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borrowedtimeandspace · 2 years ago

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Tables Turned

20. Intimidate

From this list of gt prompts.

AU: Alternate BTaS with Twelve, not related to the Twelve AU "Time After Time" as it predates that story. Set during s8e2 Into The Dalek.

Note: I went back and forth on making this from Clara's POV or Zepheera's, but the former lent well to this prompt so I rolled with it. Not quite a size swap, but a fun reversal to play with!

~~~

Clara had never focused on her breathing more than in that moment. All she could hear in her head was the Doctor's objectively silly, yet somehow incredibly potent warning on repeat in her head.

"Don't be lasagne."

Couple that with the mental image of her body popping like a microwave dinner with an unbroken film, and Clara had to concentrate on not just breathing normally, but to keep herself from hyperventilating.

Being crammed into a tube with four other people was a whole other matter, even if one of them was the Doctor. The brand new Doctor that she still had yet to get to know properly. Clara glanced at him as the countdown to the machine's activation began, and followed his sharp gaze to one of the soldiers outside their capsule.

Clara could just make out, through the curve of the thick glass around them, the distant silhouette of their third travel companion on the soldier's shoulder. The figure of a four and a half inch tall woman, standing well to the side of the unfamiliar human's neck in a manner quite unlike the more relaxed positions Clara was used to. Once the two women had gotten used to each other (and particularly back when the Doctor was a different, slightly more personable man), Zepheera could often be found in the crook of one of their necks for stability.

The Doctor wasn't the only one worried about leaving the borrower behind, but in the end they all agreed it was for the best. Even Zepheera's protests about her exclusion were silenced when he reminded her that they were being miniaturized to a microscopic level. He'd left nothing to the imagination as he pointed out the drastic size difference there already was between the borrower and her companions. If she were to join them, she'd be practically subcellular, and there was nothing that could save her if they were to be separated while in the chassis of the Dalek they were meant to examine from the inside.

That was almost a more sobering notion than the lasagne metaphor.

The hum of the miniaturization machine powered up, and the process began. Lost in her thoughts and her breathing, Clara almost missed that it had happened, it was over so quickly. Like they had all fallen a short distance, but experienced no impact.

The room outside their capsule had blown out into such incredible proportions that it was difficult for Clara to comprehend at first. The tremor that hit the miniaturized lot all at once felt like an earthquake, and yet Clara came to find that, based on the change in the looming shapes above, that it was one of many steps that one soldier had taken toward retrieving them from the machine. She'd only just begun to wonder why they had stopped at just one step when a new set of vibrations approached. These ones were far less intense but more rapid, and heralded a familiar shape.

Clara found her jaw dropping in awe as she stared up and up through the glass at the towering form of not one of the humans, but of the borrower, grinding to a halt after her jog to find them.

She knew for a fact that they were going to be miniaturized to a size far smaller than Zepheera's few inches, but knowing that fact and experiencing it were two very different things. Up til now, everything Zepheera did seemed light and nimble. The way she'd climb her way around and vanish from sight with ease after decades of practice was almost magical. Like something straight out of a storybook, Clara had thought.

Now, Zepheera felt like something out of a completely different story. The capsule itself was smaller than Zepheera's boot, which ordinarily barely covered one of Clara's fingertips. Every motion she made shook the ground as she dropped to her hands and knees to peer inside the capsule, her deep violet irises more clear to Clara than they'd ever been before.

The level of detail she could make out now was incredible! Short brown hair hanging like curtains of wire around her head, creases of concern in her features that Clara could probably fit her whole hand between. Speaking of hands, Zepheera's were pressed to the ground not all that far away, to support her impressive frame. The fingers were long enough to outmatch any of them, the whole hand large enough to pick up the capsule herself as though it were a discarded soda can. The massive chest overhead expanded and contracted as Zepheera breathed a sigh of relief to see everyone safe and no one made into unbroken lasagne, a displacement that felt like a gust to the miniaturized humans. Not to the point that it shook them up from inside their sturdy little tube of metal and glass, but in that way that you sense wind against a window in a building.

Someone chastised Zepheera for getting so close and interrupting procedures. As a sheepish look crossed her billboard of a face, Clara looked to the others around her. The Doctor was fine– well, as fine as he could be while preparing to enter one of his greatest enemies– and simply shot Zepheera a stern look over his shoulder. Seeing the tense body language of the soldiers who didn't know the towering borrower made Clara recognize that she, too, felt stiff all over at the sight.

Clara wondered if Zepheera felt so intimidated around herself and the Doctor sometimes.

The tremors of Zepheera sitting back on her heels were apparently enough to distract Clara from the approaching soldier, and the next thing she knew, there was an enormous pair of tweezers on either side of the capsule. Before they could connect, Clara shot one more look upwards at the borrower overhead, and their eyes met. Concern was still evident in Zepheera's expression high above, so Clara instinctively stuck out a thumbs-up for her.

Zepheera's brow rose, but then she smiled and held up her own thumbs-up. With a thumb that very well might have been taller than Clara at that moment.

Another humbling thought.

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shkspr · 3 years ago

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hi. on your post where you may or may not have ended on 'moffat is either your angel or your devil' did you have maybe an elaboration on that somewhere that i could possibly hear about. i'm very much a capaldi era stan and i've never tried to defend the matt smith era even though it had delightful moments sometimes so i wonder where that puts me. i'd love to hear your perspective on moffat as a person with your political perspective. -nicole

hi ok sorry i took so long to respond to this but i dont think you know how LOADED this question is for me but i am so happy to elaborate on that for you. first a few grains of salt to flavor your understanding of the whole situation: a. im unfairly biased against moffat bc im a davies stan and a tennant stan; b. i still very much enjoy and appreciate moffat era who for many reasons; and c. i hate moffat on a personal level far more than i could ever hate his work.

the thing is that its all always gonna be a bit mixed up bc i have to say a bunch of seemingly contradictory things in a row. for instance, a few moffat episodes are some of my absolute favorites of the rtd era, AND the show went way downhill when moffat took over, AND the really good episodes he wrote during the rtd era contained the seeds of his destruction.

like i made that post about the empty child/the doctor dances and it holds true for blink and thats about it bc the girl in the fireplace and silence in the library/forest of the dead are good but not nearly on the same level, and despite the fact that i like them at least nominally, they are also great examples of everything i hate about moffat and how he approached dw as a whole.

basically. doctor who is about people. there are many things about moffats tenure as showrunner that i think are a step up from rtd era who! actual gay people, for one! but i think that can likely be attributed mostly to an evolving Society as opposed to something inherent to him and his work, seeing as rtd is literally gay, and the existence of queer characters in moffats work doesnt mean the existence of good queer characters (ill give him bill but thats it!)

i have a few Primary Grievances with moffat and how he ran dw. all of them are things that got better with capaldi, but didnt go away. they are as follows:

moffat projects his own god complex onto the doctor

rtd era who had a doctor with a god complex. you cant ever be the doctor and not have a god complex. the problem with moffats era specifically is that the god complex was constant and unrepentant and was seen as a fundamental personality trait of the doctor rather than a demon he has to fight. he has the Momence where you feel bad for him, the Momence where he shows his humility or whatever and youre reminded that he doesnt want to be the lonely god, but those are just. moments. in a story where the doctor thinks hes the main character. rtd era doctor was aware that he wasnt the main character. he had to be an authority sometimes and he had to be the loner and he had to be sad about it, but he ultimately understood that he was expendable in a narrative sense.

this is how you get lines like “were the thin fat gay married anglican marines, why would we need names as well?” from the same show that gave you the gut punch moment at the end of midnight when they realize that nobody asked the hostess for her name. and on the one hand, thats a small sticking point, but on the other hand, its just one small example of the simple disregard that moffat has for humanity.

incidentally, this is a huge part of why sherlock sucked so bad: moffats main characters are special bc theyre so much bigger and better than all the normal people, and thats his downfall as a showrunner. he thinks that his audience wants fucking sheldon cooper when what they want is people.

