#self ribo

[jongnado]

HES SO BEAUTIFUL ☹️☹️‼️‼️

CRAZY FORM — jongho

[nomstellations]

A Feast fit for a Glutton

hi! here's that self indulgent ass vore fic i wrote in a moment of strong thirst. 1.5k words, contains male pred/female prey, quarter size vore, pokevore, stuffing, some suggestive bits (mostly just moaning) and mentions of digestion (it happens to the food rather than the prey). the characters here are both my ocs and are in a relationship (sorta), and of course the pokemon depicted are gijinkas!

The table was set. 

Delicious food ranging from tender steaks, to lamb chops, to crab legs and other seafood with a wide array of sides and snacks covered the table completely. This was…probably not even enough to satisfy him completely, but it was the best she could do with what was available. She had a feeling he'd be having a little extra dessert afterwards, but…this was a reward for a battle well-fought. He did the best, and her team was always made to feel special for doing so.

Celeste didn't have to wait long- the smell of food always attracted the Reuniclus, who floated right into the dining room with a lazy, hungry smile on his face. "Woah-ho-ho~! A whole feast for me, Lessie? I think I just died n' went to heaven, heh heh~"  Celeste just smiled, watching as her childhood friend eyed the bountiful feast before him. "You know the way it works, Ribo! You perform well, you eat well! Whatever you want, you can have." A sly smile spreads upon his face. "Whatever I want, eh…? Oh, I've got myself a greeeaaat idea, heheh…" 

In a literal flash, Celeste found herself standing near the table's leg. He's gotten a lot snappier about using Minimize- and his telekinesis gently lifted his small trainer up to his smug face. "As much as I'd love to claim my prize now…I can't let this food go to waste! You can have the best seat in the house while I feast, how's about that lil' Lessie?" She sighs, rolling her eyes. She figured he'd want to devour her too, but this was his victory meal… "Alright Ribo, whatever. You're letting all the things I made get cold!"

Making a satisfied hum, the Reuniclus cradles his trainer in his squishy jellylike hands as he settles himself into a chair situated in front of all the food, letting her rest in his lap right in front of his stomach. It was audible how hungry he was, it growled and whined pathetically as if he hadn't eaten all day. That was quick to change- Ribo wasted no time in digging into his feast, and the quiet of the room was overtaken by the sounds of his gorging. Being where she is it was easy to hear- the smacking of his lips, every gulp and swallow he took, and the gurgling of his stomach as it started to fill with food. He really knew how to pack it away…

Celeste's mind wandered as he ate. She was going to be part of that at some point- she had no idea how he could fit that much food into him and still have room for a person, but Ribo had always been a big eater for as long as she’s known him. He somehow managed to stay rail-thin despite his constant gorging…maybe psychic types had particularly strong digestive systems to keep up with their energy demands. She wasn’t particularly worried about being eaten either, despite the risks that came with being eaten alive. He’s done it before and while it got her clothes dirty, she was ultimately unharmed. He claimed he could only feel full once he had swallowed her, but she had the feeling he had just developed a taste for his trainer at some point…

Speaking of that…a rumble rippled its way across her back. His stomach was full enough to press against her already? She hadn’t zoned out for long, but when Celeste turned she was greeted with his rounded gut starting to peek out from beneath his shirt. The sounds of digestion were audible, his stomach busily burbled and gurgled as it worked at his meal. Ribo leaned back as he started to chug a bottle of soda, and Celeste could just barely hear it fizzing as it collected inside his stomach. He belched as the bottle was emptied, and his stomach bubbled with carbonation. She opted to work her little hands into his stomach, kneading out a few extra belches and satisfied hums and moans from her pokemon. She won’t have to worry about too many belches squeezing her now…she turned around and let herself rest against his belly again, with the sounds of digestion overtaking her thoughts. But now that she thinks about it, he's been awful quiet after that…

Ribo's hand came suddenly, scooping her up in one smooth movement and holding her up in front of his face. He slowly licked his lips, smiling as he cast his hungry gaze on her. “Heeeey~ Guess who's got room for dessert? And guess who's lookin’ like dessert…”Celeste took this opportunity to look back at the table, seeing that he somehow managed to pack away most of that feast she made. “Ribo, I just don't know how your stomach does it. That was enough food for four people!” Her companion beamed proudly, with his stomach echoing the sentiment with a loud grumble. “That's a trade secret, eheheh! Say, why don't you ask it in person? But…mm…you could be bigger…”

