#is it because of the Doctor Who connection?

[abigails-ear]

Only been watching The Pitt for a few days but Mel King is THE best autistic character ever written in a medical drama. She doesn't "make connections no one else can" or "just see things differently" or any other Savant with Special Abilities stereotypical bullshit, she's a resident physician who's exactly as intelligent and capable as other physicians in the same residency year. She hates unnecessary yelling because it's loud and annoying, not because she's completely incapable of handling conflict. She usually keeps her stimming subtle enough to hide but sometimes she can't. She loves having a furry critter to pet. She accommodates an autistic patient by lowering the lights and closing the doors because she understands the sensory nightmare of an active medical setting. She speaks in a straightforward and honest way; she isn't an overtly rude inconsiderate asshole. She misses some jokes and takes things too literally on occasion but she does have a sense of humor and she is funny. She speaks up against misinformation and parent panic about autism and other developmental disabilities. She has emotions. She looks at a video of a lava lamp on her phone to chill. Doctor Mel King you have my entire heart

[sadiehaleheart]

Very cool to learn about this, and thank you for the article link!

I found a novelist's research article from a few years ago, where he interviewed Lt Abbie Sweetwine's great niece! J.D. Peabody also drew a connection between the 1952 Harrow and Wealdston three-train crash & its lipstick-wielding hero, and C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle, published in 1956.

Susan Pevensie, sole survivor out of her siblings, was left behind with her boys and her lipstick, in train wreckage? With historical context, that particular authorial choice changes from dismissive and sexist to (oops) perhaps an allusion to real-world bravery. This woman and her boys/military doctors still had important work to do. As a much younger reader, I was so MAD that Susan didn't get to join Aslan and friends in Heaven and fight the, uh, devil who I think was a donkey?, because of some stupid lipstick. Turns out that lipstick convinced the NHS that field triage and field documentation, with whatever pen you can find, can save civilian lives!

... Can't believe I'm going to have to critically reread the Narnia finale after 25 years because of Noah Wyle's face.

THE PITT 1.08 • 2:00 P.M.

[m4rv3l-girl]

Not the kind of partner I’m used to..

Bucky is referred to a paired therapy program..

Warnings: None, little bit of angst…Kind of?

The chair was too small.

Bucky shifted uncomfortably, arms crossed over his chest, shoulders hunched like a caged animal. The walls of Dr. Raynor’s office were the same off-white shade of every other government-sanctioned therapy clinic he’d been forced to visit, and the fluorescent lights hummed in a way that made his teeth itch. He hated it here. He hated therapy. And, most of all, he hated whatever new hoop Raynor was making him jump through this time.

"This is stupid," he grumbled, voice low and flat. "I don't need a - what do you even call this? A therapy buddy? A trauma pen-pal?"

Raynor gave him that look. The one that said she was just barely tolerating him. "It’s a paired therapy program."

Bucky rolled his eyes.

"You agreed to try," she reminded him, flipping through her clipboard. "The point is to help people with… let's say, complicated pasts, to build social connections. Get used to interacting. Being normal."

"Great. So you’re admitting this is a group project."

"Not a group," Raynor corrected, sitting back in her chair. "Just the two of you. One-on-one. You can do that, right? Make one friend?"

Bucky sighed through his nose, glaring at the ceiling like it had personally wronged him.

"Well, lucky for you, she’s not thrilled about this either," Raynor continued, glancing at the door as voices echoed from outside the office. "I warned her to be civil, but fair warning - she's not exactly a social butterfly."

Bucky’s interest piqued at that. He listened, keen ears picking up the muffled sound of a woman’s voice.

"Look, Doc, I’m just saying - do I actually have to?" The voice huffed. "I don’t need a therapy partner. I’m doing just fine avoiding people all on my own."

Bucky smirked.

"Y/N, you promised," the other doctor’s voice responded, a familiar level of exhausted patience in her tone.

A pause. A groan. The sound of a doorknob turning.

Then she stepped in.

Y/N had the kind of posture that screamed reluctant participation. She entered the room like it physically pained her to do so, crossing her arms and scanning the space with an expression that read: ‘this was not my idea, and I hate it here.’ When her eyes landed on Bucky, she froze for a fraction of a second - just long enough for him to notice. He was used to that reaction. The pause. The flicker of recognition. Like she was debating whether to acknowledge who he was or pretend he was just some guy.

