their Kells, they wouldn’t let one go behind enemy lines on its own. The name of its House is odd as well. Most Houses are named by the Guardians fighting them rather than by the Fallen themselves — the House of Wolves by the grey scruff of their cloaks, the House of Devils by the threat they posed to the City. So why the House of Light? He doesn’t know what would be the most disturbing, between a Guardian naming them that and the Fallen choosing it themselves.

Maybe it’s a risk, but… he’s curious.

Just as he’s about to invite Mithrax to keep talking someone yells, “Medic!”

His eyes dart away. He sees them as they round the corner, a small fireteam that was sent on recon this morning. They’re carrying one of their own, arms slung around her teammates’ shoulders. A good chunk of her armor is nothing but a charred mess anymore.

Forgetting all about this weird Fallen Sam jogs up to them and catches the wounded before her exhausted companions can drop her. Moments later two soldiers appear at his side, carrying a stretcher.

“Get her to the med tent! You two, can you get there on your own or do you need help?” The two other Guardians shake their heads. “Alright. Let’s go.”

He nods at Mithrax on their way past it — him? Female Fallen sound a little different from what he remembers. He means it as an apology since he can’t listen to what the Kell has to say, but Mithrax takes one look at the situation and follows after them. Sam shrugs and waves off the concerned soldiers that try to stop him. He’ll deal with that later, once he’s done doing his job.

The Guardian — Nel, apparently — has a third degree burn covering her chest from her shoulder to her navel from a close encounter with a Magma Launcher. There’s not much Sam can do about it except clean the wound and bandage it while they wait for extraction. They’ll need to get her to the back line before flying her to the Farm, where they’ll have the necessary equipment for a skin graft.

The other two are mostly fine. One of them is an Exo, so Sam sends him to the camp’s engineer despite his protests. He doesn’t understand anything about the way Exos work, but even he knows that a loose wire can sometimes be the difference between hitting your target and getting hit instead. Better safe than sorry.

“I’ll keep an eye on Nel,” the other reassures him, and he reluctantly steps out of the tent.

Finally, once everyone is bandaged and resting, he turns his attention back to Mithrax.

The Kell has been watching him work patiently, staying well out of his way. Whatever it is he wants to talk about, it must be important if he’s willing to spend so much time staring at Sam's back while he cuts dead skin off a poor girl like she’s some kind of human kebab.

(Yikes.)

He takes off his gloves, balls them and throws them in the trash, washes his hands carefully. Then, while he’s cleaning and disinfecting his tools, he angles his face so he can look at Mithrax over his shoulder and says,

“Alright. What was it you wanted to talk about?”

“The Great Machine. It left you, yes?” Sam nods, bemused. “It runs when you need it most. We see this. Some want to attack while you’re weak. Revenge for theft. Others say you are not thieves. You are like Eliksni, chosen by Great Machine then abandoned. Want to help like we wanted to be helped.”

Sam carefully, neatly cleans and packs his surgery tools away, mind whirring with this new information. “Which one won out?”

“None. House of Houses splintered. Old loyalties hard to forget, many new-old Houses now. Again. Some want to fight. Some want to help.” Mithrax makes an odd little sound. Sam finds him playing with the last of his scalpels, staring at the slowly drying blood there. He presents it to Sam, handle first, and holds his gaze with four glowing eyes. “I want to help. We fight together, yes? Then we find the Great Machine again.”

Sam isn’t sure how he feels about running after the Traveler like a… a jilted loved, like something desperate and broken begging to be given another chance. Maybe he’s biased because he’s been living without the Light for so long, or maybe he’s too proud for it.

But in the meantime, Mithrax is offering something far more precious. An alliance isn’t a small thing for the Fallen, who fights other Houses as often as the many factions they’re at war with. It’s near friendship, chaining your survival to that of another House, compromising on your goals to better fight together.

It means a lot. Sam can appreciate that. So he takes the scalpel and holds Mihtrax’s gaze and says, “Alright. I’ll get you to the Vanguard.”

They can talk, leaders to leaders. Kell to Kell. And Sam can stay here, in his infirmary with the quickly dwindling medical supplies and nothing but spite to carry him through, and prepare to welcome wounded Fallen into his care. Just the way he likes it.

3.

Sam isn’t sure how the talks between the House of Light and the Vanguard went. A few days after he brought Mithrax to them the Legion stages an offensive on their front, and there’s no more time to worry about the negotiations. He’s too busy trying to keep his troops alive.

It’s the worst week of his life. The Cabal are relentless because they can afford to be. They outnumber and outgun them, and they have nothing to protect. Every attack becomes a gamble — how much time before the first line falls, how much ground can they give before they’re backed in a corner or putting civilians in danger. Ships can’t approach the zone without being gunned down, the transmat system is down, and the nearest outpost is days away on a Sparrow.

They’re all alone, quickly running out of ammo, and soon they’ll be running out of people.

Sam alternates between the front line and their ever-moving camp, gunning down Cabal and stabilizing the wounded. Most of the soldiers at his side are bearing some kind of injury and fighting despite it. Light knows the one he’s currently dragging to safety will be back in the fray as soon as they can stand on their two feet.

He gets them behind a crumbling wall and leans against the stone for a second, panting. There’s no time for a break. He rummages in his bag and takes out bandages, stitches, the bottle of vodka they’ve been using since they ran out of disinfectant. It’s not a deep wound but an infection is a death sentence when they have nothing to treat it and no way to tell when they’ll be able to get supplies again.

The air rumbles over their heads. Since his hand are otherwise occupied and he can’t risk looking away and fucking up a stitch Sam presses his cheek against the radio taped to his shoulder.

“Hellion, come in, what’s going on?”

The radio crackles with static and gunfire. Hellion-6 yells cover me, half muffled by the noise, before her tense voice comes clearer through the comms. “Fallen Skiff just uncloaked above us.”

Fuck. This could be a saving grace or the last nail in their coffin. He ties the final stitch, shushing the Guardian distractedly when she makes a small pained noise, and finally looks up. He squints at the flag flying above the Skiff. It’s red, he thinks, but that could be Light colors just as much as Devil and he can’t make out the symbols.

Well. Pray for the best and prepare for the worst, right? Not that he’ll need much preparation. Death by Cabal or death by Devil isn’t that different, after all.