He set her down again, right on top of his belly as his eyes glowed. Her size shifted once more, only growing large enough to just barely wrap her arms around his stuffed gut. “Mm~ Much better, wouldn't ya say Lessie? Dessert's got to be the cherry on top after all!” Both of his hands came to lift her up, positioning her above his head with her looking down at him. “Come on, Ribo…it's not like you to draw out mealtime.”“Oh?” One of his slimy horns twitched. “You're making it sound like you want to be inside, heheh~ Your wish is my command, my lady~”

His tone was playful and teasing, Celeste couldn't help but flush at his callout. Ribo’s maw opened wide beneath her, his tongue wiggling playfully as he began to lower her inside. His tongue traveled up her legs; a pleased hum vibrated around them as his mouth closed. The tasting continued for a moment before he suddenly swallowed, pulling her lower half and most of her torso into his mouth and down his throat. She kept still for now- he mostly loved a struggle once she was entirely sealed inside. He was really taking his time, holding her there for a minute or two before opening up to swallow again. His trainer sunk deeper into him, with her head being the last thing left to swallow. Faintly, she can feel fingers press against her from outside…and with a final, deep gulp, she was pulled down his gullet. The slide down was slow- he didn't bother with actively swallowing anymore, instead opting to let peristalsis do all the work. Gently, Celeste was pulled down past his excitedly thumping heart, and she could hear his busy stomach beginning to approach.

It felt like forever, but she was finally pushed into Ribo's gut. It was mostly full of half-digested gunk, though there were definitely whole chunks of food he gulped down in here. There wasn't a lot of room to start with, and the chyme reached her chest, but she pushed and squirmed around in an effort to settle in. The contents of his stomach sloshed around with her movements, grumbling and burbling noisily as its meal got comfortable. “Oooh~ aah, mmgh…Lessie…” He moaned in stuffed bliss, hands already pressing against his stomach to knead and massage it. “You fill me so good…~”

Someone sounded happy. Good, that was the point of all this. A belch suddenly rippled out of him, causing his churning stomach to close in tight for a moment. The walls relented only slightly, pushing against her as it worked on processing all of this food. Celeste reached out, pressing her hands into the folds of his gut to help it along. “Ohh, perfect.…good girl, that's the spot…” The Reuniclus reclined there for a short while, resting his hands on his stomach and just enjoying the feeling of being full. Any outsiders could clearly tell by his large round stomach and the loud sounds of digestion that he had a large meal to sleep off, and the gentle movement and bumps from inside meant it was particularly lively…but to her surprise, she could feel movement after a while of thinking he had fallen asleep.

“Mmh, so sleepy…let's go enjoy you somewhere more private, hm?”

He stood up, his gut sloshing and rocking as he moved. Celeste's world rocked around her, but the steady rhythm of the stomach walls shifting and compressing didn't let up an inch. Ribo moved slowly though the movement stirred up a couple belches; his destination was a hammock set outside in the sun. He carefully settled inside, unbuttoning his pants to let his gut expand as he laid down. The extra room wasn't much for his dinner guest when she was sharing space with a pool of half-digested food, but her new resting position wasn't bad. 

The sunlight against his stomach helped stir up digestion even more, making his belly warm and active. On the outside he slowly rubbed and kneaded his stomach, swaying in the hammock. The heat and movement was relaxing, and she knew she'd be released eventually…slipping into a food coma with her lifelong companion wasn't a bad idea.

[eretzyisrael]

by Troy O. Fritzhand

Ishay Ribo, center, performing on stage. Photo: אביחי ג’רפי via Wikimedia Commons

Protests are scheduled at Harvard University in opposition to one of Israel’s most popular singers, who is set to perform on Tuesday. The concert of Ishay Ribo is being organized by Chabad of Harvard with the goal of raising money for Israel.

“Jewish hate and anti-Israel voices are targeting Harvard Chabad and Israeli artist, Ishay Ribo,” the campus group posted on Instagram. Continuing, they said, “Ishay is a man who embodies profound love and peace. His music inspires the soul and elevates consciousness. Jewish consciousness, and human consciousness.”

