#doctor who fictions

[aboutcustardcreams]

There can't be a Universe without the Doctor

summary: The Doctor should know better than shutting the people she loves out, thinking they would do nothing about it.

word count: 3200 ish

Nothing but pure fluff, again. Sorry not sorry. Also, did I reread? Course not throws custard creams as apology

The Doctor was one of the best persons you’ve ever met. Kind, courageous and incredibly funny. She was everything you’ve always dreamed to be. The way she responded to the distress calls, without ever holding back, inspired you to be the best version of yourself. You hadn’t always been so brave, nor curious about life. That’s probably one of the best gifts she could give you. Bring out the best of you, the curiosity and the will to help those in need. 

The Doctor was the universe, the galaxies and the stars. The very essence of life. She showed you the impossible, and you fell in love with it. With her. How could you not? At first you thought it was the things she showed you. The wonders of a lifetime, that otherwise you’d have never seen by yourself nor ever known about. A part of you knew you could never go back to the life you had, after seeing and experiencing so much. After getting to know her, the Time Lady who held all the stars in the universe like a bouquet of flowers to you. Who could ever top that? 

With time, you realized the real thing you couldn’t do without. It wasn’t the journeys, the views nor the variety of species from all over the universe. It was her, the Doctor. Your Doctor. When her fingers casually clasped with yours and her eyes shone with their own light, your smile reached up your ears, to her enthusiasm and optimism, to her way to love life. To (hopefully) love you. 

You were nineteen when you first joined her on the TARDIS, now twenty four. You had changed so much after that and the Doctor saw all of it. Yaz did too. She was so incredibly proud of the woman you had become,  no longer a shy little girl, too afraid to stand up for herself or for anyone else (not that it was bad, mind). Now– oh now, there was a fire in your eyes. Warm, welcoming, and so beautiful. The Doctor couldn’t help but feel lured in. 

You had the Doctor wrapped around your little finger. Yaz was good at reading her best friend, she knew her more than anyone else. The Doctor could deny it to herself, to Yaz, to you, it didn’t matter, neither did it change the fact that she loved you in a way that went beyond the concept of friendship and family. Maybe it was the reason why lately she had been more cautious, both with you and Yaz. 

“I’ll be back in a jiffy, you stay right here,” she didn’t even wait for you to answer, probably sure both of you would have something to say about it. You always had. 

You merely rolled your eyes at her behavior, really struggling to understand what all this sudden fuss was about. 

“We should come with you. You need back up,” Yaz insisted, arms crossed over her chest. 

The Doctor sighed, turned briefly towards her and shook her head. “There’s no need, truly. I got this. You should rest, have something to eat maybe. When was the last time you two had a proper meal?” She was rambling again, flying her hands in mid air to give emphasis to her speech. You didn’t want to eat, and neither did Yaz. Not when she was throwing herself to one of her impossible missions, playing the hero by herself.

“We can eat, after answering this distress call together,” you objected. 

It had become unbearable, the way she was shutting you out and so easily. You couldn’t hide the hurt in your eyes, despite the bitterness behind which you masked it quite well. Your voice always sounding firm and confident. You wanted her to see, to feel, that her behavior was hurting you, hurting Yaz. When her eyes landed on you, you spotted a hint of hesitation, mouth parting briefly only to close again and press in a firm line. Thinking. Overthinking. The frown on her forehead said so too. 

“We answered one together a couple of hours ago. Aren’t you tired? Last time I checked, humans needed to sleep ten hours per day, and you two are barely making three per night,” she reasoned, voice trembling a bit out of nervousness. Yaz gave you a worried glance, you briefly reciprocated. 

“First of all, it’s advisable to sleep between seven and eight hours per night, not ten,” she groaned, and you gave her a little grin, knowing way too well how she disliked being contradicted or corrected. “Secondly, we can’t really rest anyway knowing you wander off by yourself in search of trouble. So it’s not gonna work.”

The Doctor scoffed, indignant. “I don’t look for trouble myself,” she whined. “It’s not my fault the Universe basks in chaos on a daily basis.”