like, ok. think of how many fantastic rtd era eps are based in the scenario “what if the doctor wasnt there? what if he was just out of commission for a bit?” and how those eps are the heart of the show!! bc theyre about people being people!! the thing is that all of the rtd era companions would have died for the doctor but he understood and the story understood that it wasnt about him.

this is like. nine sending rose home to save her life and sacrifice his own vs clara literally metaphysically entwining her existence w the doctor. ten also sending rose with her family to save her life vs river being raised from infancy to be obsessed w the doctor and then falling in love w him. martha leaving bc she values herself enough to make that decision vs amy being treated like a piece of meat.

and this is simultaneously a great callback to when i said that moffats episodes during the rtd era sometimes had the same problems as his show running (bc girl in the fireplace reeks of this), and a great segue into the next grievance.

moffat hates women

he hates women so fucking much. g-d, does steven moffat ever hate women. holy shit, he hates women. especially normal human women who prioritize their normal human lives on an equal or higher level than the doctor. moffat hated rose bc she wasnt special by his standards. the empty child/the doctor dances is the nicest he ever treated her, and she really didnt do much in those eps beyond a fuck ton of flirting.

girl in the fireplace is another shining example of this. youve got rose (who once again has another man to keep her busy, bc moffat doesnt think shes good enough for the doctor) sidelined for no reason only to be saved by the doctor at the last second or whatever. and then youve got reinette, who is pretty and powerful and special!

its just. moffat thinks that the doctor is as shallow and selfish as he is. thats why he thinks the doctor would stay in one place with reinette and not with rose. bc moffat is shallow and sees himself in the doctor and doesnt think he should have to settle for someone boring and normal.

not to mention rose met the doctor as an adult and chose to stay with him whereas reinette is. hm. introduced to the doctor as a child and grows up obsessed with him.

does that sound familiar? it should! bc it is also true of amy and river. and all of them are treated as viable romantic pairings. bc the only women who deserve the doctor are the ones whose entire existence revolves around him. which includes clara as well.

genuinely i think that at least on some level, not even necessarily consciously, that bill was a lesbian in part bc capaldi was too old to appeal to mainstream shippers. like twelve/clara is still a thing but not as universally appealing as eleven/clara but i am just spitballing. but i think they weighed the pros and cons of appealing to the woke crowd over the het shippers and found that gay companion was more profitable. anyway the point is to segue into the next point, which is that moffat hates permanent consequences.

moffat hates permanent consequences

steven moffat does not know how to kill a character. honestly it feels like hes doing it on purpose after a certain point, like he knows he has this habit and hes trying to riff on it to meme his own shit, but it doesnt work. it isnt funny and it isnt harmless, its bad writing.

the end of the doctor dances is so poignant and so meaningful and so fucking good bc its just this once! everybody lives, just this once! and then he does p much the same thing in forest of the dead - this one i could forgive, bc i do think that preserving those peoples consciousnesses did something for the doctor as a character, it wasnt completely meaningless. but everything after that kinda was.

rory died so many times its like. get a hobby lol. amy died at least once iirc but it was all a dream or something. clara died and was erased from the doctors memory. river was in prison and also died. bill? died. all of them sugarcoated or undone or ignored by the narrative to the point of having effectively no impact on the story. the point of a major character death is that its supposed to have a point. and you could argue that a piece of art could be making a point with a pointless death, ie. to put perspective on it and remind you that bad shit just happens, but with moffat the underlying message is always ��i can do whatever i want, nothing is permanent or has lasting impact ever.”

basically, with moffat, tragedy exists to be undone. and this was a really brilliant, really wonderful thing in the doctor dances specifically bc it was the doctor clearly having seen his fair share of tragedy that couldnt be helped, now looking on his One Win with pride and delight bc he doesnt get wins like this! and then moffat proceeded to give him the same win over and over and over and over. nobody is ever dead. nobody is ever unable to be saved. and if they are, really truly dead and/or gone, then thats okay bc moffat has decided that [insert mitigating factor here]*

*the mitigating factor is usually some sort of computerized database of souls.

i can hear the moffat stans falling over themselves to remind me that amy and rory definitely died, and they did - after a long and happy life together, they died of old age. i dont consider that a character death any more than any other character choosing to permanently leave the tardis.

and its not just character deaths either, its like, everything. the destruction of gallifrey? never mind lol! character development? scrapped! the same episode four times? lets give it a fifth try and hope nobody notices. bc he doesnt know how to not make the doctor either an omnipotent savior or a self-pitying failure.

it is in nature of doctor who, i believe, for the doctor to win most of the time. like, it wouldnt be a very good show if he didnt win most of the time. but it also wouldnt be a very good show if he won all of the time. my point is that moffats doctor wins too often, and when he doesnt win, it feels empty and hollow rather than genuinely humbling, and you know hes not gonna grow from it pretty much at all.

so like. again, i like all of doctor who i enjoy all of it very much. i just think that steven moffat is a bad show runner and a decent writer at times. and it is frustrating. and im not here to convince or convert anyone im just living my truth. thank you for listening.

#sorry if this is repetitive or makes no sense or if i got some details of the show wrong #i simply couldnt be bothered to put too much effort into this post #lest it become a research paper and take me several weeks to answer #anyway thats all my opinions #dw #ok to rb

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annafm · 4 years ago

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(MEDALION RAHIMI, NONBINARY) - Have you seen ANNABEL MAJIDI? ANNA is in HER/THEIR JUNIOR year. The LITERATURE + INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM MAJOR is 22 years old & is a SCORPIO. People say SHE/THEY are DILIGENT, ADROIT, CYNICAL and AUSTERE. Rumors say they’re a member of WINTHROP. I heard from the gossip blog that THEY ARE FAKING BEING A PSYCHIC. (JAMES. 21. EST. THEY/THEM.)

hllo this is anna i hvnt .. played her in a while <3 bt thts okay i think she is very fun 2 play bt like in the way tht she is <3 serious n mean a bit ... bt its okay .. LHKDSGFHLKSDHLKG im sorry this is long this is. an old intro i hvnt rly changed much >.>

CAR ACCIDENT, INJURY TW

aesthetic.

falling feathers darkened at the tips, tweed and pinstripes, red trenchcoats and plaid skirts, worn ballet shoes covered in dust, smudged eyeliner and unruly hair, boxing gloves, ornate canes and pain medication, bandaged hands, classical music floating throughout an empty ballroom, worn jackets and awkwardly cut t-shirts, spilled ink and stained hands, glasses skewed, sneers and jabs, constant fighting, smog in a city, spotlights and encores, piles of books and a long line, backless dresses and sitting alone at a bar, wariness.

basic.

full name: annabel odeda majidi

nickname(s): anna, annie (father only), anna-banana (father only)

b.o.d. - october 31st, 1997

label(s): the catalyst, the charlatan, the minefield, etc.

height: 5′6″

hometown: nyc, ny

sexuality: bisexual

stats

favorite song: you’re dead, norma tanega / now, your hope and compassion is gone / you’ve sold out your dream to the world / stay dead, stay dead, stay dead / you’re dead and outta this world

background.

born to two high schoolers who never married, firoj majidi and parvana banai. they were head over heels for each other - when firoj graduated he took up two jobs alongside community college to support their family, until parvana graduated and took on the arts.

growing up was tough - living in the city wasn’t cheap, parvana’s art rarely sold and the two often went without eating in order to provide for annabel. as a child she’d often wear hand-me-downs from extended family.

was taught to be a hard worker and it was reflected in her schoolwork - anna excelled in all her classes but especially english. her love for writing grew at a young age, and as a child she saved up enough money to buy herself proper journals.

the only thing that she grew more passionate towards than writing was ballet - she caught the image of girls flying through the air and landing on their toes in the window of a dance studio on a walk home from school one day and that was it - something clicked inside of her.