The post came after a self described “radical bookstore” in Boston, Lucy Parsons Center, posted on its Instagram, calling on anti-Israel protestors to “Join us for a PICKET AND PROTEST” of the show. They noted that the staff of the Sinclair Music Hall, where the concert is scheduled to take place, boycotted the event and the venue was forced to hire outside staff.

Chabad of Harvard added: “This evening was created to lift the spirits of Israeli and Jewish students suffering from Jew-hate on college campuses. Love, peace, and music will prevail.”

The protest comes as Harvard has gained a reputation since the war’s outbreak on Oct. 7 — when Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took hostage over 250 — for a lack of support of the school’s Jewish students. This included a Congressional hearing where then-university President Claudine Gay refused to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews, saying that they may or may not violate of Harvard’s code of conduct, “depending on the context.” Due to plagiarism accusations and backlash over the incident, she resigned in January.

[trickricksblog08]

It is proven that water is consciousness, can retain memory & be imbued with intention — you are mostly water, then how powerful is your DNA?

DNA is Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Deoxy-Deus in Latin = GOD. Ribo or Rabbi = Master. Nucleic means Center. Acid is Alchemical Fire. DNA means GOD, Teacher & Master — the Internal Fire at the Center of my Being. Our DNA is the GOD molecule — the blueprint of the Divine Human Being. It is the teacher & it speaks to its “MESSENGERS'' to carry out its work. mRNA is “messenger” RNA & its job is to carry out the duties of the DNA GOD molecule. When our body heals, it is our DNA giving messages to the mRNA to self heal.

Now we can start to understand what all the fuss is about with human mRNA. Who is trying to hack human DNA right now? What are their motives? Are you going to program your DNA or allow others to program it for you? Hint: those that want to program other people’s DNA usually do not have their best interest for them. ✨🧬👁🧬✨

[bikerjongho]

@tristeetconfus btw -- jongho is next in the sinisterwise series if i ever get to it. i have about 4.5k words (💀) so far

fuck it, snippet of jonghos fic in the sinisterwise universe

[cringecompanionapologist]

Crack Headcanon About the Guardians

The White and Black Guardians really don't fit in Doctor Who. TV Tropes can briefly sum up why better than I can by myself:

The Doctor is very much a Chaotic Good with his main reoccurring enemies having something of a Lawful Evil streak.

It's really common in sci-fi and fantasy to have a sort of moral system controlling the universe that's polarized into Order and Chaos, usually with Order being good and Chaos being evil. This is exactly what the White and Black Guardians are. This is the opposite of how Doctor Who usually works, where Order is associated with the villains with the hero as a force of Chaos. It's especially out of place in the era of the show the Guardians were introduced into, since Four is probably the most philosophically chaotic Doctor. The Ribos Operation even seems to acknowledge that by having the White Guardian threaten the Doctor to get him to cooperate. The Doctor doesn't run errands for the God of Order unless he's under duress.

The Black Guardian trilogy doesn't lampshade how much the Guardians don't fit the show like Season 16 does. It feels like someone (Robert Holmes?) writing for Doctor Who in 1978 was aware that a story arc revolving around a battle between a Good God of Order and a Bad God of Chaos, though that can work in some sci-fi/fantasy stories, just doesn't work with Doctor Who. No one in 1983 seemed to be aware of this. The White Guardian is portrayed as the God of Good and the Black Guardian as the God of Evil and that's that. The Fifth Doctor is a little more well-mannered and traditional than the Fourth, preventing it from being too obviously out of place.

So, it's Story Time :)

So, because of this ideological contradiction, I try to headcanon the ongoing struggle between the White and Black Guardians as more of a They Both Suck Actually Just in Different Ways situation. The Black Guardian embodies Chaos, Chaos without any order, emotion without any restraint or self-control. This is why his plan sucks. He's just reacting to things and lashing out when he doesn't get his own way. He's angry at the Doctor, so he wants to kill him. The God Rules seem to prevent him from doing anything directly, so he has to be able to plan enough to get someone else to do it, so does, but he picks the wrong person and then starts throwing violent temper tantrums and hurting him when he can't do what he was asked to do.