“Of course not,” Yaz muttered softly. “Look, we respect this is your life, answering distress calls, helping around. But we want to be part of it. We have been part of it for years now, and we want to continue on this path, with you. Not just every now and then.” 

You couldn’t agree more with Yaz’s words, even if you tried. Deep down you knew the Doctor agreed to. That’s all she ever wanted, to keep you with her, all over the Universe, but sometimes the Doctor was also scared. Most of the time, she simply hid it well. The Universe was as beautiful as dangerous. And the thought of something happening, something irreversible, cruel and very much likely to happen paralyzed her with fear. 

She sighed and nibbled on her bottom lip, leaning against the panel of the TARDIS. Your features softened; she looked tired, and she probably was. She hardly took care of herself, even less let others do that for her. And it was unnerving, because you wanted your relationship to be between equals. You wanted to help, protect her, be there for her as much as she was there for you, both you and Yaz. 

You take a step forward, reaching up to her. Tilting your head to the side, you run up a hand to her face. You hesitate a second before allowing yourself to brush aside a lock of blond hair behind her ear. The Doctor felt her cheeks heating up. Closed her eyes for a second, counted to three, before muttering your name softly. 

You smiled, “we are not letting you go by yourself. Last time I checked Yaz and I moved here to stay,” you spoke with unwavering conviction. “I don’t care how dangerous it is. That never stopped us before and it certainly won’t start now.”

The Doctor exhaled, and slowly looked up at you, with pleading eyes. Those�� hazel orbs were so beautiful, so expressive, each and every time you found yourself diving in so easily.

“You don’t understand,” the Doctor muttered. 

When you frowned, she let out a groan and her features dimmed in thought. 

“Except that we do,” Yaz insisted, reaching up to the two of you.

“We’ve been traveling with you for how long now?” You questioned. “Five years for me, and eight for Yaz. Maybe nine?”

She mouthed eight and a half. The Doctor groaned again, slightly pinching the root of her nose and withdrawing from the panel of a couple of steps. She knew you were right, that both you and Yaz were perfectly capable of taking care of each other, (maybe too much), but the Doctor was still terrified. She couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her she was pushing her luck. Perhaps it was because it had been that long, that she feared something was doomed to happen any moment now. 

The Universe had been kind to her. It allowed her to meet the best persons ever. Having someone like you and Yaz by her side for so long, determined not to let go meant more than any star in the Universe. That’s why she needed to preserve it, for as long as possible. Nothing with her lasted forever. And the idea of losing you to one of her reckless travels saving the universe, was way too painful, too unfair to accept. The Doctor felt something change within her hearts the moment she started believing she would disrupt the balance of space and time if that meant keeping both you and Yaz with her. 

“Y/n, please–”, her voice sounded like a plea. “Just this once. Let me do this my way.”

You hushed her softly, with a gentleness she thought she didn’t deserve. She closed her eyes as you took another step closer to her, reducing the gap she had put between you and her. Her nostrils filled up with your smell, and she found herself inhaling deeply, and closing her eyes while doing so.

You slowly blinked at her, to keep your own emotion at bay, as much as possible. “I know you want to protect us from whatever it is out there, but can’t you see we want to do the exact same?” Your voice came out in a faint whisper. 

She nodded quietly, but still objected, “I can take care of myself, though.”

You tilted your head to the side, snorting playfully, “Sometimes, I guess that’s true. But you tend to be reckless, way too much for my liking.”

If that was a confession of love, and it was, the Doctor wouldn’t know. Or perhaps she would pretend she didn’t, however it was crystal clear. There were many ways to say I love yous to someone and that was definitely one of them. 

“Or mine,” Yaz added, a playful smirk curving her lips.

She puffed up her cheeks childishly, “I can be reckless, thank you very much. Little tougher than you, me. Different biology. Haven’t decided that myself.” 

You can’t help but laugh at that. It’s a soft, small laugh that for a moment helps ease the tension in the TARDIS. She was right about that, yet it didn’t mean you were willing to risk her life more than you’d risk yours or Yaz’s. 

“So sweet of you, laughing at me,” she teased. 

You promptly shook your head as your giggles died down. “I wouldn’t dare. You know that.” 