The Skiff opens its hatches and drops Fallen troops over their lines. Dregs and Vandals scatter, getting behind cover as soon as they touch the ground. Sam ducks his head so he’s less visible and risks a glance to one of the Fallen.

Red banners and a familiar symbol. Thank the Light, they’re allies.

“Don’t shoot!” He barks in his comms. “They’re friendly!”

“Are you sure?”

The last Fallen to drop from the Skiff before it disappears again is a Captain — no, not quite. Sam grins at Mithrax even though Kell can’t see it. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure. Let them through.”

He leaves the wounded Guardian to the watch of their fretting Ghost and joins the fighting again. He checks his rifle as he approaches and scowls when he finds the magazine empty. He still has his bow, but it’s far from ideal in this situation, even with Fallen support helping thin the herd.

Just as he’s about to take out his other weapon though, the Vandal closest to him steps out of his way and hands him their Shock Rifle, bowing their head quickly before skittering away. Sam watches them go, confused, before eventually shrugging it off and taking aim.

The balance of the rifle is different from what he’s used to, heavier and bulkier than his own, but he gets used to it quickly enough. The fact that the projectiles track the Cabal he has in his sights is definitely a nice perk. More than that though it’s the satisfaction of seeing every shot followed by a dozen more — he’s standing shoulder to shoulder with Guardians, but a few yards down the line there are Fallen too, and it’s the strangest and most wonderful thing that’s happened to him yet.

Survival. What a concept.

Finally the Legion retreats after the loss of one Centurion too many. There’s a moment of tense silence as they watch their enemies retreat for the first time in days, waiting with baited breath for the Cabal to yell it was just a joke and descend upon them once again to grind them in the dust.

It doesn’t happen. When they realize that, the exhausted, mud-stained soldiers break into cheers. Sam finds himself dragged into a hug by Viratz, the rookie non-Guardian of the squad, and rubs his back when he feels tears well up against his skin.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, we made it, we won,” he whispers, squeezing a little tighter. “We’re safe now.”

It’s a lie but one Viratz needs at the moment.

Eventually the kid lets go and Sam pushes him towards the other soldiers. Some have collapsed where they stood, groaning in relief and fatigue, but most are jumping and hugging like they won the war rather than a single battle.

No one died, this time. Guess it’s justified.

“Good we were in time.”

Sam jumps. He puts a hand to his chest as if trying to manually slow down his hammering heart and whirls around to glower at Mithrax. He’s lucky Sam is tired, otherwise he might have gotten a face full of arc projectiles rather than a sullen glare.

(His fight or flight response tends to fall squarely in the fight category.)

“Don’t just sneak up on me like that,” he says. Then it occurs to him that not only is this the leader of a whole House, which entails a little bit of respect unless he wishes for an Arc Blade between the ribs, but also that Mithrax might have just saved their lives and he ought to be grateful. “Thank you,” he adds. “You have no idea how much it meant to us.”

Mithrax makes a show of looking around, at the discarded, empty guns and the drawn faces of his unit. “Have some idea.”

“Ha, yeah, that’s fair. Still. Thank you.”

“You need help. We promised. So, we’re here. No thanks needed.”

Well. He’s not gonna argue against that. He changes the subject, if only because if he stops talking he’s going to drop unconscious and he needs to stay awake to check everyone for injuries.

“Can I keep the rifle? It’s very nice.”

“I know. Eliksni make best weapons. Keep it and it will keep you alive.”

Nice of him.

“Sarge?”

The calm never lasts, huh? Sam turns towards the soldier calling for him. “Yeah, what is it?”

“We got the wounded to the tent. Some of the guys are already patching them up, but-” They glance nervously at Mithrax before continuing. “One of them is a Fallen, and I don’t think we’re qualified to take care of that.”

“I see. Mithrax, would you mind giving us a hand? Or, huh, a few?”

It’s a poor attempt at a joke but Mithrax makes a clicking sound that sounds a bit like laughter, maybe, and follows after them.

The Fallen in question is a Dreg, curled on a cot and clutching their — oh dear, what little is left of their left arm. Sam clicks his tongue, puts his gloves on and leans over them, gently prying their claws away from the wound. They hiss weakly put let him do it.

It’s been cauterized. Gladiator blade, probably, the look of the cut. It kind of breaks his heart to see: he definitely has a soft spot for small, insect-like things.

“Aw you poor thing,” he mutters while inspecting the edges of the wounds. “Say, Mithrax, do you know if your kind has bad reactions to human medicine?”

The Kell makes a negative noise. Reassured, Sam starts by disinfecting the burn, wincing when it elicits pained chattering noises from the Dreg. He tries to make small talks to distract them, even though he has no idea if they also speak Terran. “It’s going to suck having only one arm when you ought to have four, hm? Don’t you worry, we’ll find you something cool to replace it. Like a hook. Or an Arc Blade on a stick, heh? Gives you some more reach to fight those Cabal bastards.”

All the while he can feel the weight of Mithrax’ attention on him. He ignores it — he’s a professional, he has a job to do.

“Few supplies,” Mithrax muses.

Sam waves it off. “Yes, yes. We’ve been off grid for some times and the City engineers couldn’t come to fix our transmat system with all the Cabal around. Don’t worry about it.”

“Maybe not waste it on Dreg. Keep it for kin.”

This time he turns to look at Mithrax, indignant that he would suggest such a thing. He’s a doctor, damn it, he’s not going to let one of their new allies die from the consequences of an impromptu amputation. “I’m not going to hoard my supplies and let one of yours die, Mithrax!”

The Kell shrugs. “Is only Dreg.”

Anger flares inside, burning hot in his chest. He tightens his grip involuntarily and has to apologize when the Dreg makes another noise of pain. He goes back to his task, focusing on the bandages he’s carefully wrapping around the stump. He tries to keep the tension out of his voice when he speaks.

“It’s not my place to judge the value of a life. I take care of the wounded, no matter who they are, and that’s it. I’ll leave the decisions to you leaders.” He can’t stop himself from adding, “And this little guy right there probably helped save my life and that of my squad. The least I can do is make sure they don’t keel over and die because of it.”

He lets go of the Dreg and sighs. Rising to his feet, he tears of the gloves and throws them at the nearest trash can. He should look over his squad, make sure everyone got the medical attention they needed, but it feels wrong to leave the crippled Fallen as is. Not like there’s anything more he could do for them.