that same day she would spend hours prancing about their tiny apartment, trying to mimic what she’d seen. it was easy to spot the passion anna had for the dance - and within a few months they had saved up enough money for a month’s worth of lessons.

anna was ecstatic - her slippers were old and found in the back of a thrift store by an odd miracle, but she put her all into the lessons regardless. she was quick to pick up on each move, and by the end of the month it was clear that anna had a natural talent.

parvana picked up a job in order for them to keep affording the lessons, month after month - they weighed down on their pockets, but it kept anna happy.

flash forward a few years - life was good. money was still a struggle but they were tight knit.

or rather, anna thought they were tight knit.

firoj and parvana split up when anna was twelve - an event that rocked the young girl’s world, something that she couldn’t understand. they had kept up a front of love when anna was home from school or ballet - but behind doors, they had been growing apart.

anna viewed their separation as parvana running off with another man - an art collector who had a fascination with paravana’s paintings. she viewed this as the end of the world. she viewed this as the death of love.

when anna was twelve, she swore she would never fall in love - refused to believe in its existence. she couldn’t wrap her mind around the simple separation.

her father got a third job in order to keep up with payments, and anna pushed herself in both ballet and school - not being able to handle an empty apartment. she decided to get a job - to help ease her father, but was too young.

so anna decided to do what any average 12 year old would do. she started scamming people.

she’d sell store-bought lemonade as if it were homemade, stole ceramics from art class and sold them to neighbors. she found an old girl scouts uniform in the back of a goodwill and for the next month, she sold knock-off girl scout cookies from the dollar store - going door to door.

her personality had changed drastically - anna went from a sweet, optimistic girl with warm brown eyes and an infectious laugh to cold, calculated, and downright cruel. she knew what she wanted and how to get it.

she got an invitation to a prestigious private school, full scholarship, before she hit high school - originally wanted to reject it as the thought of being surrounded by new york’s richest teens was appalling, but their ballet program was a one-way ticket into the american ballet theatre. anna ultimately accepted the scholarship.

high school was immediately hell for her - pretentious rich kids who all shared a collective brain cell and her secondhand uniform being a prime target for them.

ballet got extremely competitive - anna was a threat to every dancer in their program, bullying and sabotage became standard - but anna retaliated when possible.

this all, however, suddenly stopped when anna picked up her latest scam: faking psychic. through a small network of ‘bees’ she’d pay to gather information (gossip, rumors, etc. etc.) she was able to accurately ~see~ into students’ past, present, and potentially future affairs. the money was very worth it.

from that point forward, people were intimidated by her.

when anna was 16 she was handpicked to join the american ballet theatre’s studio company, alongside 11 other lucky individuals. her dream from that point forward was to become the youngest principal ballerina for abt - and she was going to start by winning over the role of clara in their production of the nutcracker.

she was 17 when she was chosen, much to the dismay of the other girls. she had momentarily quit her ‘psychic’ business in order to dedicate the entirety of her time towards rehearsals & practice.

the final week before her first performance as clara, anna got into a car accident heading home after another tiresome rehearsal. knocked unconscious, anna woke up three days later with no recollection of the accident - and her leg freshly operated on.

it was a devastating event that should had killed her - maybe she would had been better off if it had - but instead, it had effectively destroyed any chances of her dancing professionally.

it took two months of extensive physical therapy for anna to walk again - now relying heavily on a cane.

with ptsd and depression weighing heavily on her shoulders, anna turned back to writing - mostly as a coping mechanism, but it soon became the fierce passion it once was when she was younger.

for the remainder of her high school life, anna dedicated the majority of her time towards recovery, her writing, and directing her school’s theatre productions. oh - and claiming that almost dying had given her the gift of mediumship. it wasn’t too far off from her psychic claims - her peers believed it well enough to either stay away, or pay her for a small amount of comfort.

decided to attend yates for their reputation despite her hatred for pretentious schools (very ironic because she herself is pretentious) & also. she had a scholarship <3 so.

in the midst of writing her first book that’s based heavily on her experiences as a low income student at a private school but like. she’s side-eying all these societies and seeing a Big Money Grab if she were to. write abt them instead

still can’t dance any longer, but she works as a ballet assistant for one of the dance instructors & still tends to barge her way into theatre rehearsals to <3 give her unwarranted opinion

personality & facts.

she’s not the friendliest person. knows what she wants and how to get it, and will not hesitate to use people or push them out of her way in order to achieve her goals.

her cutthroat nature was the reason for her success in academics and dance - tends to intimidate the students in the ballet classes she helps out in.

horribly stubborn - if she’s got an idea of you already in her mind, then it’s hard to convince her otherwise.

still uses a cane - in fact, she can’t really walk without it - unless she wants to be in pain.

it’s sturdy, ornate, and pretty fucking solid. doubles as a weapon if need be - has definitely … hit people with it before, though she’s calmed down now that she’s a little older.

used to be very angry, very defensive as a teenager - is still the same, just … less intense. will not hesitate to speak her mind and let her opinions known - especially in the face of injustice.

doesn’t really have the best … relationship with authority, mainly because of where she was raised and her con-artist businesses. tends to be snarky and sarcastic to anybody in charge - or really, anybody in general.

pretty distrusting, pretty emotionless on the outside, doesn’t like to be seen as weak or somebody to be pitied. keeps herself closely guarded and doesn’t really let others ‘inside’ due to her own comfort levels.

she’ll sleep around but dating is out of the question, for the most part - she’s been on a few blind dates, a few casual get-togethers - but she’s always the one to break things off. is more of a careful hook-up kind of gal.

still does her psychic medium business !! sometimes she wonders if she’s a bad person because of it - but ultimately, it’s on her customers for believing in all that nonsense anyway. anna herself is a skeptic - doesn’t believe in anything unless she can see it and feel it.

is actually … a pretty sentimental person, doesn’t take anything she’s got for granted, and is hugely appreciative of her father. sends him money when she can. hasn’t spoken to her mother in years - pretty sure she’s got a step / half-sibling or two but she’s never met them.

a lone wolf and likes it that way, but she isn’t super opposed to friendship - even if she won’t necessarily call anybody a friend. appreciates others who are similar to her - got their head on right, and knows what they want in life.

has a pretty bad fear of driving - will uber if she needs to go anywhere - even then, being in cars makes her pretty anxious. still has ptsd-induced panic attacks, though she’s managed them pretty well.

doesn’t really do drugs! will smoke weed to ease the ache and her nerves, but otherwise she only takes what is prescribed for her. doesn’t drink anything hard, either. big fan of beer and wine. probably gets wine drunk home alone late at night … like … two times a week.

goes between being high strung and uncaring - she’s not especially moody ( rather, is just consistently angry for whatever reasons ) but she definitely tries to bottle everything up.

probably keeps pepper spray on her at all times, even though she’s got her cane. has cat ear brass knuckles on her keychain - took advantage of the archery club at her private school. she’s not paranoid, she just likes being prepared.

has a soft spot for children, animals, and soft women. kind of person who will put herself in the line of danger in order to protect others - even if she doesn’t necessarily know them too well.

also the kind of person who’ll set something on fire - or do something because you’ve told her not to. incredibly spiteful when wronged. will raise hell if need be.

morally ambiguous tbh.

wanted connections.

who do u think i am ;; either uh. people who have seen her around campus being a bit of a freak like <3 kick someone’s tire in a small fit of rage <3 or spend 20 minutes trying to coax a cat near her so she could pet it <3 or having a that’s so raven moment <3 or someone who tried to help her out with something and she was like. excuse me. what the fuck. get away from me freak loser. maybe threatened them.

slowburn but make it evil ;; uh. when i played her as older she hd a plot where she <3 ws engaged n then broke it off bcos her fiance cheated <3 so i wld like another. plot where she actually <3 tries to enjoy someone else’s company and presence and it just ends up hurting her n reaffirming her idea tht love is? fake n dumb n stupid. thank u.