Yaz glanced at her, while her eyes were still fondly locked with yours. She placed a hand upon the Doctor’s shoulder, squeezing it a bit. “Remember when you once said to me, we are capable of the most incredible change, that we can inspire people, make the difference, no matter what we are, humans, Time Lords, whatever,” Yaz trailed off, and the Doctor blinked off some tears that were glistening in her eyes, “I clung to that. Made it my mission. So did she,” she eyed you and you promptly nodded. 

You interjected before she could protest any further. 

“I found a purpose in life, ya know,” her eyes turned back to you. You spotted her nose scrunching up a bit, as a veil of nostalgia flashed through your eyes. “And that’s thanks to you. I was nobody before I met you…” you add, making the Doctor immediately frown at your words. Ready to interject, you raise your hand in the air, begging her with your eyes to listen before saying anything else. You laid that same hand upon her chest, smiling at the sound of her heartbeats thumping against your palm. Soothing, yet electrifying. 

You take in a soft breath, then smiled, “I was nobody the Universe could rely on. But now I am. I may be just a human, but I’m giving my life a purpose by helping those in distress. Helping you, helping them. And that’s… priceless.”   

“And you’re both doing an incredible job, alright,” the Doctor reaches out to cup your cheek tenderly, voice shaking a bit, fingers too. She was proud of you, and she wished both of you knew just how much. If only you could see yourself through her eyes, you’d know all the things, all the rules, she would break to always guarantee the two of you your deserved happiness. 

“But that doesn’t mean that’s all you have to do, all the time," she breathed out. "Look, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I value your lives too much. So when I can do something about it, I will not endanger you. There can’t be a universe without you. Under no circumstances.” 

You nodded and took a step back, as if her words had somehow affected you. Or so she thought. She frowned, concerning veiling her features, when you fell quiet, thinking about the fact that there couldn’t be a Universe without the Doctor. It was more like it.  She was hope, she was life. What’s the point of everything without such things? Without someone ready to give herself to guarantee that? 

“Are you alright?” She asked you, eyes squinting a bit in concern. You nodded your head, however, still thinking. 

Maybe that was your real purpose. Always making sure the Doctor could help those in need, by protecting her, having her back, for as long as possible. 

You gave her a reassuring smile, when the Doctor's features didn't relax at your non verbal response. She didn't like those, you knew that. “I’m fine, Doc. Just thinking. Got that from you," you teased lightly. 

The Time lady seemed to relax at your playful tone. She shook her head in amusement, then turned to Yaz as she spoke, “can you tell us at least what you will be facing?” 

The Doctor winced. “Ah, you know–” she hid her hands in her pockets, swinging a bit, trying to master a response that would not freak out the two of you. “A tribe of… wild humans. Let’s put it like that. Still on Earth, though. Papua New Guinea, it should be. Funny name, isn’t it? Always struggled to pronounce it for some reason.”

She and her diversions.

“Tribe?”

“Wild humans?”

Both you and Yaz scrunched up your face almost simultaneously. 

The Doctor nodded.  “Also known as – flesh eaters.”

“Oh God–” Yaz muttered, eyes widening at the idea passing through her mind, “are you talking about zombies?” She half yelled. 

The Doctor looked at her as if she was going mad. “What? Nooo. Although they look like them,” a nervous chuckle came out of her. Despite the small reassurance of those not being zombies, the alternative didn’t seem much better. “There’s not such a thing as zombies. That's a plain fantasy of the human’s mind.”

“You can’t really blame us, considering what we have seen during these years. I could very well believe unicorns are a thing,” you said. 

“Well, you’d be right. They are real. Super real,” she glanced at you with the most serious expression she could master. Now it was your turn to open your mouth in disbelief. “Very feisty, I must say. Encountered one once, tried to ride it. Didn’t go well. Almost got stabbed in the side,” she winced at the memory and so did you. 

Yaz mouthed a fleebile ‘sorry’ in response to that, but she waved her hand as if it was nothing. 

“Just so to be clear, are we talking about cannibals?”