Mithrax stops him before he can leave with a hand hovering near his arm, careful not to touch. He reaches under his cloak and takes out a small canister. It glows a faint purplish-blue at the edges and Sam draws back when he realizes what it is. Ether: the life force of the Fallen. It’s not a commodity that is freely given away, yet Mithrax presses it in his hand and nods decisively.

“Give this. Makes healing quicker. Numbs pain. Kell-strong dose, give slowly.”

“I…” Can’t accept this, he meant to say, but this isn’t just a gift. It’s a medical necessity. He’s endlessly grateful for it. “Thank you. I know you are in short supply as well.”

Mithrax shrugs. “I am Kell. Always have as much Ether as I need. And if we lack, Alliance still stands, Guardians help. Find more resources, make more. Small sacrifice. If it helps you, worth it.”

Sam covers his smile by bending over the Dreg to fit the canister into their breathing apparatus. They’ll take it off in a few minutes, take it slow as Mithrax advised.

4.

The Fallen unit leaves once their transmat zone has been repaired and their supplies replenished. Mithrax tells them he will send them reinforcement later, once they have hashed out troop deployment and, apparently, gone through alliance negotiation with other Houses who either sympathize with humanity’s fate or are interested in the protection from other Houses a large alliance offers.

It takes a month, but they do have a small Fallen troop joining them in their outpost. They’re not sure how it will work yet — some of the soldiers are still uneasy with living near Fallen but they’ll have to suck it up — but Sam is eager to see how it goes, if only because their presence might mean fewer casualties.

The first to approach the humans is a small Vandal holding a large bag. Their lower two arms seem to still be regrowing from being docked, so it must be a recent promotion. They hand the bag to Sam, who opens it to find it filled with Ether canisters. His eyes jerk up in shock. The Vandal shrugs, and through the gaps in its armor Sam glimpses the edge of a burn wound around its upper left arm, already healed.

“Kell says for you,” they say, Fallen accent heavy and awkward on the unfamiliar sounds of Terran speech. “For healing Eliksni. Your Ether. Your choice.”

From what he knows of Fallen culture, the higher ranked members of a House are the ones to choose who the Ether supply goes to — Kell and Archons. He’s not sure what it means that Mithrax would grant him the same power. But he looks at the newly minted Vandal, and decides to take it at face value. It’s a gift and a show of trust. An offer of friendship, the Fallen way.

He slings the bag over his shoulder and gestures at the Vandal. “What’s your name?”

They duck their head, clicking softly as they try to understand his words. Finally, they say, “Setres.”

“Setres. Alright. I’m gonna drop this in my tent, and then you’re going to be my interpreter while I show you where you can set camp, okay?”

It looks faintly panicked at the prospect, or maybe at the many words it doesn’t understand, and Sam can’t help a smile as it nods hesitantly.

They’re going to make it through this. All of them, one day at a time.

[mediaeval-muse]

Book Review

Not Quite A Husband. By Sherry Thomas. New York: Bantam, 2009.

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Part of a Series? Yes, Marsdens #2

Summary: Their marriage lasted only slightly longer than the honeymoon—to no one’s surprise, not even Bryony Asquith’s. A man as talented, handsome, and sought after by society as Leo Marsden couldn't possibly want to spend his entire life with a woman who rebelled against propriety by becoming a doctor. Why, then, three years after their annulment and half a world away, does he track her down at her clinic in the remotest corner of India? Leo has no reason to think Bryony could ever forgive him for the way he treated her, but he won’t rest until he’s delivered an urgent message from her sister—and fulfilled his duty by escorting her safely back to England. But as they risk their lives for each other on the journey home, will the biggest danger be the treacherous war around them—or their rekindling passion?

***Full review under the cut.***

Content/Trigger Warnings: dubious consent, infidelity, blood, animal death

Overview: I originally picked this book up because it was on Bustle’s list of feminist romances. I had some success with this list before - I adored The Suffragette Scandal and had a lot of respect for The Raven Prince, so the story of a female doctor defying societal expectations sounded up my alley. Unfortunately, that was the only thing I liked about this book. In general, Not Quite A Husband is not written with a strong sense of direction, and I don’t think it qualifies as “feminist” due to the lack of clear consent during some of the intimate scenes. I didn’t give this book zero or one star because I did like Bryony as a doctor, and her personality was different than a lot of romance heroines I’ve read, but on the whole, I found this book very difficult to enjoy.

Writing: Thomas’ prose is rather plain. While I don’t think romances need to have high brow, poetic, literary prose, I do think they still need to evoke the setting and emotion in order to immerse the reader in the story. While Thomas did have some phrases that did so, much of the book felt like a list of facts or telling rather than showing. The prose didn’t linger on emotional of physical sensations, so the emotional moments didn’t feel weighty and the intimate moments felt robotic. While we get flashbacks so we can see where characters are coming from, we are mostly told rather than shown how characters are feeling in the current moment. For example: “Shame. Self-loathing. Frustration They churned in him, enough to drown him outright” (p. 146). While the hydraulic imagery is nice, I don’t exactly *feel* the hero’s anguish in this passage. Nothing of his inner monologue or POV builds on the feeling of being overwhelmed or unsettled, especially since the scene promptly moves on to dialogue and some exposition.

The scenes themselves also felt awkwardly structured. Thomas had the tendency to end a scene and move on to the next section without giving the reader a sense of purpose or closure. For example, there is one scene where the characters take a break from traveling; our heroine thinks about the region and how she doesn’t want to leave the hero. She becomes overheated, so she fans herself, and our hero speaks to her about the weather. The scene ends with him thinking how beautiful she is. To me, these scenes felt awkward because they didn’t revolve around a milestone in the relationship or reveal much about the characters. The characters don’t discuss the heroine’s feelings about parting, nor does she contemplate how her desire to remain with him are complicated, and we already know the hero is attracted to the heroine at this point, so nothing new is revealed. It just felt like a scene that went nowhere and was just inserted to fill space.

Along similar lines, I think the flashbacks cut in at awkward times. Flashbacks are set apart from the main narrative of this book by italics, and frequently, these italics would interrupt the flow of a scene. I like flashbacks when they are done with a sense of purpose, informing the present action in ways that make the story richer. To me, it felt like flashbacks were inserted randomly in this book.