ykno ... a little dash of spice ... ;; uh. yknow just hookups. hateships <3 or they never talk abt what happened <3 or an awkward drunk one night stand <3 maybe a pregnancy scare and shes like Ah. motherhood Scares me. because she <3 hates her own mother <3 LDSLKFHLGSHLK. it leaves their relationship rly weird the whole ordeal ... maybe even just a blind date <3 or someone she ghosted

read my future ;; customers very classic uh. just people who come to her for her psychic readings <3 and her uh. talking to the dead <3 but also alternately. skeptics ?? people suspicious of her ?? very epic.

like actually Die? ;; enemies. she hates them so bad. maybe its one-sided. maybe theyre an annoyance. maybe she annoys them? very bad not very good.

and we dance dance dance, dance dance dance <3 ;; this is just. fr ballet students. or, hold up, consider this: someone who recognizes her frm this. very tragic event where she cld no longer b a ballerina bc i think it ws. like not the Biggest deal bt if ur muse ran in private school circles ykno ??

pet the feral cat ;; these r the soft <3 normal connections <3 someone she’s soft for / protective of. friends that she doesn’t completely hate.

i Do Not Know ;; i will. take anything. please. weed dealers, people she’s totally sus about for no reason. she steals and reads their mail. they have been rivals for years. they hv a special bond. they r strangers but they get stuck in an elevator. she’s tutoring them bt she wont let them take a break n she keeps making them recite fucking. shakespeare. anything is sexy and fun n cool

#yatesintro #car accident tw #injury tw #ptsd tw

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stcrtrek · 6 years ago

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A good turn of events was Twelve seeming at first as if he would be the most dark and grumpy doctor (because honestly he was just unsure of who he was at first) but actually being really soft, compassionate and would do anything for those he cares about; went so far to try to save Clara, saved Ashildr’s life (which turned out bad but had good intentions), punched a racist for mistreating Bill, finally took River to the Singing Towers Of Darillium, and saved Missy + tried to help her become good, stayed on Earth for 70 years for her, because he wanted his best friend back. In reality, he wasn’t dark or mean at all, he only really looked kinda grumpy, except for when he smiled, which was always wonderful. I love him and miss him.

#doctor who #twelfth doctor #clara oswald #bill potts #river song #missy #ashildr #twissy #twelve x river #twelve x clara

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annabcll · 5 years ago

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MEDALION RAHIMI / CIS FEMALE. — annabel majidi is really making a name for themselves as a tier 2 shepherd. i think that she is studying english + investigative journalism in their junior year at lockwood, living in audax. originally from new york city, new york, anna is known to be diligent & adroit, but can also be cynical & austere. — james / 20 / est / she/they.

4/5 !!! so close !! anna doesn’t really have ... any changes to her, except for her connections to the victims section so :^)

TW POVERTY, CAR ACCIDENT, INJURY, DEATH MENTION, GRIEF MENTION

a e s t h e t i c s

falling feathers darkened at the tips, leather jackets and pinstripes, red trenchcoats and plaid skirts, worn ballet shoes covered in dust, smudged eyeliner and unruly hair, boxing gloves, ornate canes and pain medication, bandaged hands, classical music floating throughout an empty ballroom, bomber jackets and cropped tees, spilled ink and stained hands, glasses skewed, sneers and jabs, constant fighting, smog in a city, spotlights and encores, piles of books and a long line, backless dresses and sitting alone at a bar, wariness.

general info !!

full name: annabel odeda majidi

nickname(s): anna, annie (hates), anna banana (father, exclusively)

b.o.d. - october 31st. scorpio child.

label(s): the catalyst, the charlatan, the crepehanger, the minefield

height: 5′6″

hometown: nyc, ny

sexuality: bisexual

stats

biography !!

parvana picked up a job in order for them to keep affording the lessons, month after month - they weighed down on their pockets, but it kept anna happy.

flash forward a few years - life was good. money was still a struggle but they were tight knit.

or rather, anna thought they were tight knit.

when anna was twelve, she swore she would never fall in love - refused to believe in its existence. she couldn’t wrap her mind around the simple separation.

so anna decided to do what any average 12 year old would do. she started scamming people.

high school was immediately hell for her - pretentious rich kids who all shared a collective brain cell and her secondhand uniform being a prime target for them.

ballet got extremely competitive - anna was a threat to every dancer in their program, bullying and sabotage became standard - but anna retaliated when possible.

from that point forward, people were intimidated by her.

she was 17 when she was chosen, much to the dismay of the other girls. she had momentarily quit her ‘psychic’ business in order to dedicate the entirety of her time towards rehearsals & practice.

it was a devastating event that should had killed her - maybe she would had been better off if it had - but instead, it had effectively destroyed any chances of her dancing professionally.

it took two months of extensive physical therapy for anna to walk again - now relying heavily on a cane.

with ptsd and depression weighing heavily on her shoulders, anna turned back to writing - mostly as a coping mechanism, but it soon became the fierce passion it once was when she was younger.

decided to go to lockwood after graduation in order to stay somewhat close to her father - she’s here on a full scholarship for her dual-major in english & investigative journalim

is in midst of writing her first book, based heavily on her experiences as a scholarship student at a private school, YA fiction, essentially - mostly just to dip her toes in the water and to try and become an established author. if it goes well, it’ll become a series.

the watershed app captured her attention immediately, and she’s been slowly trying to work her way up the tiers of shepherds. finds it completely fascinating, and uses it to help with her psychic business.

still can’t dance any longer, but she works as a ballet assistant for one of the dance instructors.

personality !!

lives in audax, where things break A Lot. she’s usually seen threatening RAs and maintenance men until they fix whatever problems. :^)

that being said - she’s not the friendliest person. knows what she wants and how to get it, and will not hesitate to use people or push them out of her way in order to achieve her goals.

her cutthroat nature was the reason for her success in academics and dance - tends to intimidate the students in the ballet classes she helps out in.

horribly stubborn - if she’s got an idea of you already in her mind, then it’s hard to convince her otherwise.

still uses a cane - in fact, she can’t really walk without it - unless she wants to be in pain.

it’s sturdy, ornate, and pretty fucking solid. doubles as a weapon if need be - has definitely … hit people with it before, though she’s calmed down now that she’s a little older.

used to be very angry, very defensive as a teenager - is still the same, just … less intense. will not hesitate to speak her mind and let her opinions known - especially in the face of injustice.

goes between being high strung and uncaring - she’s not especially moody ( rather, is just consistently angry for whatever reasons ) but she definitely tries to bottle everything up.

probably keeps pepper spray on her at all times, even though she’s got her cane. has a gun hidden in her dorm, cat ear brass knuckles on her keychain. she’s not paranoid, she just likes being prepared.

kind of wants to write a novel based off of watershed so! she takes a lot of notes - tends to be very observant.

has a soft spot for children, animals, and soft women. kind of person who will put herself in the line of danger in order to protect others - even if she doesn’t necessarily know them too well.

also the kind of person who’ll set something on fire - or do something because you’ve told her not to. incredibly spiteful when wronged. will raise hell if need be.

morally ambiguous tbh.

connections to the victims !!

tatiana samuels / mutually disliked each other and they’d avoid one another if possible. nobody is quite sure of why - some say it’s because tatiana was skeptical of anna’s psychic business, others say it’s because tatiana had gotten a bad fortune predicting her death.

george craig iii / once a friend of anna’s due to their similar personalities - their friendship was ended because of tatiana. once again - it isn’t quite known why, but it’s been hinted that tatiana had made george choose between her friendship & anna’s. tatiana had been the obvious choice, and that was that.

hana williams / a friend & a client, anna would regularly do tarot readings for hana. after tatiana, anna had tried to keep her readings positive.

christoph wainwright / enemies due to christoph pushing her buttons and generally just rubbing her the wrong way, her own suspicions leading to a natural defense against him, which he reflected.