Bucky arched a brow. "You must be thrilled about this."

She gave him a flat look. "Over the moon."

Raynor clapped her hands together, the universal therapist signal for ‘let’s begin.’ "Great! Now that you’ve met, let’s set some ground rules. The goal here is casual interaction, low-pressure conversations. Just get to know each other."

Y/N’s mouth twitched like she had about ten sarcastic things she wanted to say, but she bit them back.

"I’ll leave you to it," Raynor announced, already making for the door. "Try to keep the glaring to a minimum."

Then she was gone.

The silence stretched. Bucky stared at Y/N. Y/N stared at Bucky. The tension between them was less hostility and more… mutual disinterest. Like two kids forced to work on a school project together, neither wanting to be the first to break the silence.

Bucky sighed. "Guess we should start with the basics. Name’s Bucky."

"Y/N," she responded, shifting her weight. "But I already know who you are."

He tilted his head, not really surprised. "Yeah?"

She gave him a look like he was an idiot. "Because you’re Bucky Barnes. The white wolf. The Winter Soldier. Avenger. Internationally recognized brooding champion."

Bucky blinked, caught off guard. "Brooding champion?"

She shrugged. "You do have a very… ‘resting murder face’ thing going on."

Bucky stared at her for a beat, then snorted. "That’s a new one."

Y/N shifted again, looking slightly less miserable than before. "So, uh… what exactly are we supposed to do? Just talk about our feelings until we magically become better people?"

Bucky smirked. "Pretty sure that’s the idea."

"Gross."

"Agreed."

A beat. Then-

"Wanna get out of here?" Y/N blurted out.

Bucky blinked. "What?"

"Not, like, run away forever," she clarified. "Just… sneak out. Get a coffee or something. We can pretend to do the therapy thing and check it off the list."

Bucky considered this. On one hand, Raynor would definitely give him hell for it. On the other… he really didn’t want to sit in this room for an hour talking about his feelings.

He stood, stretching. "Alright, partner. Lead the way."

Y/N looked surprised for a split second before masking it with an easy smirk. "Try to keep up, Grandpa. We have an hour."

They stepped into the hallway, and Bucky couldn’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia. It reminded him of old missions—sneaking around, trying to keep a low profile. Only this time, there were no explosions or rifles. Just the muted sounds of people trying to put their lives back together. The smell of over-brewed coffee and sadness.

"This way," Y/N whispered, jerking her head towards the stairs. "The café's less crowded." They descended the stairs, Y/N moving with the kind of ease that came from spending too much time in places like these. Bucky followed, watching the way she moved—like she was trying to be invisible, but couldn’t quite pull it off. She had a presence about her. Something that made people look, even when she didn’t want them to.

When they reached the café, it was indeed quieter than he’d expected. A few patients nursed their drinks, staring into the abyss of their pasts. The barista looked up, giving them a nod that suggested he’d seen this sort of thing before. Bucky couldn’t blame them—therapy was a weird gig.

They claimed a table in the corner, far from prying eyes and eager ears. Y/N slid into a chair, her eyes scanning the room with the kind of wariness he understood all too well. She was checking for threats, even though the biggest threat here was probably someone asking how their week had been.

"So," she said, breaking the silence. "What’s your damage?" Bucky raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" "Your tragic backstory," she elaborated, rolling her eyes. "You know, the reason you’re stuck in that soul-sucking building." He leaned back, arms crossing over his broad chest.

"You first."

Y/N’s smirk grew. "Okay, fine. I was in the military. Mission went tits up, ended up with a few too many pieces missing. Now I’ve got metal where there should be meat and therapy where there should be… well, anything else."

Bucky nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. He liked her. "Sounds like a blast," he said, voice dry.

Y/N chuckled, a low, dark sound. "It was. Literally."

The conversation flowed from there, surprisingly easily. They talked about their military backgrounds - Bucky’s HYDRA days, his time as a SHIELD agent. It was like two old soldiers swapping war stories, except the enemy was less about bullets and more about inner demons. She had a sharp wit, he noticed, and a way of cutting through bullshit that was refreshing. No pep talks, no pity. Just raw, honest words that stung a little.