Plot: This book primarily follows our heroine, Bryony, as she and her ex-husband, Leo, travel back to England from India. Bryony’s sister has asked Leo to track Bryony down because their father is ill, and Leo agrees. The summary on the back of the book suggests that India is a war torn, or that the geography itself is threatening. While we do get some of that, I don’t think the travel narrative was all that exciting. The characters travel, it’s hot, they stop and instruct their guides/staff to make food, and they make puppy eyes at each other while thinking about their pasts. There wasn’t really a feeling of suspense because scenes didn’t build on one another - they just sort of happened, and there were few (if any) external forces that kept Bryony and Leo apart. As a result, I found the travel plot rather dull.

I also don’t think the travel narrative made for a good frame regarding the characters’ backstories. This book makes clear that it’s awkward for Bryony and Leo to travel together because they used to be married, but some event caused them to obtain an annulment and separate. On top of that, Bryony and Leo used to be childhood friends, and both have exciting lives as a doctor and a mathematics professor. None of this backstory seemed to be enriched by the travel narrative - characters weren’t prompted to speak or contemplate their pasts based on events happening in the present, so it felt like things were brought up randomly and for no other purpose than there was nothing else to do. For example, Leo brings out a chess board at one point and the two play a game, but it doesn’t prompt much discussion other than “I didn’t know you played” and “usually men won’t play with a woman who is better than they are.” I wanted to know more - is Bryony a calculating person? Is this a commentary on her life as a doctor/how men underestimate her? I didn’t get the sense that it was, and so many scenes felt empty because the travel narrative and the backstories didn’t line up. Granted, it could have been done differently; characters could have found the journey so boring that they have little else to do but ruminate on their thoughts, but because the writing didn’t evoke the feeling of boredom, I didn’t get the impression that this was the case.

About 2/3 through the book, our protagonists get caught up in one of the uprisings of 1897 in the Swat Valley. Things get a little more interesting from here, but in my opinion, the groundwork wasn’t laid very well to make the uprisings seem like a threat from the get go. I would have liked to have seen Bryony thinking more about how she wants to help people in such a conflict-torn area, or maybe more talk from the Indian characters about how the conflict has affected them. At the very least, I think the conflict could have been built up as the characters travelled, perhaps by them talking more about what they’ve heard about the area as well as the politics involved. Granted, the premise itself is complicated, as we’re following two British characters as they travel through India (there’s some colonial stuff there to untangle), but though I didn’t get the sense that India was being especially exoticized, I also didn’t get the sense that the setting was very important, either. Bryony and Leo could have been in any other location and I don’t think the basic narrative would have changed.

Characters: Bryony, our heroine, is a competent female physician with an aloof personality that is interpreted as cold. For the most part, I liked that Bryony didn’t fit the mold of romance heroines with more whimsical or warm personalities. It made for a different kind of reading experience. However, I don’t think enough was done to show Bryony as a complex character. Her coldness is connected to her childhood trauma and failed marriage, which could have been handled well if we were able to get inside Bryony’s head more. Because of the telling (as opposed to showing), it was hard to determine exactly how the past impacted Bryony in the present. I also would have liked to see Bryony in her job as a physician more, showing off her competence and connecting with patients to show that she’s not truly cold, she just shows emotion differently.

Leo, our hero, is somewhat bland. He’s apparently a mathematics genius, but he barely ever talks or thinks about math. He is shown to be good at running a household and handling logistics, as he plans the whole trip out of India and took care of staff and scheduling while married to Bryony. I wish he had more of an interest or background in using those skills (perhaps by running a business), and that these skills complemented Bryony’s more so that their relationship felt more complimentary. Instead, it seems to get brought up at random, so Leo’s defining characteristic seems to be that he’s attractive.

Bryony and Leo don’t get much interaction with secondary characters for a good chunk of the book. Bryony’s sister and father are like ghostly specters, heard but not seen until 2/3 through the story. The same is true of Leo’s family in that they are apparently very important to Leo, but we are told rather than shown that. By far the strangest choice regarding characters was the fact that during the entire trip out of India, Bryony and Leo are accompanied by a number of guides and staff, but I can’t recall a single line of direct speech from any of them. Given that barely anything happens on this trip, I thought it could have been an interesting opportunity for Indian characters to talk about their lives, or, at the very least, start building a sense of dread or suspense about the ongoing conflicts in the area. Having silent companions felt awkward because, well, we’re in India, but there are few interactions with Indian characters. They’re just there to be hired hands. 

Other: I was not a fan of the romance in this book for one reason: neither character seemed to think it was important to get consent before engaging in sexual activities. I’m not saying that all intimate scenes need an explicit “can we have sex?” “Yes” exchange; what I mean is that I want it to be clear that when characters engage in such activity, it’s because they both want to do so. In Bryony and Leo’s case, there were many scenes where consent was unclear. The first time they have sex, Leo is delirious with fever and he just grabs her and penetrates her without thinking. Bryony goes along with it, but I was still very uncomfortable. Bryony likewise goes to Leo’s tent and starts having sex with him while he is asleep. Later, some flashbacks tell us that Leo used to have sex with Bryony despite her showing clear signs of not wanting to do so, and it got to the point where he would start having sex with her while she was asleep, so Bryony would lock her door at night. I hated this so much. I think the point was to show that Leo was trying to make Bryony less cold towards him, but it honestly felt like rape.

In addition to the dubious consent, I couldn’t quite get on board with the characters’ reasons for wanting to be with each other. It seemed that Leo was in love with Bryony in part because he idolized her when they were children, and in part because he wanted to bring her out of her shell. It would have been ok if Bryony’s flaws were actually flaws, and if he had used methods other than what I described above. Bryony, by contrast, just seemed to like Leo because he is attractive. The book states multiple times that she didn’t notice Leo that much as a child, and she only married him because she hoped his popularity would lend her credibility as a female doctor. They ultimately decide to love one another once they have a near-death experience, so all the real growth happens in the last 1/3 of the book.