wanted connections !!

maybe … a roommate?

acquaintances. people who’ve seen her around campus and are curious. people who’ve seen her like … kick someone’s tire in a small fit of rage or spend 20 minutes trying to coax a cat into coming near her so she could pet it.

someone from new york who recognizes her from whatever !! whether it’s from newspaper details of her incident, her legacy at her private school, her legacy as a ballerina before her incident, etc. etc.

has taken up boxing recently - so somebody whose helping her at the gym?

someone who tried to like. help her cross the road or something because they saw her with her cane and she yelled at them so now they’re in this weird spot.

dance students !! if somebody does ballet - she might be helping them.

someone she’s soft for for whatever reason :/

hookups !! of any sort !! the kind where you never talk outside of it, or a hate-fuck scenario … anything !!

customers who come to her for psychic readings and like. comfort in the form of talking to the dead.

people skeptical of her !! maybe trying to ruin her in some way.

other shepherds. someone higher up that she’s trying to manipulate in some way for her own benefits.

a drunk one night stand that neither wants to talk about.

a pregnancy scare with another, separate one night stand! it turned out to be nothing, but there was some. weirdness. between them afterwards.

a blind date or two dnfjgkmh

someone she ghosted :/

ok ok ok so … back when anna was an older muse, she was fresh out of a broken off engagement b/c her husband-to-be cheated on her … so i kinda want … smth similar to happen to her again ? y’know. make her fall in love. break her heart. ruin her again. it’d b fun ! angst is fun !

someone she’s like, protected from a creep at a bar or a club ! and now they feel indebted towards her and she’s just like uuuh no. stop.

annoyances !!

like … maybe a pal or two, or three. mainly just people she gets along with !!

on the other end - something where they just. despise each other for whatever reason. pure hatred.

hatred but make it sexy.

a dealer because even though she can get medical marijuana … it’s good to have a lil extra on ya :)

people She’s suspicious of for whatever reason - someone she caught doing something. suspicious. untrustworthy.

someone where their mail keeps getting mixed up.

uuh really im down for anything !!

#wshintro #car accident tw #injury tw #death mention #grief mention #being poor :/ tw :/#thts a joke im also very poor

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austarus · 7 years ago

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Barry Allen x Reader The Nutcracker AU

Major Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Flash or The Nutcracker and The Mouse King. I only changed a few things to fit the style of the alternate universe. This is my first time writing about an alternate universe that involves something as spectacular as the Nutcracker so hopefully it doesn’t suck.

Requested by Anon: Hi there! Is it possible you could write a Barry ALLEN imagine (The Nutcracker AU)?

Cast:

v Caitlin Snow –> Narrator 1

v Cisco Ramon –> Narrator 2

v Harry Wells –> Narrator 3

v Ralph Dibney –> Narrator 4

v Little Iris West –> Clara

v Little Wally West –> Fritz

v Joe West –> Dad

v Francine West –> Mom

v Godfather

v Prince Barry –> The Nutcracker

v Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N) –> Sugarplum Fairy

v King Eobard –> The Mouse King

~The West Living Room~

Caitlin (Narrator 1): It was Christmas evening. Outside, the world was cold and covered in sparkling frost, but inside the home of the West family everything was warm and bright as they prepared for Christmas day.

(The West family decorates the room for Christmas as Deck the Halls plays softly in the background)

Francine: Well done everyone, the house looks wonderful.

Joe: Now all we need is for your Godfather to join the party.

Cisco (Narrator 2): Just at that moment, there was a knock on the door.

(knock)

Cisco (Narrator 2): The children ran up to see who it could be and sure enough, there was the cheerful smile of the children’s Godfather.

(The Children’s Godfather appears on stage with a sack full of presents.

Iris and Wally run to greet him.)

Godfather: Dear me children, let me in or we shall all freeze on the doorstep!

Iris: Oh Godfather I’m so happy to see you!

Wally: Have you brought us some presents?!

Francine: Now Wally don’t be rude. Besides, you will need to wait for the morning before you open any presents.

Godfather: Of course, I have something for you Wally, and for you Iris. Come, we had better put all the presents underneath the Christmas tree.

(O Christmas Tree plays on the radio as the family put presents beneath the tree)

Harry (Narrator 3): Before long, all the presents were stacked in a colorful heap beneath the Christmas tree and the family were getting ready for bed.

Joe: Come along now, it’s time for bed. The sooner we go to sleep, the sooner it will be Christmas morning.

(Exit Iris, Wally, Francine, Joe, and Godfather. Lights fade to a dim blue color)

Harry (Narrator 3): But Iris found that she could not sleep, she was too excited about the present that her Godfather had brought for her. She crept into the living room for another look.

(Iris creeps across the living room to the tree and opens her present, taking out a nutcracker doll.)

Iris: What a sweet little nutcracker doll! He’s dressed so smartly! Oh, I love him!

Ralph (Narrator 4): Iris hugged the nutcracker tightly and then curled up under the Christmas tree and fell asleep to the music of carol singers in the street.

(During the first verse of Silent Night Iris wanders around, rocking the nutcracker doll, then curls up under the tree with the nutcracker hidden)

Ralph (Narrator 4): Suddenly, the clock struck twelve and Iris woke to find her nutcracker had turned into a prince!

(Chimes ring from the grandfather clock as Prince Barry kneels next to Iris and gently wakes her)

Prince Barry: Thank you Iris, your kindness has freed me from King Eobard’s evil spell. He will be angry, but don’t worry, my soldiers will protect you.

(Enter the toy soldiers, standing in formation on Prince Barry’s side)

Caitlin (Narrator 1): Just then, they heard many shuffling feet. The armies of King Eobard were on their way!

(The army of mice enters from the back of the stage and they stand facing the toy soldiers on the opposite side)

Make way for King Eobard

Cisco (Narrator 2): The army of mice stood and faced the army of toy soldiers. Then, King Eobard pushed his way to the front with an angry cry.

(King Eobard pushes his way through the army)

King Eobard: This girl has broken my spell and robbed me of my revenge! Now as punishment I shall kill Prince Barry and take this little meddler back to our lair.

(Prince Barry stands in front of Iris and draws his sword)

Prince Barry: While there is breath in my body you shall not touch her!

King Eobard: We will see about that!

(King Eobard draws his sword and they circle and begin to fight)

(The soldiers and the mice leap, shake fists, and throw cheese at each other while King Eobard and Prince Barry fight. When it looks like King Eobard has the advantage, Iris stuns him with her slipper and the mice scatter, taking the King with them. At the end of the fight the soldiers exit, and Prince Barry goes over to Iris)

Prince Barry: Thank you Iris, you have saved me again.

Iris: Oh, Prince Barry, I couldn’t let him hurt you!

Prince Barry: I don’t know how I can ever repay you… perhaps you would like to visit my kingdom for a little while?

Iris: Oh, yes please!

Harry (Narrator 3): Prince Barry took Iris’ hand and they went out into the night, through the falling snow

(The lighting changes to a lighter blue and as Iris and Prince Barry walk off)

~The Kingdom of Sweets~

(Enter Iris and Prince Barry. Sugarplum fairy (Y/N) ready to run onstage)

Ralph (Narrator 4): When they arrived in the Kingdom of Sweets, Iris couldn’t believe her eyes. There were lollipop trees and marshmallow flowers, sweetly glazed mountains topped with whipped cream, and buttercream frosting everywhere. As Prince Barry led Iris towards a huge marzipan castle, a beautiful lady ran to meet them.

Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N): Oh! Prince Barry! I thought I would never see you again! How did you ever escape? And who is this?

Caitlin (Narrator 1): Prince Barry explained everything that had happened since he had been turned into a Nutcracker by King Eobard.

Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N): How extraordinary! Please forgive my manners, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N). I am so grateful to you for returning Prince Barry to me. Come, we must have a celebration!

(Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N) leads Iris and Prince Barry to one side and then beckons the Snowflake dancers on stage)

Cisco (Narrator 2): Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N) called together people from all over the Kingdom to come and celebrate the return of Prince Barry.

Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N): Come and sit here, Iris. The citizens of our Kingdom of Sweets will perform their dances for you, to show our gratitude.

Harry (Narrator 3): The swirling colors and beautiful music lulled Iris until she could hardly keep her eyes open. As Prince Barry took to the floor with Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N) she finally fell into a peaceful slumber.

(The Nutcracker Prince and the Sugarplum Fairy dance as Iris falls asleep in the corner and as everything fades back to the West living room. Iris is now under the Christmas tree)

~West living room~

Ralph (Narrator 4): When Iris woke that morning, she was underneath the Christmas tree once more.

(Iris wakes up and stretches then looks around her)

Iris: What a strange dream… but where has my nutcracker gone?

Caitlin (Narrator 1): Try as she might, Iris couldn’t find the nutcracker doll anywhere.

(Iris walks around looking for her nutcracker doll as her Godfather watches her search from a far)

Iris: Oh, of course, he was with Sugarplum Fairy (Y/N) in the Kingdom of Sweets. Perhaps it wasn’t a dream after all.

Godfather: Good morning Iris. Looking for something?

Iris: Oh, Godfather… I’m sorry, I…

Godfather: I know. You won’t find him now. He’s back where he belongs. Are you sad that you won’t have a present to open today?

Iris: No, I’m glad I could help him. I’d rather know that he is alright than have a whole mountain of presents.

(Wally, Joe, and Francine enter the living room)

Francine: Oh, I see you’re up already.

Wally: Merry Christmas everyone!

#barry allen x reader #barry allen imagine #barry allen #the flash #the flash imagine #the flash x reader #iris west #joe west #wally west #harry wells #harrison wells #ralph dibny #caitlin snow #cisco ramon

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unwillingadventurer · 7 years ago

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Thoughts on Christmas special. Some negativity (obvs) under the cut so if you don’t wanna hear it, don’t read it. Some positives hidden in there too lol

Ok so we decided to watch the Christmas special after wondering whether we should but we got curious about Jodie and our Dad wanted to watch it so we agreed to give it a shot.

As as episode it wasn’t that bad, like it didn’t send us to sleep like last year’s but we also didn’t get much out of it. We couldn’t even remember why Twelve was regenerating despite seeing the last episode so that didn’t help us. The setting was a nice one, all snowy and at the South Pole and at the end of their lives. The death theme was a good idea but has been done ‘to death’ by Moffat so many times so we literally have no idea whether Clara, Bill etc are dead, alive or what they are by this point. We’ll probably get called stupid for not knowing the plots but it’s not our fault these episodes rarely hold our attention and we spend so much time cringing at dialogue that we miss stuff.

Anyway the idea of the two Doctor’s was nice and we love the transition from black and white to colour, like it was beautiful and the whole ‘709 eps earlier’ was cute. We got a kick out of all the black and white bits. But if only it had stayed like that. Ben and Polly weren’t really needed but at least they weren’t being mocked. David Bradley looked good as Hartnell, he has good mannerisms and he does his best but he just doesn’t feel like him. We found his very slow speech pattern slightly irritating and none of the script allowed him in any real humour that we’re used to. He’s at the end of his life but he’s also been through so much, he could make a joke here and there (he had time to be sexist). There was none of his grandfatherly charm, chuckle, hmms, protectiveness, nothing. We could have forgiven it though had the sexist stuff not been there. Also we did chuckle when he was being rude to Twelve i.e sunglasses, screwdriver lines, going on about saving the day because it was true. See why couldn’t this have been it? We could have enjoyed it then? Though we do find the constant need for meta to take us out of the story but what’s new? There was even a line about jokes being cut! If only Moffat could have cut the sexist ones! Anyway we’ll come back to the sexism later.

We loved the Christmas truce bit (we’re actually writing a fic set at the event so not sure whether bother now but anyway...) but so not surprised that Gatiss made an appearance again *snore*. The trenches bit was beautiful and the singing and the football and we’d personally love a whole episode devoted to that instead of constant episodes that switch settings throughout. Anyway that bit was nice and the Twelve and One emotional moments were not bad.

For some reason we used to love Bill but found her annoying here. Maybe it’s because we want her to be a real person not whatever the hell she was in this. And for an episode moaning about 60′s sexism, where were the real women in this episode? Cameos from Clara and Nardole were ok but we’re not fans of them so we didn’t really care.

Twelve’s regeneration speech went on for so long our mum looked at us and said ‘Just die already’ and it just felt so scripted. As usual, Peter’s performance is amazing but it was just too long for us and because we’ve had so many issues with the era, we didn’t feel as sad as we should’ve. Though in general, regeneration's excite us more than anything because we get excited about new Doctor’s. And Jodie looks cool from that brief scene, looking forward to that. Wonder what’s happening there, can’t wait for an entirely new fresh start.

Ok back to the First Doctor which was by far the worst part of the special, let’s face it the rest was a decent enough episode to enjoy. But we couldn’t enjoy it because we were distracted by the insanely out of character One who sounded like a drunk relative insulting everyone at Christmas. Now we read the spoiler lines to prepare ourselves and thank god we did because if we’d heard it without knowing we’d have choked on our twiglets. One line we may have shrugged off but nearly everything he said was sexist and frankly just embarrassing, He said more sexist lines in this one episode than he did in his entire run and he never said anything that bad ever. The worst thing is that Moffat didn’t even do any social commentary anyway. Everyone defending it kept saying ‘don’t bury your head in the sand, we need to comment on it’ like firstly, the One era was never that sexist and secondly, it wasn’t to discuss anything sensitively at all, it was to place crappy chauvinistic lines in One’s mouth for lolz and have 12 look good in comparison as he shouts ‘you can’t say that’ like One is a writer for the Daily Mail. It wasn’t even seen as bad just sort of ‘haha look how old and sexist I used to be’.

And being shocked at Bill being gay is just...ugh. He’s a time travelling alien who respects all life, just piss off, he loved Oliver Harper. And women made of glass? What the hell? He admired all his female companions and who’d describe Barbara, Vicki or Sara Kingdom as fragile? Hated that bit where he and the Captain were laughing, it was so disgusting, One would never do that. And why would he think men can’t be nurses? He had no problem with female astronauts! The whole thing was cringy as hell, we had to keep apologising to our parents. Also the ‘smacked bottom’ line, ugh everyone keeps saying ‘well he said that’ yes to his GRANDDAUGHTER! not to a grown woman stranger. He was treating Susan as a child which is the whole point of her bloody arc and it plays into the ending where he is forced to realise she has grown up without him really paying attention. People say embarrassing comments like that to their grandchildren. They don’t say it to twenty-something year old women, unless they wanna be slapped.

As for the sending the ladies back to the TARDIS. Where does everyone get this idea One did that? Half the time, they all went into the action and he stayed back? In the Reign of Terror, Barbara goes undercover which he allows whilst he waits! He laughs when Vicki runs off to investigate, he never sends any of them back because he believes they’re fragile, and to be honest we’ve seen that happen in other eras more including new who. Remember Eleven sending Clara back without telling her, or Nine with Rose? Also, ironic since Twelve sends Bill back to the TARDIS in the same episode. And One not being able to hug Bill, really, that adorable man who hugs every woman he travels with? Why are they making One out to be so cold, anti-social and pervy? This is The Tenth Planet not An Unearthly Child! The whole special made it seem as though Twelve was everything wonderful and One was useless and didn’t even have heroic moments. But that was the whole point of One’s arc, that he grew and changed and respected everyone.