As they talked, Y/N’s defenses slowly started to lower. She spoke about her past missions with a passion that was palpable, her eyes lighting up with a fierce intensity that made him want to lean in closer. And as she spoke, he realized that she wasn’t just some girl with a tragic past - she was a fighter. A survivor. And she’d earned every single one of those metallic scars.

Bucky found himself telling her more than he’d ever told anyone else. Stories of Steve, of the Avengers, of the endless nights spent trying to drown out the echoes of his past with a bottle of whiskey. The words poured out of him like they’d been damned up for too long, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he didn’t feel the need to censor himself.

Y/N listened, really listened, without judgment or the need to fix him. It was a strange feeling, one that made him feel both exposed and oddly at ease. They talked about their fears, their regrets, their hopes for the future - things that Bucky hadn’t allowed himself to think about in a long time.

The bell over the door chimed, and they both looked up, startled by the sudden intrusion of reality. The café was emptying out, the sun setting outside the window in a wash of orange and pink. They’d talked for hours. And they’d be in deep shit. Oh well.

Y/N’s eyes searched his, something unspoken passing between them. "Thank you," she murmured, voice low. "For not making me feel like a freak." Bucky’s smirk grew into a small smile. "You’re not a freak," he said softly. "You’re a survivor."

They stood, gathering their things. As they made their way back to the clinic, Bucky realized that maybe, just maybe, this therapy buddy thing wasn’t going to be so bad after all. It wasn’t fixing his life - not by a long shot. But it was a start.

They re-entered the building, the sterile air hitting them like a slap in the face after the brief taste of freedom. Y/N’s shoulders squared up again, the wall sliding back into place.

"You know, Bucky," she said as they approached the elevator. "I didn’t hate that." He chuckled. "Me neither, kid." The elevator doors dinged open, revealing the all-too-familiar corridor. Y/N stepped in, punching the button for their floor with a little too much force.

"So, what now?" Bucky asked, leaning against the railing. "We just go back to her office and pretend we talked about our feelings?" Y/N rolled her eyes, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "If that’s what it takes to keep them off our asses." The elevator lurched to a stop, and they stepped out into the hallway. As they approached the room they were supposed to be in, they could hear the muffled sounds of a conversation - Raynor’s voice, and another therapist, discussing their patients.

"Looks like we’ve got company," Bucky murmured, glancing at the clock. They were cutting it close. Y/N nodded. "Let’s make it look good." They both took a deep breath and stepped into the room, trying to look like they hadn’t just blown off their session.

Raynor looked up from her notes, raising an eyebrow. "You two look… enlightened." Bucky and Y/N shared a look, the unspoken challenge passing between them.

"We had a breakthrough," Y/N said, deadpan. "A real emotional rollercoaster." Raynor’s gaze flicked between them, trying to gauge their sincerity. "Well," she said, after a beat. "I’m happy to hear that. Why don’t you sit down and tell me all about it?" Her voice was skeptical.

They sat, and Bucky launched into a half-true, half-exaggerated story about their heart-to-heart. Y/N filled in the blanks with sighs and eye-rolls, and somehow, it was convincing. They had a rhythm, a way of finishing each other's sentences that made it seem like they'd been friends for years instead of minutes.

"So, you've discovered the importance of sharing your feelings," Raynor said, scribbling on her clipboard.

"It's life-changing," Bucky deadpanned, and Y/N snorted. This might not be so bad…

——————————————————————————————————

Here you go, My Lovelies! I just love the thought of someone matching Bucky’s energy in total contrast to the usual grumpy/sunshine trope 🫶

[pancake404]

The Experiment of The Doctor’s 2nd Pet

For the Limbo AU…

Name: Abby Anisella

Age: 9 Years Old

Subject: 1168

Toy: Baba Chops

Abby was an orphan residing at Playcare among the other children soon to be experimented. She grew up in an abusive household consisting of underfeeding and neglect causing Abby to do anything to make her parents notice her more such as trying her best on getting perfect grades which never worked. Later a car accident occurred with her in it causing the death of her parents and leaving her traumatized and depressed as she was now in the hands of Playtime Co. She showed anti social and loner tendencies and other children saw her as strange and mean as she would always turn down any attempt of theirs to join their games.