It gets worse once it’s revealed that Bryony’s coldness stems from the fact that she caught Leo cheating during their engagement. Leo insists it was only one time, and I think that was done sincerely. I honestly wouldn’t have minded a plot where a hero has to gain his love interest’s trust back after such a thing. Where this went wrong for me is that Leo seemed to blame Bryony for the affair by saying she should have stopped him or called off the wedding, and instead of proving to her that he is sorry, he simply focuses on how much pain he is in. Granted, Leo does say that he did wrong and there was no excuse, but I didn’t see him as a kind, considerate enough lover to believe that he had learned or that he was putting Bryony’s well being ahead of his own desires.

Overall, I was disappointed in this book. Not only was the prose and structure rather  lackluster, but the dubious consent was enough to put me off, and I’m still not sure if the author meant to portray Indians rebelling against the British as bad or just a thrilling adventure.

[randomfandomimagine]

Not Enough (Eleventh Doctor Oneshot)

Character: Eleventh Doctor Fandom: Doctor Who Categories: Female Reader, Daughter Reader, Time Lady Reader Warnings: Sligth angst, especially at the end Word Count: 2,8k words Request by anon: Could u do an imagine with reader being the 11th doctors daughter so he's overprotective with her? Tysm :)) Hi, for the 11th doctor request maybe they're both going on an adventure and it's pretty dangerous so he's keeping her in his sight at all times and she's kind of annoyed but he still does it anyway, idk lol // Requested by undercover_Fangirl97 on Wattpad: Since I met the 11 Doctor my life gets better. I always travel with him and love it. As he travel with me and Clara it feels, like I am the third wheel.  Notes: I was inspired to write this by the short book ‘The Sontaran Games’, but I still may have made some mistakes. So sorry if something in this imagine doesn’t fit in with the Doctor Who lore. Hope you enjoy it anyway! :)

Remember that requests for oneshots are currently closed!!

I smiled and put my hair behind my ear, flirtatiously looking at him through my eyelashes.

“Thanks for walking me home” I said, stopping before my doorstep.

“My pleasure” My date replied, smiling back in a timid pause. “I had a great time”

“Yeah, me too!” I felt awkward, wishing that I was better at these kind of things.

Normal everyday things were never my forte, but that was precisely what I was trying to achieve. I was done being an expert on strange things, on time travel and space. So I was making an effort to have a normal life.

Dating happened to be the first way I thought of doing so. But this being my fifth date, I wasn’t sure I was doing all that well. I never quite connected with anyone, and when I did, it went wrong anyway because I was so out of touch.

“Well…” He said with a shy chuckle, casually leaning closer to me.

“Yeah” I awkwardly replied, even if closing the distance a bit too.

He showed me a sweet smile before he closed his eyes and made to kiss me. I felt my hearts starting to race as I closed my eyes and prepared for the exchange.

A vaguely familiar sound made me gasp and I hurriedly took a step back on an instinct. My companion squeezed my arm, startled by my reaction.

“Everything okay?” He kindly asked me, even if my dazed brain took a few seconds to comprehend his words.

“Y-Yeah!” I told him, trying to forget about it. It was probably my imagination. “Sorry, I’m a bit nervous”

“That’s fine” Honestly, he was the sweetest. “I am too”

I chuckled, endeared by his lovely manners, and made a second attempt to kiss him. I could already feel his lips brushing against mine when a second interruption avoided the kiss.

“Oi, hang on a minute!” A male voice exclaimed. “What’s happening here?”

“I cannot believe it” I muttered under my breath, reluctantly stepping away from my date knowing that the moment was completely ruined.

“What…?” The aforementioned uttered in confusion. “Who… is he?”

I looked over my shoulder to a man rushing to arrive by our side. A man that I knew far too well. The so called ‘Doctor’.

“That’s…” I heaved a resigned sigh. “My father”

“Is he now?” The young man watched the Doctor as he ran to us like a mad man. “He looks… um… young?”

“You’d be surprised by his age” I sarcastically told him.

“Y/N!” My father gasped for air because of the dash once he finally stood by us.

“Is something wrong?” The other man watched in concern, probably thinking that there was some sort of family emergency.

“Not at all” I rolled my eyes, forcing a smile. “He was just leaving”

“Actually” The Doctor paused, firstly dedicating my date a glance and a polite head nod. “I need your help, dear”

“Do you now?” I was so frustrated that I couldn’t help myself, even in front of my lovely date. “I thought you had help already”

“I’m terribly sorry” My father ignored me, instead talking to my date. “I’m afraid Y/N needs to come with me”

When he took ahold of my arm and dragged me with him and away from my date, I reluctantly waved goodbye at him, knowing how pigheaded my father was.

“Perfect timing, dad” I bitterly said, tearing my arm away from hsi grasp. “Just when I found a lovely man who was willing to go out with me”

“Sorry, darling” He was still upbeat as usual as we walked through the streets. “I truly need your help”

“What is it?”

“I’m… a bit overwhelmed”

“You, overwhelmed? That’s a first”

“Oi” My father finally stopped, and I noticed the blue police box before us. “If you could drop the attitude and be helpful, that would be delightful”

“Why do you need me?” To show my reluctance, I crossed my arms over my chest. He smirked, already holding on to the door handle.

“Because I need another Time Lord” His smirk widened. “And I only know one”

“Time Lady” I begrudgingly corrected him, hating to use my title.

“Geronimo!” He exclaimed, excited as a child, opening the door.

“Who is with you, the redhead and her…?” I came in, noticing a figure inside the TARDIS. “Boyfriend…”

However, the couple I had known during our previous travels wasn’t there. I didn’t know how long it was since I refused to accompany my father anymore, but he was travelling with someone else now.

“Hello!” A friendly looking girl jumped from her seat and walked over to me, holding her hand out. “You must be Y/N, pleasure to meet you!”

“The one and only…” I shook her hand, even if eyeing my father with the corner of my eye.

“I’m Clara” The young woman introduced herself. “The Doctor has told me all about you”

“Has he?” I repressed the urge to say he didn’t know that much about me.

He glared at me, silently telling me to tone down the sarcasm and behave.

“Of course!” She cheerfully replied, not bothered by my aptitude.

“Well” I muttered, turning back to my father with my hands on my hips. “What’s the mission, Doctor?”

“You see, I wanted to take Clara here to this lovely little planet” He replied, focusing on the TARDIS controls. “There’s a itsy bitsy tiny problem, though”

“Which is…?” I tiredly replied, sticking my hip out now.