So all in all, not happy that we’ve already seen people slagging off One, slagging off Hartnell and using this now as an excuse to bash the One era because they can come up with two lines from 130 eps they think are sexist (or racist which has nothing to do with this anyway). And some of our friends have got hate for expressing an opinion which is not on. The First era was progressive in lots of ways which of course was not celebrated because its easier to pretend that it was so horrible back then and that in comparison we’re better than that but really not much tbh and we find this current era much more troubling than any episode in the 60′s.

We hope new fans aren’t put off him because who the hell would want to watch a sexist, homophobic old goat? If you want the real First Doctor, watch any of his episodes and you will learn he is absolutely nothing like portrayed. He is an explorer, a grumpy but lovable rogue, a fighter, a granddad, a friend, standing up for injustice, a citizen of the universe and gentleman to boot. Now who do you believe? two of One’s biggest fans, or the writer who hates One era and has said so many times. The man who felt that Barbara and Ian stole screen time away from the Doctor. Yes that’s right, the female companion had more than the Doctor but he didn’t like that! Sexist huh? Verity Lambert would be so appalled. And all for what? A few jokes that weren’t funny? Sexism on Christmas Day, such fun! Did we really need that because the next Doctor happens to be a woman? Did Twelve only just realise that women are ok? sighs. No thanks, roll on next year! We hope we can love Who again.

#thoughts

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dreameater1988 · 8 years ago

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Season 10 - the verdict

If you’re just reading this to pick a fight because your taste differs from mine, then I suggest you don’t read further. However, if you’re up for a civilized discussion and exchanged of opinions, then go ahead :) I’m certainly not one to critize just for the sake of complaining, but I’d like to express my views on the latest season that has let me down.

Season 10 has sort of disappointed me. I truly loved S7-9 and I think S9 with all the emotion and the complex plots and twists and cliffhangers and character depth was the best of New Who, so I already suspected that S10 wouldn’t be quite as good, but it was still a disappointment.

Let me start with Bill’s character. Even though I hated the short clip they showed us a year before the season aired, I came to like Bill. However, I think the writers didn’t do her justice at all. Compared to all the other (especially Moffat) companions her character seemed very flat and not well thought out. This might be because every episode was basically written by a different writer and it felt as if they hadn’t actually sat down together and discussed the episodes. Bill even seemed a bit out of character on occasions. For example, she is sometimes described by Twelve as having a temper, which, to me, only really shows when she shoots the Doctor in The Lie Of The Land without a warning. However, that seemed to come completely out of nowhere to me. There was no reason, no build-up and I refused to believe that Bill would actually shoot her friend on a whim, only to stand by and gawk two minutes later when it turned out he had fooled her the entire time. Where was her temper when she realized it was nothing but a show? Also, do we ever really get a reason as to why she travels with the Doctor at all? Amy ran away with her imaginary friend on her wedding night because she didn’t want to grow up. Clara wanted to see the world and was offered the chance at something even greater. From all three Moffat companions Bill is the only one that seems like a rough draft, not a finished product. I liked Bill, but this is the reason I never really got attached to her. I know that many people complained about it in previous seasons and maybe that’s the reason Moffat did it, but we got so know so much about Amy’s and especially Clara’s life and I realized that I actually really loved that about the show. I liked it when it was Amy Who and Clara Who. I would have loved to know why Bill is serving chips and is not enrolled in the university when she’s such a clever woman and eager student. To me it really felt as if Bill’s character was unfinished and inconsistent and maybe it was supposed to have that effect on viewers, but if that’s it, then I didn’t like it that much.

Which brings me to the topic of plots. I thought that the majority of episodes had real potential. The ideas, the sci-fi, all of that was a really good idea - and it fell short. I think S10 can most easily compared to a puzzle and each writer was in charge of one piece, but they didn’t all fit together in the end. There was a gap here and some overlapping there and it just didn’t create a harmonious whole. I can’t even really pick a favourite episode because there’s something bothering me about every single one of them, but if I had to, I’d pick Oxygen. Why? Because it was the only episode that surprised me. The plot twist of having the Doctor go blind was amazing! And that’s about it. I’ve made a post about this before, but it still bothers me that the majority of episode was very predictable. For example, in Smile we get told the problem and the solution before the opening credits. We see the robots going crazy, we see that the city is made of them. For me, the fun part of watching an episode is to discover things along with the Doctor and companion and it’s even more fun when I have to think about it after the episode ends or rewatch it to fully understand what was going on. I just always thought Moffat was at his best when he used complicated plot twists that took a while to sink in (UTL/BTF) or left it completely open (Listen) and you can disagree on that because it’s a matter of taste. I also loved the plot arcs that spread over several seasons before finally being truly revealed (the crack, the silence). I don’t watch a lot of TV because I get bored very easily when the plot is too predictable and so far I had always thought that DW was one of those shows that could keep me on my toes, but S10 was too see-through for my taste. Especially Smile, Thin Ice, Knock Knock, Extremis and the finale. A week before The Doctor Falls aired I made a post (I don’t know if it was on here or just Instagram and Twitter) saying that I wanted Missy to kill the Master because she’s siding with the Doctor and when I watched exactly that happen on screen I opened my mouth and was about to say “And now the Master needs to kill Missy to close the circle” when that happened as well.

Another matter is the same issue I’ve had with Bill’s character and that is how most of the plots seemed more like drafts than finished productions and were rushed into completion. The best example for that is the Monk Trilogy. Awesome idea, truly awesome idea, but again it fell short. It could have been a wonderful, emotional three parter with loads of sci-fi, action and drama, but it just came out. . . dull. I had been looking forward to The Lie Of The Land a lot because I love a good dystopia setting, but the entire episode was just rushed through and they didn’t get the feeling and emotion across at all. It was just one weird scene after the other felt like I was fast-forwarding through the story.

One thing that I’ve always loved about DW was the emotions it could trigger in me. I’ve cried my eyes out over so many sad and moving scenes that I’ve lost count and that effect doesn’t vanish no matter how often I re-watch it. But the way S10 was rushed didn’t really give me any chance to actually get emotional over anything. I felt detached not just from Bill, but from the Doctor as well. The more the season went on the less I was actually looking forward to new episodes and I’m afraid that process started during THORS. S9 is my favourite and Steven Moffat’s masterpiece Heaven Sent/Hell Bent is just unbeatable in my opinion. Of course it could only go backwards from there, but I had expected a bit more than what we got. I have many things to say about THORS and none of them are good because to me that plotless episode felt like a slap in the face after the marvellous, rich S9 and I’ve never really recovered from that.

I watched S10 for Peter Capaldi and for Michelle Gomez mainly because those two were just as amazing as before, but there have been moments when I wished I could just switch off and walk away. In my opinion, Steven Moffat should have quit after Hell Bent because it makes me sad to think that Peter’s and Michelle’s talents were wasted on such a mediocre season.

Another thing that bothers me a great deal is Bill’s ending and how most people on the internet reacted to it. I was very surprised to see that people loved it. I didn’t. I really didn’t. It doesn’t matter that she became like Heather and travelled the universe in this form, what matters to me is what happened before. I have always found the Cybermen to be the eeriest of DW monsters simply because of the way they are made and to have a companion, a friend of the Doctor, suffer that fate is terrible. Bill’s body was chopped up and thrown away, her consciousness put in a metal body while she was waiting for the Doctor to come and save her. She suffered in her Cyberman form up to the point that she basically asked the Doctor to end her existence before she keeled over and died. That is a good story, but it is NOT a good ending for a young woman like Bill.

This post could be a lot longer because I have more to say about the season, but I think I’ll leave it here. This show has been my favourite since S7 and I will always treasure the seasons that we got up until 10. That is also why I’m definitely going to give the new Doctor a chance - whoever they are - but my excitement for the show has already died during THORS. I might love what comes after Peter, I might not, but I just don’t feel the same love for the show anymore than I’ve felt during S7-9.