"Yep!" The doctor nodded with a hesitant smile upon her face. She nudged at your arm, noticing how nervous and stiff you’d become. Always worrying about her. “They aren’t very smart, though, so it’s gonna be a piece of cake. All I need to do is enter their camp, save those that had been captured, and go back, easy peasy.” 

“Doesn’t look easy peasy,” you quickly retorted. “Not without a proper backup or a plan...”

The Doctor started nibbling on her bottom lip, as clear sign that no, she didn't have one. A plan. She hardly ever had one. 

“What if they capture you too?” Yaz insisted. 

“Well, that would be inconvenient, wouldn’t it?” She half joked. That was a possibility you were not willing to take. You shook your head and snorted, then moved towards the panel of the TARDIS, taking a look at the surrounding area. The Doctor followed you with her gaze, frowning as she tried to understand what you were thinking about. You learned how to use the spaceship, both you and Yaz did. So you pushed a couple of buttons to figure how many cannibals were out there and how close to the TARDIS. 

You scrunched up your face at all the red dots appearing over the screen, one by one, eyes widening at the sight. “You gotta be kidding me,” you muttered under your breath. When you turn around to face the Doctor, she can tell you're not exactly pleased with her. “You wanted to face all of these beasts by yourself?” You almost yelled in disbelief. 

"I... er.. I mean," her hearts rate picked up. 

In the meantime, Yaz drew closer to check the screens herself. "Doctor, are you suicidal?"

“Of course I am not,” she argued back. You wish you could shorten the distance between you and her and smooch that adorable crease on her forehead that formed every time the Doctor would whine like a baby. "I love this body!" 

You arched an eyebrow at that, mockingly just for the fun of it, "You don’t say.” 

She stuck her tongue out at you, making you giggle. 

“We are doing this together, or we are not doing this at all,” Yaz announced categorically, hands on her hips. 

The Doctor lolled her head backwards and let out a grunt. “Fine,” she hissed, refusing to look at you, nor Yaz, “Fine,” she repeated it more calmly, softly and faking a smile. 

You took a sigh of relief and so did Yaz. She draped an arm over your shoulder with a satisfied grin. 

“But if you two end up in trouble, I’ll be very cross.” 

“Fair enough,” said Yaz. 

“We have a duty of care, you know.”

The Time Lady’s hearts hammered in her chest when you said that.

“You said there can’t be a universe without me and Yaz, well, I think there can’t be a universe without the Doctor.”

The Time Lady felt overwhelmed. She stared at the two of you with nothing but pure gratitude and love. When you playfully nudged at her, in the hope to help her soothe her nerves, her lips twitched in an amused smile, despite everything. She rolled her eyes at you, “Oi! You can’t steal my lines. Pretty sure it’s cheating.” 

You chuckled, moving towards the TARDIS’ door, along with Yaz by your side. 

“I’ll make up with you,” you promised, walking backwards so that you could still take in her features.

“Are ya coming or not?”

She sighed, slightly shaking her head. “Course I am,” she grumbled. 

“You two stay close,” she warned, voice firm, eyes soft. 

“Always,” Yaz promised. 

“Cross my heart,” you echoed, vowing to never lose sight of her.

[johnnyspells]

"So all cholesterol is good. Change is absolutely necessary. And whatever you said about hot lady summer, it sounded like you kind of had it figured out."

[science70]

Dalek on location at Beachfields Quarry, Redhill, Surrey, England, during production of Doctor Who, "Frontier in Space", 1973.

[19thcenturyfuck]

what if they had reddit on gallifrey or something

[spoutin-doggerel]

Chibnall's Doctor Who is really funny to me because it feels like a very conservative person's attempt at writing a progressive show. Like "Episode about giant Amazon company except the corporation was the good guy all along and the villian is the striking workers" "Episode about Rosa Parks except it cheapens her activism by portraying it as a spur of the moment coincidence" "The Doctor refering to a formerly enslaved species that he fought to save as "conditioned to serve". Maybe just don't write a show like Doctor Who.

[macbethz]

“Is doctor who a good or bad person” theyre the kind of person to fly in a little blue box and go weeeeee

[sapphosboy]

I don’t think we talk enough about the fact that the tenth Doctor canonically tried to kill himself after losing Rose and he would’ve succeeded if Donna hadn’t stopped him

[humanoidhistory]

Happy 90th to Tom Baker, legend of Doctor Who, born in Liverpool on this day in 1934. Perhaps the GOAT of Time Lords.