“There may be Sontaran on it, that’s why I need backup” When he looked at me, he noticed I was about to speak and interrupted me. “Don’t worry, though, might only be rumors, probably are”

I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest. I wondered if after all this time my father didn’t realize that, out of all the creatures we had encountered during our travels, the Sontaran were the ones I was most terrified of.

-

It seemed like my travelling companions weren’t as cautious as I was. The three of us exited the TARDIS, but my eyes carefully studied every centimeter around me. 

“Ah” My father sighed in delight. “Beautiful, is it not?” 

Clara grinned, excitedly walking around. She hung on to his arm, and I rolled my eyes. It made no sense. Why would he need me? He had her. 

Certainly, my presence could be useful in the case that Sontaran were indeed there. Perhaps during one of their... disagreements with the Rutan. But if there was a slight chance that this was true, why not choose another planet, a safer one? There were many options. If he really wanted to impress her, I was not needed there. I might be his daughter, but that meant nothing. He was always more interested in the humans. Always the humans, even before this new face of his. 

“See, Y/N?” He said with a big grin. It felt almost like he read my thoughts and was gloating over it. “It’s alright, nothing to worry ab-” 

I hadn’t been paying attention to him, but when he interrupted himself so abruptly, I did. My eyes fell over him to see what happened. A gun had been pointed at his head before he could react. My father’s hand quickly moved to wrap around my wrist, softly shoving me behind him.

“Identify yourselves” The Sontaran said, firmly holding the gun.

“I’m The Doctor” He said calmly.

“Who are they?” The Sontaran asked, pointing to Clara and me.

“Them two? Oh, no one” His voice sounded far too carefree to be genuine. “Just humans, they’re of no interest to you” 

The creature’s eyes, however, were focused on us. I felt my father tensing up in front of me.

“I’m the Time Lord, I’m the one you should worry about” His words gathered the Sontaran’s attention back.

“Gallifreyan” Came its deep voice. “What is your purpose on this planet?” 

“Oh, well, you know” His hand, which had been around my wrist now rested outside of his pocket. “The usual, a bit of exploring here and there” 

I noticed his hand tapped his pocket, and I immediately knew what was on his mind. I looked at Clara, who was oblivious to all this. Her brown eyes were focused on the menacing Sontaran instead. 

I took a small step forward, positioning myself next to my father. The creature didn’t seem to notice the change, eyeing The Doctor as carefully as it was.

“How about you, are you alone?” My father continued speaking, surely to distract it. “We’ll leave you right to it then, of course. Don’t mind us, we’ll walk right back where we came from” 

The Sontaran growled in disagreement. I took advantage of his focus on my father and slowly shoved my hand in the pocket of the Doctor’s jacket. My fingers soon found the sonic screwdriver. 

“Sure!” Clara’s sudden voice made me jump, nearly dropping the sonic as I was about to grab it. “We wouldn’t want to bother” 

Assuming she must have noticed my endeavor, I continued. Tightly holding on to the sonic screwdriver, I took my hand out of the pocket. Then, moving quickly, I shoved both my hands behind my back in what I hoped was a casual gesture. 

“Come forth, humans” The Sontaran waved its gun so we would obey. “You first, Time Lord”

I mentally cursed my father for going to a random planet on a whim. Especially if he had reasons to believe it was currently occupied by Sontaran. I prayed that it was only one and prepared for the attack. 

The three of us took one step after another, distancing ourselves further from the TARDIS. I wished the Sontaran faced its back to us, but it didn’t want to be vulnerable. Instead, he walked beside us, gun in hand.

I suddenly felt glad that I had accompanied them. Clara wouldn’t have known what to do in this situation, lacking the knowledge I possessed. And my father could trully use my help as he made himself the target.

‘Go for the neck’ I told myself as I had countless times before. Like when I woke from a nightmare involving these very creatures. Like when I went through various scenarious in my head to remind myself that I wasn’t completely defenseless.

And I certainly wasn’t. I clung on to the sonic screwdriver like it was a dagger. I knew where their weak spot was. I just had to be accurate on my aim.

In what seemed like a nonchalant gesture, the Doctor linked his arm with Clara’s. I knew it was the signal I needed. I took action.

My hearts were already racing, but I moved. Shoving all his weight against the big mass that was the Sontaran, my father momentarily threw it slightly off balance. The gun went off into the distance, away from us. Knowing he would look after Clara, I went for my target. 

“Run!” I yelled as I stabbed the sonic screwdriver against the Sontaran’s neck.

Before I could determinte if the hit on the probic vent was well-aimed, I made for my own escape. Even if that one was taken care of, there might be others.

Running at top speed, we headed back to the safety of the spaceship.

-

The three of us rushed into the TARDIS, as my father slammed the door behind us. I on turn moved to the controls and quickly pressed buttons to bring us back. I pulled the required lever, causing the time machine to make its characteristic noise, while I turned to the Doctor.

“That was a close one, wasn’t it?” He grinned in spite of it all, making me roll my eyes at him.

“We made it, though!” Clara smiled back, though I ignored her when her kind brown eyes fell on me.

I averted my gaze, noticing myself shaking from head to toe. I still clutched the sonic screwdriver so tightly that my knuckles turned white and my fingers hutrt.

As the TARDIS slightly moved, its owner approached me and rested a hand on my arm. I tried to hide the fact that I was breathing heavily.

“Are you alright, Y/N?” His eyes briefly moved to the other girl, then returning to me when he confirmed that Clara was unharmed.

“Am I alright?” I shook him off me and sighed to calm myself. “You know nothing about me, do you, dad?”

I could feel the tension that arose in the tight space, and I could fell all eyes on me as well. However, I ignored Clara’s presence and defiantly held the Doctor’s glance.

“What’s the problem, Y/N?”

“What’s the problem?” I repeated in outrage. “Are you taking the piss?”

He glared at me with the disapproving glance of a father. I was honestly surprised he didn’t lecture me for my language.

“I’m going to get some fresh air” Clara awkwardly muttered as she left the TARDIS once we were back home.

“The problem is that nothing has changed!” I replied, not paying attention to the girl leaving. “How could it?”

“Honestly, I don’t understand…” My father seemed utterly oblivious.

“Why am I here? You’re doing fine on your own with all these human companions!”

“While I enjoy their company, I’m with them because you left!”

“I left because you didn’t want me here, dad!!”