#peter capaldi

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precise-desolation · 8 years ago

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[[Okay, guys. I am slowly, slowly working my way through drafts. I’ve been mostly over on my Doctor Who blogs lately. What with the reveal of the Thirteenth Doctor’s actress (yes, actress; I am excited) and with having finally watched Scream of the Shalka recently, I’ve kind of thrown myself headlong back into that fandom. I haven’t consistently watched the show since sometime in undergrad. Mostly because I didn’t get BBCA, but also because I just got so fed up with Eleven and his companions who were puzzles rather than people that I didn’t feel like making the effort to keep up anymore.

And I am very long-winded and also a huge Whovian, so I will put the rest of my rambling under a read-more.

But my roommate and I are watching New Who (we started with Nine because he’d never seen any Doctor Who) and Twelve has given me hope. Watching Clara change when she was with Twelve verses when she was with Eleven is like night and day. Takes a few episodes, but it’s like “Wow, you’re actually a human being with actual flaws and strengths and feelings and not just an enigma with no personality.” I do rather agree with the theory that Peter Capaldi came in and led a revolt and somewhere along the lines they just tied Moffat up and shoved him in a broom closet, because the writing did basically a complete 180. It still has its issues, to be sure, but it’s amazing the differences.

I’ve also, as I said, watched Scream of the Shalka finally. It’s part of the Doctor Who Extended Universe (or EU) and hails from the time after the movie but before New Who when BBC was almost certain they would never get the show back on air. Their solution? The internet. It’s this very short six part flash animated story arc featuring a new Doctor and Master. Of course, if you’re familiar with the movie, the Master dies at the end. But more specifically, he falls into the Eye of Harmony, which is basically the heart of the TARDIS. That bit is important. And then at the very end of the movie, the Eighth Doctor receives a message about a war between the Time Lords and the Daleks and returns to Gallifrey to lend whatever aid he can.

Of course, that movie was supposed to bring the show back on air. (I remember my dad losing it over that. Have I mentioned I was raised by utter nerds?) But it just kinda... didn’t. That was the only thing Eight ever appeared in on screen until Night of the Doctor, the short prequel to the 50th anniversary special, Day of the Doctor. A full seventeen years later. (Although they did do another flash animated short featuring the Eighth Doctor around the same time as Scream of the Shalka.) Now, this was back in the day before YouTube. Yes, there was an internet before YouTube. We had things like NewGrounds and Albino Black Sheep. Which featured a shitton of flash animated videos. I remember this because I am old. But in keeping up with the tech of the day, they flash animated these arcs. Which can make them a bit odd to watch if you aren’t used to that.

Scream of the Shalka, though... It introduced the first Ninth Doctor and a new version of the Master. This iteration was later replaced in the primary canon by Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor when New Who started. There are some striking similarities in the two, but also a world of difference. Eccleston’s Nine was very much a soldier who had seen too much of war. That was true, too, of Shalka Nine. However, the Shalka Doctor was much, much closer in characterization to the Classic Who Doctors. I think the only New Who Doctor who has come even remotely close is Twelve, but even there the differences between Old and New are steep. There’s a huge difference, too, in the characterization of the Master between Old and New Who. Again, I’d say the closest to the Classic Who characterization is Missy. So it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that the dynamic between Twelve and Missy is also the closest to the dynamic between the Master and Doctor of Classic Who out of all the Masters and Doctors of New Who. But the Shalka Doctor and Master retain that very definite “best frienemies” sort of relationship. They act like an old married couple, assuming that married couple consists of a psychopath who enjoys making the other’s day miserable in tiny, petty ways and also occasionally poisoning their food and a put-upon “responsible” partner who runs around the universe cleaning up the other’s messes.

So some of the things I’ve mentioned earlier should make it no surprise that I grew up on Classic Who reruns. My father actually wanted to name me after one of the Fifth Doctor’s companions, that is the extent to which this has been involved in my life. I watched primarily Four and Six growing up, but did see bits and pieces of the others. And one thing I have always loved is the relationship between the Doctor and Master. It’s dysfunctional as all hell and most definitely not healthy, but it’s also interesting and oddly charming. Mostly, I think, for their snark and pettiness over ridiculous things at some times but their genuine concern for one another at others. And they did care for one another, no matter how disturbing the manner in which that care and affection was expressed. They had been close friends since childhood, a point which is addressed in both Classic and New Who as well as extensively explored in the EU. Their relationship was dynamic and layered and interesting to watch unfold.

Scream of the Shalka retains that. As I said earlier, at the end of the movie, the Master dies by way of falling into the Eye of Harmony. The heart of the TARDIS. The TARDIS is no ordinary ship, though. It’s sentient. It is essentially a living, intelligent being that grows and changes and expresses opinions and makes decisions. It just also happens to be a bio-mechanical entity. And it exists across all of space and time simultaneously, which is how it’s able to travel the way it does. So basically what you have, then, is a living mobile supercomputer. Another detail about Time Lords is that when they die, their consciousness is uploaded into a huge database, called the Matrix. (No, I could not make that up if I tried.) Time Lord technology. So it stands to reason that if Time Lords can upload their consciousness into what amounts to a really advanced computer data base, then a sentient supercomputer of a species that has co-evolved with and been heavily influenced by Time Lords would be able to do the same thing. This is why the manner of the Master’s death is significant. He fell into the heart of the TARDIS. His physical body would have been destroyed, as the Eye of Harmony is basically a star trapped in an endless sate of decay. But I see no reason why his consciousness, which basically amounts to electrical impulses, couldn’t have been uploaded by the TARDIS.

So if he was destroyed, how is he present? Well, that’s not terribly clear. You see, all we really have, at least in a film format, of the Shalka Doctor and Master is six, fifteen minute episodes. Not a whole lot of time for backstory. However, two things are revealed that are extremely significant. The first is that the Doctor is apparently not able to travel freely. Someone - ostensibly the Gallifreyan High Counsel, since it’s not addressed whether or not Gallifrey survived the war in this timeline and the Doctor was living as a fugitive prior to the war - seems to be controlling or limiting his and his TARDIS’s ability to move within the Time Vortex, just based on his dialogue. So he is seemingly a prisoner in his own TARDIS. That does make the Master’s presence make more sense. Evidently, at some point the Doctor was either so desperate for company or missed his friend so badly that he built an android fashioned after the Master. (He appears to be a blend of Delgado and Jacobi.) One would have to assume, then, that he was also able to download the Master’s consciousness from the TARDIS into the android. Now, the Doctor is many things, but an idiot is not one of them. Letting the Master back out to roam the universe, this time in a body made of circuitry rather than soft, vulnerable flesh, would be a terrible mistake. The Doctor may be fond of the Master, perhaps even love him, but he is also aware that the Master is dangerous. Because of this, he has fail-safes built in that don’t allow him to leave the TARDIS and that give the Doctor the ability to switch him off if need be.

And if you’re wondering, I do have good reason for thinking all of these things. As far as the Doctor and Master’s relationship, when the Master is first introduced in Scream of the Shalka, he tells Alisha that “I pride myself that I am the dearest companion of the owner of this craft.” Fast forward to New Who and we have a scene where Missy gifts the Twelfth Doctor a legion of cybermen so that they can conquer the universe together. The Tenth Doctor tries to get the Master to abandon his scheming and run away with him to see the universe together. Their close, if horrendously fucked up, relationship is a well documented fact of the Whoniverse.

And then there’s the situation with the Doctor’s ability to travel and with the Master’s reappearance as an android. In one of the first scenes of Shalka, the Doctor is seen seemingly shouting at the sky that “I won’t do it!” It’s worth noting that at this point he doesn’t even know what “it” is. He basically walked out of his TARDIS, went ‘this is not the time/place I was looking for,’ and then declares he won’t do it. “It” ends up being saving humanity. Again. As to the Master, given what we know of Time Lord tech, the nature of TARDISes, and the manner of his most recent death, it’s really the only logical answer.

And I don’t even remember where I was going with all of this, but it’s a quarter to 3am. So I am going to go sleep now before I ramble for another two pages or so.]]

#off mission #who is the author #[[Have I mentioned lately that I am a fucking nerd?]]

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