[inhonoredglory]

"I can't help it if the ladies of the universe are flinging themselves at me.... Usually it's not a sexual thing with the Doctor. He's a fairly asexual character." –David Tennant (YouTube)

[daydreamycrustacean]

uhhh uhh...first one is the chess room described in the EDA Anachrophobia. I´ve been reading doctor who books for Months and only now i´ve had the time to make fanart can you believe it.

[tea-earl-grey]

i do think it's really interesting to compare the ways Star Trek and Doctor Who succeed and fail as pieces of progressive media because they almost have the opposite problem.

both of the shows are progressive, let's make that clear. while there are exceptions, both shows and worlds consistently critique capitalism, value compassion, solve problems without violence, and at least try to be diverse. there will always be individual episodes (and even eras/arcs) that contradict those values but in general, they are progressive compared to your average procedural or whatnot. but they, by the very nature of their premise, often fail to live up to fully realizing those progressive values. and yes, individual instances of racism or misogyny or any type of bigotry is a product of the bigotry of the writers/creators, but Star Trek and Doctor Who ultimately fail and will always fail to fully embody progressivism.

Star Trek is trapped in its own system of the Federation & Starfleet. for any of the shows to work, we the audience have to believe that the Federation is almost always a good & benevolent force and while criticisms of it are made, those criticisms are the exception and not the rule. the Federation/Starfleet can be criticized but at the end of the story, we must reaffirm that our characters are still good people and it's individual corruption that's the problem. the system can be portrayed as flawed but it must always be better than the alternative. if there is a Star Trek show that would truly dig far enough into how the Federation is a product of imperialism and how the nature of exploring & going where no one has gone before is inherently rooted in racism & orientalism then the franchise would collapse because nearly everything to this point relies on the belief in that a fundamentally good utopian system is possible.

now there's Doctor Who. Doctor Who has a quite different premise in that it is never rooted to one place or time the way Star Trek is attached to Starfleet/the Federation. (there could be an argument that Doctor Who is ultimately rooted in Britain but despite the 2005 series and the UNIT era in classic who, there are large swathes of classic who and the EU that never visit Britain. it's been made an important part of the show (as the show is an important part of British culture) but it's not inherent to the basic premise.) however, because Doctor Who is focused on traveling and seeing the wonders of the universe, its premise essentially becomes "some people turn up to fix a problem and then disappear". again, there are exceptions to this (especially in early classic who), but the formula of the show is almost trapped in the belief of individual action and power to solve systemic problems which... is not how most problems or solutions behave in reality. and just as Star Trek can criticize the Federation but must ultimately forgive it, Doctor Who can criticize the Doctor and portray them as flawed but must still reaffirm their status as a hero.

so we have Star Trek too caught up in its own systems to be able to critique them and Doctor Who too focused on running to portray how complex, long term solutions are needed to solve deeply entrenched problems.

and honestly... i don't think either of these are bad. they're simply the limitations of the shows as they exist and it would be far more worthwhile to develop new premises & find other media that incorporate those types of leftist political values from the start than to try to graft them onto 60 year old media franchises and pretend like they've always been there.

and they do serve a purpose! Star Trek might not be able to adequately portray the flaws of a system but it does give you hope for a better utopian future where people are taken care of and allowed to live however they choose, where there's infinite diversity in infinite combinations. Doctor Who might not be able to portray the complicated solutions to complicated problems that we face today but it tells you that every life matters, that kindness is the most important quality, and that everyone can make a difference in some way.

[olivrsm]

[vroomvroomwee]

Do you want to comfort your fav fictional character because you love them and don't want them to be alone or do you want to do it because you see yourself in them and you project onto them and comforting them is the only way you can comfort yourself since you've always had to manage and take care of your own feelings and had to suffer alone and be the only one there for yourself? Hmm?

[thehauntedrocket]

This Season On Doctor Who...

This Season On Doctor Who...

Art by Dan Schkade