“That’s not true! You didn’t enjoy travelling with me!”

“No, I wasn’t good enough for you! I wasn’t as brave or smart as you, I never was!” I lowered my loud voice until it was barely a whisper. “I just was not… enough”

“Why would you ever think that?” My dad frowned sadly, his voice dripping with regret.

“Because… why else would you push me away like that? Every time I tried to help, to do anything…” I was honestly surprised that he had allowed me to attack that Sontaran. Even if he didn’t really have much of a choice.

“I… I thought it was obvious, Y/N…” His hands fell on my arms, but this time I didn’t push him away since I was too busy trying not to cry. “Because I care about you!”

“What?” I let out a sarcastic chuckle, averting my gaze. “That doesn’t make any sense, genius…”

“I never thought you weren’t enough! I was scared that I might lose you” To ensure I was listening, he gently shook me.

“But you were always telling me off, stepping in and…” I frowned, shaking my head as I tried to wrap my head around it.

“I only ever wanted to protect you, darling… The thought of any harm coming to you broke my heart” My father let out a soft chuckle. “Well, hearts”

He grinned, quite possibly in a peace offering. The corners of my lips twitched, but I didn’t allow myself to smile. 

“Then why take me with you?” I thought back to all those times we had travelled together when I was younger, where I had learned everything that I knew. Because he taught me. “Why not leave me on Earth, where I would be safe?” 

“I couldn’t simply abandon you, dear” Although hesitantly, his hand held my own. “And to be honest, I couldn’t stay away from you” 

I sniffed when tears gathered in my eyes. The look of utter love he dedicated me moved me to my core. His eyes were drenched in concern, protectiveness and fondness. And of the pride a father felt for a daughter. 

“Dad...” I uttered, even if my voice sounded hoarse. 

“I must confess, I did not go to that planet for Clara” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “I was just looking for an excuse to see you and bring you along” 

I suddenly chuckled myself, earnign a confused look from him.

“That sounds like you” I rubbed my eye to wipe my tears. “Go on a little adventure, while you’re at it?” 

“Well, yeah...” My father smiled saddly. “Perhaps that too” 

I suddenly felt a pang of pain in my chest. But how was I to know what was on his complicated mind? How could I see on my own that he was always trying to protect me? That he missed me despite my bitterness? 

“I’m sorry...” It didn’t fix all the years I refused to talk to him, but I supposed it was a start. “I didn’t know, I just...” 

“I know” His arms wrapped around me, and I let him. “I’m sorry too” 

We hugged each other, feeling like, for the first time in years, we understood one another. He had just been scared, but wasn’t good at saying it. And I was enough, I just didn’t realize. In fact, I had been more than enough for him all along.

Tag list: @ace-cream-in-a-cone / @of-stardust-and-dreams / @agent-prophecy / @snowfire71 / @fortheloveofbenyandtom / @wherearethedemons / @dragonprincesswitchtribute / @wherearethedemons / @timeladygallifrey // If you want to be added or taken off the tag list for these fandoms or characters, let me know!!

[ink-asunder]

Dragon Hazel, Human Sacrifice - Doctor Strange Fanfiction

A/N: Here’s part two of the Dragon!Hazel-wants-a-human-companion-offering fic. ( @writer-deann )

Characters: Stephen Strange, the Ancient One, La Gaelik (Hazel) (female OC)

Setting: The Ancient One lives au, also there’s dragons au.

Summary: While reinstating a peace treaty with the Masters of the Mystic Arts, a reclusive dragon decides she wants a human sacrifice. For companionship, she claims. Though the conditions of such a task turn out to be more convoluted than anyone expected.

Word count: 1,702

Part 1 - Part 2 (here)

-

They finally found a volunteer from Kamar-taj. A strappling young man from the acolyte rank. He said his goodbyes to his peers and parents, then Wong and Stephen took him to the lair of La Gaelik. The dragon roused as they approached her and murmured some quick greeting so they’d be allowed to speak.

“We have brought our sacrifice,” Stephen gestured to the young man, who stood up straight and watched the dragon carefully. “Please accept our offering in exchange for your peace.”

She eyed the boy. “What is this?”

“What?”

She blinked. Stephen tried to be more polite this time. “I’m sorry?”

“This is a boy,” the dragon stated in a bored tone. “I wanted a girl.”

Stephen felt his jaw clench. “Then you should’ve said—”

Wong kicked his shin to shut him up and bowed his head to the dragon.

“Of course, ma’am. We’ll bring your companion soon.”

And they left before anything else could go wrong.

*   *   *

“She didn’t take him,” the Ancient One stated as Stephen met her by the window of the New York Sanctum.

“You knew?” Stephen asked. She didn’t look away from the window. “Of course you did.”

Her voice was oddly reserved when she spoke again. He hadn’t heard her speak in such away since their final confrontation before fighting Kaecilius. He had a mind to ask her what was wrong, but he knew he wouldn’t get an answer from her if she hadn’t already told him.

“Find a companion that suits her,” the Ancient One ordered. “Fulfill her orders. We need this treaty.”

*   *   *

Luckily, there were a number of novices and acolytes willing to volunteer, so Stephen and Wong had a selection to pick through for their discerning critic. They picked a young woman who was a novice and brought her to the dragon.

“You’re back,” the dragon glanced at them. Stephen gestured to the young woman they brought.

“Your sacrifice,” he offered.

The dragon straightened and inched closer to scrutinize the girl. At least she looked this time.

“Not bad,” she murmured. “She’s a little young, don’t you think?”

Stephen glanced slowly between the dragon and the woman, who gave him a mortified look.

“Would you prefer... older?”

“I don’t want to take a novice away from her studies, no,” the dragon pulled back and settled back on her ledge of stone.

“Alright,” Stephen nodded and pursed his lips before he said something he regretted.

The next woman they brought was a higher acolyte.

“Are you well-read?” the dragon questioned her.

“Quite,” the acolyte replied. “I love reading.”

“Mm,” the dragon hummed and tilted her head. “And are you able-bodied?”

“Yes. Whatever you ask of me, I can perform as well as any human.”

That was a statement of hubris, but no one questioned her. This was the third person Stephen had brought to La Gaelik, and his patience was running thin.

“Are you good at playing chess?” the dragon asked.

“Yes, ma’am. We had a club at my high school.”

“That’s too bad.”