Meanwhile, the White Guardian or Order without Chaos, a being of control and discipline without emotion. He has no motivation to deliberately hurt anyone, but he will Do What Needs To Be Done to defeat the Black Guardian without remorse. Instead of acting impulsively, he has overly complicated plans. In this case, it's a plan to get the Doctor to cooperate with him in a situation where he really could've just asked.

It begins with the Eternals and their race. The Eternals sort of don't understand morality and are motivated mainly by boredom. This makes them perfect for the Black Guardian. Their desired for amusement without any respect for the lives of the mortals they treat like toys would cause chaos. So, the Black Guardian gives the Eternals an idea for a race, and the winner will receive Enlightenment, which sort of functions as Their Heart's Desire. They want to be entertained and they will have the knowledge and power to never be bored again.

I know what I said about the Black Guardian not planning. This story is flawed.

But, any Eternal could win the race. Any of them winning would probably be bad, but the Black Guardian wants to make sure the most chaotic scenario occurs, so he singles out the Eternal who'd be the most dangerous with Enlightenment. None of the Eternals really understand pain or death, because they can't really be hurt or killed, but that ignorance manifests in different ways. Wrack is fascinated by suffering, so she inflicts it to entertain herself. She's be the most destructive with Enlightenment. So, the Black Guardian makes a deal with her to help her cheat to win the race.

Honestly, the White Guardian was probably already aware that the race was a bad idea and that giving Enlightenment to Eternals would cause problems. He finds out what the Black Guardian's up to and starts planning against it. He'd need to get someone involved in the race that wasn't an Eternal and wasn't under their control. Also, anyone given Enlightenment would act in some unpredictable, potentially destructive way, so he'd need someone who could win the prize but wouldn't take it.

This ends up going back to the Doctor, since the White Guardian has roped him into working for him before. But, this put in on the Black Guardian's bad side. Working for the White Guardian really isn't good for him, so he's not sure if he can persuade him. Considering the danger the Eternals could present, the White Guardian probably could've just asked, but I said before that he overcomplicates. He has to make the Doctor want to get involved.

This leads to a complicated scheme that amounts to something that sometimes happens in video games. The protagonist has a loved one of some sort, a love interest or a family member, and they get poisoned or turned to stone or something like that. If the hero wants to save them, they need to get the cure, but the one person who can give them the cure will only do so if they go on a quest for them first.

The White Guardian directs the Black Guardian towards his scheme. On the WG's side, the plan is to give the Doctor a new companion, who the Black Guardian will try to use against him, knowing that the companion won't actually be able to harm the Doctor and the BG will torture him for it. The Doctor will recognize the signs of the BG's involvement, having dealt with this sort of thing before. In order to save his companion, he has to confront the BG and the WG just so happens to show up and give him the opportunity...Then, when the Doctor wins the race, Enlightenment can be used to save the companion, because Their Heart's Desire is definitely going to be something that will get the BG away from them.

The White Guardian has a better judge of Turlough's character than the Black Guardian does and knows that he can't hurt the Doctor. He's scared and desperate, but he's not evil, and the Doctor can basically give him whatever the BG offers him for free. The Doctor will ultimately get a new friend out of the deal and this poor, pathetic, meow-meow alien exile can leave Earth, so he'll be fine with whatever he was put through in the long run.

But seriously, if the White Guardian had just asked, Five probably would've helped out.

[nines82]

Defining Doctor Who Forever - A Review of Tom Baker's Tenure (1974-1981)