She later was introduced to Doctor Sawyer who saw great potential with her due to her independence and high marks in school. Sawyer saw himself in her and figured she would make a great experiment like the potential with Quinn. However, he figured that since Abby was a lot of more shown of her intelligence already rather than the potential of Quinn who had to be brought out, Sawyer feared that if Abby was a Bigger Body, she could and would easily turn on him granted she keeps the same mind as earlier hence the medium sized toy(with the useful toxic substance) she became to lead the Nightmare Critter army.

After not successfully killing the Player character, she was soon found and absorbed into the Prototype.

Just because she didn’t talk much or spent time with others doesn’t stop her from having a couple of connections with loners like her such as Quinn and Theodore. She spent quite a bit of time interacting with Theo and this had caused a bit of an elementary crush on Theo’s part as he viewed her as someone super cool and smart(the irony here is that later Baba would view highly of BBI Catnap sharing similar feelings).

So now we’re at the limbo with Theo’s intense hatred and loss of his one main purpose due the abandonment of the Prototype and Baba with the occasional intense, underfed, and feeling everlasting hunger until it eventually cools down. Yarnaby also lost his whole world but that’s okay, the Doctor will always be by his side whether out there or here in the limbo.

I’m aware that in the chapter, The Doctor mentions Baba with masculine pronouns(“he doesn’t eat all of you”)despite Baba Chops being a female toy. This could mean it’s a boy in a female toy which we haven’t seen much of before…or at all. However, it’s unclear if this is a mistake as the line of dialogue could be used to mention Pianosaurus or Yarnaby and still work or maybe it’s just random pronoun mistake that the devs didn’t bother fix or notice as Baba Chops really wasn’t significant in the chapter. Either way, AU is AU and it’s the ultimate argument for inaccuracy with characters such as the Player/Protagonist/May or May Not be a bad person in the past and maybe still kind of is /Main character and the Prototype. Both we know not much about.

[risrambles]

possible hot take but lowkey the reason that the hype for doomsday isn’t as high as endgame or infinity war and the the reason it’s getting more joked about is kinda bc they haven’t done much building up to the movies and nothing has really connected like it did in the other phases. like all the movies leading up to the avengers were so tightly woven into that eventual product. then phase two everything led up to civil war and such, and then obviously endgame. but phase 4 and on has jumped around so much and introduced so many characters that it’s like… we know these all won’t tie in. like we get a hawkeye show but neither protagonist is in the cast (yet), we get moon knight and not a character is in the cast (yet), we get she-hulk and not a character is in the cast (yet). they overload it with tv shows and movies that end up being one-offs bc it’s quantity over quality atp. whereas phases 1-3 all lead up to something together, this is just. kind of a mess. and i say this as someone who was in the fandom a lot in 2021 and kinda saw the beginning of the end. and i say this now as someone who loves marvel so dearly.

not saying i don’t think it’ll be good—i think it has potential. but instead of marvel being the epitome of modern superhero storytelling and being considered good media, it’s turned into more of a joke bc people a) hate too much for the wrong reasons b) the movies are actually not good c) we get one good movie or show once in a while that is actually really high quality with meaning that is immediately followed up by something less hype d) the characters are going up against things so much bigger than themselves that it’s just plain unrealistic to the MAX. like sure thanos was a Big Bad but at least it kinda seemed like an avengers level threat. all this multiverse stuff with Not Enough multiverse-level superheroes is wearing on me. not to mention they either kill their best or most interesting characters (aka wanda, who had a lot of potential) or bench them (moon knight). the strongest characters currently in rotation off the top of my head are doctor strange, loki, and sentry (who is apparently in doomsday, so that’s cool!) but honestly other than that it’s all supersoldiers or people with physical skill over the skill and power actually needed to fight god level villains.

i’m not a hater, i promise. i just miss when it wasn’t so unrealistic that it was hard to get past and have a fun time watching. (and i get that it’s movies so it can be unrealistic, but comparing it to the actually decently realist tones of the first few phases it just takes me out of it when i’m watching) it’s probably a part of the reason that people always seem to like ca:tws or the avengers or iron man, because it was smaller scale and it makes sense why it’s only those heroes in those movies. cause why is it just the thunderbolts trying to handle sentry?