Stephen slowly turned to glare at Wong.

“I don’t want someone who is good at chess,” the dragon dismissed. “Bring me someone else.”

*   *   *

Stephen’s patience was wearing thin. Amidst the tens of offerings taken to the dragon, she accepted not a single one of them. And with each companion, she gave another piece of helpful and progressively more specific feedback.

“Can you play erhu?”

“No...”

“Unacceptable, bring me another.”

The quest for a suitable offering became a draft. Instead of finding a volunteer, all masters and acolytes in the order were called forth and interviewed based on their meeting the convoluted criteria for the dragon. So far, they needed a female of acolyte or higher rank who was above the age of consent and preferably older, able-bodied, a skilled spellcaster, well-read, didn’t like playing chess, and could play erhu. After several days of struggling to find a suitor, a few people assembled group erhu lessons in their spare time.

Stephen and Wong brought the most suitable woman they could find. It would be a hard loss, but they were running out of options. The dragon leveled Stephen with an ill-amused look.

“This is a virgin, Stephen,” she snapped.

“How was I supposed to know that?” he demanded. He was getting tired of their game.

“I’m sure you will next time.”

Stephen had to kick a nearby bush once the three of them left the cave.

“Well, at least she’s not cliche,” he finally muttered.

So, now the requirements included someone who was sexually active, and Stephen did not let himself consider what that implied about this contract; he just kept looking. After that, the instructions got even more niche and unreasonable. Has an allergy to acetaminophen. Can ride horses. Is a dog person. Has had head trauma at some point in her life.

“Does she have to be cisgender?” Stephen asked after another rejection.

“Stephen!” the dragon straightened, shocked and offended.

“I’m just asking!”

Finally, they found someone who met the specific requirements. Anything based on opinion was altered—don’t like dogs? Now you do. Won a chess tournament? Now you have amnesia and don’t know how to play. Even then, it was so difficult. And Stephen was about to lose his damn mind.

Now, he stood to the side of the cave, turning a twig in his hands to keep them busy as they waited. The dragon observed the woman they brought, but Stephen had come to recognize her immeasurable, day-ruining disappointment.

“Have you ever seen Star Wars?” she asked.

“Yes.” There was no point lying. No doubt she’d be disappointed whatever the answer.

And disappointed she was.

“Alright,” she sighed. “You can go home now.”

Stephen snapped the stick he’d been holding in half.

“How do you even know what that is?” he demanded.

“There’s a drive-in movie theater some dozen miles from here,” the dragon replied. And that was all their was to it.

Stephen was close to giving up. As he, Wong, and the woman returned to Kamar-taj, they were met by the Ancient One. Stephen could barely meet her eyes. That was the last person in their order they could’ve found. If they wanted to appease the dragon, they’d need to branch out of their order, and who knew if they could do that safely.

They met with the Ancient One in her study, who avoided looking at them for a long time, like she was guilty of something.

“Now we need someone whose never seen Star Wars,” Stephen relayed the information in an exasperated tone. “That was our last potential candidate. If we’re going to fulfill our end of the deal, we’ll need to branch out. Though I don’t know how we’re going to do that safely and humanely....”

“No, we don’t need to do that....” The Ancient One looked up. Her expression was dismal. A grim pout. A guilty grim pout.

Stephen raised his eyebrows.

“I haven’t seen Star Wars,” she quietly admitted. Stephen leaned forward.

“And as for all that other stuff?”

The Ancient One pursed her lips. “I think she wants me specifically.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Stephen demanded. No, he knew why. She was the Sorcerer Supreme. She couldn’t just abandon her order and her duties to be some dragon’s pet. Perhaps she found it a better solution to ignore the possibility entirely.

Stephen gave a sigh of defeat, and the Ancient One sat up a little straighter.

“We’ll negotiate with her tomorrow. After you take me to her.”

Stephen nodded. This whole peace talk business was an absolute mess.

*   *   *

The dragon was lying down as usual with her back to them this time as they entered the cave. She called a greeting over her shoulder, but didn’t turn.

“We’ve brought your final sacrifice,” Stephen announced. “She meets all your criteria.”

The dragon scoffed. “Does she have green eyes?”

The Ancient One spoke this time. “Yes.”

The dragon twisted around as if startled. She stared with a face of awe and disbelief at her offering. The Ancient One stood before her, dressed in golden robes, a labrodorite pendant hanging from her neck. In that moment, La Gaelik thought she might tremble beneath the blessing of the other’s gaze.

The dragon then sat back and grinned.

“It’s about time you showed up,” she said. “What took you so long?”

“Well, not that you noticed, but I’ve been recovering from an injury,” the Ancient One replied. “I haven’t had time to come see you, Haalaan.”

“Oh, I noticed, Giin,” the dragon tilted her head, a mischievous look in her eye.

Stephen glanced at Wong, who leaned closer to him.

“Giin means ‘mine,’” Wong explained. “She’s accepted her.”

“Great,” Stephen muttered. When he looked back up, the Ancient One was already standing right in front of the dragon with her arms draped around the dragon’s neck. The dragon closed her eyes and flicked her tail contently.

“Now you’re trying to force me into early retirement,” the Ancient One mumbled against the dragon’s fur.

“There’s nothing ‘early’ about anything you do, Ancient One.”

The Ancient One grinned up at her. “How could I stay here when I have an order to lead? You’ve always been so self-indulgent.”

The dragon pressed her head against the Ancient One’s chest. “I only wanted to see you, Giin. Go back home.”

“Thank you.”

*   *   *

Not a day later, Stephen found the Ancient One in the courtyard with someone he’d never seen before. A woman with wild black hair was lying across the veranda with her head in the Ancient One’s lap. She seemed peacefully asleep as the Ancient One calmly brushed a hand through her hair.

“New recruit?” Stephen guessed quietly. The stranger spoke up in a lazy voice, eyes still closed.

“No, Stephen, I’m not here for mentorship....”

That voice! Stephen froze in his tracks, obviously flustered, as he looked between the girl and the Ancient One.

“That’s not—”

“I’m her companion, remember?” the Ancient One grinned. “This was the best negotiating we could come to since I couldn’t leave the sanctuary.”

Stephen stared at the dragon in human form draped across the Ancient One’s lap.

“This has to be violating our treaty in some way.”

Fin.