take catws. it’s captain america, black widow, and falcon against hydra and more specifically the winter soldier. THAT makes sense. it makes sense why it wasn’t anyone else. it was a small scale threat that can be played off during the movie as a big one bc to the characters in the movie it is and to the ones not in it, it isn’t. the entire avengers team doesn’t have to assemble to fight the winter soldier and they don’t, which is good! Then take wandavision, where it was jimmy woo, monica rambeau, and a few others against the literal scarlet witch who was bending reality, not a single avenger really even tried to stop by. this is a situation where every avenger should have been locked and loaded and ready to step in but it just WASNT.

now remember i say this as a marvel FAN. i love marvel and ive loved marvel since i first watched captain america the winter soldier. i guess im a sucker for old marvel but it comes to a point where even though they’re doing a lot, it’s just like they’re trying too many things at once. i hold out hope for doomsday and secret wars, and i hope they wrap all of these individual projects together nicely, but i dont know. if im going to be honest, im not the biggest fan of the multiverse saga even though some of my favorite projects have come from it.

[existentialflirt]

Sorry, I'm been trying to finish a short fic, because I'm so bad at endings. lmao maybe that's why I took so well to this kind of writing.

[ducktalk]

[claraoswalds]

#mrs flood who are you: time lord edition

[youngpettyqueen]

I know the decision to have Julian's parents have him augmented was made on the fly but imo its pretty obvious from early on that Julian has Family Issues because he avoids talking about his family like the plague and I think they should've incorporated this into the Julian and Sisko dynamic right from early on because I think it would've made for some really compelling stories and moments and could've set up a REALLY interesting Julian and Jake dynamic which they kinda started to do but never fully went for

[aq2003]

like the important thing you must keep in mind about ten when you see him do literally anything is that he's soooooooooo so so so bad at actually isolating himself from other people. so TERMINALLY bad at it. he thinks to himself "i don't need human connection because everything i do causes pain and destruction to those around me :(" but then he experiences a crumb of human connection and his heart starts to spill out of his chest

[thirddoctor]

"the War Chief is a renegade Time Lord with facial hair (not even a beard, just facial hair) who asks the Doctor to join him in his evil plot, he must be the Master!"

oh so is every military figure the Doctor has to work with to save the earth (while butting heads but ultimately respecting each other) just the Brigadier in disguise? is that what you're saying?

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

plot twist: Ruby is the Master under chameleon arch

[pinkcadillaccas]

Everyone needs to get on my spones divorce wavelength right tf now ‼️

[shadowblade8192]

i think its been well documented that each episode since wild blue yonder has had a name check (if you dont know what that is, its whey they say the name of the show/episode title in the episode itself), and i was wondering, since its not the same character every time, could there be a connection between them? i cant think of anything but i did make a list of every character who spoke the first name checking line in each episode so if anyone else can find a connection then do add it in the tags anyways heres the list:

wild blue yonder - donna noble the giggle - the doctor the church on ruby road - the doctor space babies - the doctor the devils chord - timothy drake boom - the doctor 73 yards - ruby sunday dot and bubble - lindy pepperbean rogue - rogue the legend of ruby sunday - carla sunday empire of death - TBA

[heavenb3nt]

Anyways. Academy era designs

[variousqueerthings]

just think even if one isn't a big fan of dt's doctor, i can't imagine not being happy for him for his journey with the show. he's just a very nice man/good actor who loves this story so much and puts his all into it every time he's on it. he runs around the tardis and presses buttons and reminisces about watching the show as a kid and getting the role on the show as an adult and being on the show and returning to the show again. it's really lovely seeing someone who's a big nerd getting to do that professionally really well with something that they're so passionate about, youknow. he's living the dream, and it happened to someone who's clearly very sweet and intelligent and kind. I also think dt being such a defining feature of nu!who was very lucky, as no matter how out of control it occasionally spiralled there was a core ideal to it that came from especially his portrayal and open excitement about its existence. not to say that the other doctor actors didn't/don't care or weren't able to expand into new areas (big fan especially of eccleston talking about feminism in the show and capaldi pointing to death as theme and ncuti discussing the doctor as refugee and black), but dt was there from almost the beginning and has cheered on everyone since. it's not a perfect show, but it is a very passionate show, and nobody is quite as passionate about it in quite the same way as dt, and that carries through. heck, that's what brought me back for the specials and led me to rewatch the whole thing these last few months. every time i think about dt i just think "aw, it's so nice that a fellow nerd got to have so much fun" and I'm enjoying watching someone have that fun