In 1974, the titular Third Doctor met his end after a moment of self-sacrifice for the good of humanity and the universe. And in the moment, the world saw The Doctor transform into the enigmatic Fourth Doctor. This era is truly one of the greats, though in my sights I see that the first two series are better than the ones following and I do feel Pertwee's era was overall much more consistent (and better), I couldn't help but adore my time watching the exploits of the Fourth Doctor and his companions across time and space while battling monsters and the odd ideological warfare. The budget has increased substantially so the visual effects and practical work is just perfection, and while the new CGI added elements does in fact enhance or even prove superior to a lot of the props and miniatures that were originally in the productions I do prefer the original props because of that "it's on camera" bias. Many stories prove to be the best of the Classic era and even the IP as a whole, even hard to top to this very day despite the many greats of later incarnations. Tom Baker is the Doctor is instantly grabbing, utterly stealing the moment with not only his outfit but his acting prowess. Baker really elevates an almost Shakespearean quality to the Doctor when performing philosophical pieces or in his ideological battles against other like Morbius. The charm and wit of Baker allows the Fourth Doctor's interactions to seem almost otherworldly, like the true sense of "alien" in the old man. And even in his later, less enthusiastic periods of the end of the line his moments do come out and he can bring truly stunning performances. The cast of Tom Baker's era is also quite good, though it takes a dive once Adric enters the picture and I'd argue Romana isn't that much to write home about despite being our first Timelord companion. Baker's era kind of falls into this problem of not really giving a lot of strength to the companions nor giving specifically the women much to really do. As Elisabeth Sladen once put it, it's a lot of "yes doctor" and while for audience surrogate it is nice I feel at a certain point you wonder why does all companions seem so subservient and blend together. Though, I do feel those of Tegan and Nyssa to be the better side of this edge of women since they get plenty of times to shine when push come to shove. Of course, The Master returns as well as Tremas Master and while he is no Delgado I do feel Anthony Ainley is a worthy successor to Delgado. The ultimate downfall of the era is that gradually it falls into formulas that we have seen before and they don't really get that feeling of fresh attempts of it. I'd say the best showcases of the era come in the form of worldbuilding, so much new information about The Doctor, The Timelords, & the Universe they inhabit is revealed but leave plenty to question is what I love about Doctor Who and science fiction as a whole. A long running series should add upon the knowledge those who have kept watching already know while still keeping auras of mystery surrounding them, otherwise it feels like there is nothing more to learn nor special about it. I think this was something that almost became lost by the end of Classic Who in main regards of the Timelords (which makes Davies killing them off in the Time War off screen understandable). Ultimately, in the hindsights while I do see the highs of this era starkly better than the last eras I do think the lows here are the lowest seen since the rough parts of Troughton or Hartnell's era. The best stories for me of this era are narrowed down to The Ark In Space, Genesis of the Daleks, Face of Evil, Ribos Operation, & The Deadly Assassin.

[levenxa]

ds-deranged.exe (subject // Ezzra)

—

Character Name - Ezzra (Nightmare)

Nickname - Ezz, Chaotic Gremlin, “Wanted Criminal”

Personality - He is a lot quieter but still chaotic. Enjoys making fun of people jokingly, hugging Ribbon is fun as well. He’s somewhat caring and kind, just extremely secretive about most things in his life. He cares a lot about Ribo, and wants to keep her safe. Weakness is a no go, but he often jokes about how terrible he is. Gremlin energy at times most definitely, he likes to do minor crimes and be demi while doing them.

Sexuality - Demisexual

Height - 5’6

Pronouns: He/They (Male)

Voice Info - Tenor

Age - 147

Weakness - He always has to wear gloves so the second piece of his powers won’t happen again. He’s very unhappy with himself, and doubts fill his mind pretty often. He’s gone through multiple stages of Depression. He also really misses Pierce. Oh yeah, he’s still an insomniac :,)

Fear - Autophobia, the fear of being alone

Weapon - Moon Staff my beloved, he has his life draining power. When he first meets someone and touches them, he gets all of their backstory flashing in his mind. Or all of their painful experiences. Yeah :) The two abilities can be used at the same time. The draining power can get turned off, but if something triggers him it automatically turns back on. The backstory thing is on at all times, it doesn’t repeat however.

Likes // Passions & Talents- He still likes to occasionally crack jokes. Kevin and Ribo are his two closest friends. He still plays the violin, it calms him down a little.

Dislikes - He hates the smell of strong fragrances. Doesn’t like Dioxxi much anymore, but that could change. Himself honestly. He believes none of this would’ve happened if he didn’t exist.

backstory // other below the cut ->

Other - Once again he originated as an abducted child but he has these new powers that came out of nowhere. His side of the argument was just ‘I like to be alone. I WANT to be alone, and those villagers are trash at best.’ He grabs hold of Dream in anger, and then his powers work for the first time, draining the living shit out of the positive one. Dream goes and takes the apples while Nightmare runs off, hating himself and regretting everything.

He is alone for a few years, depressed in all ways. He misses his best friend a whole lot and it just hurts big time. He thinks of ending his life and occasionally cuts his arms to try and feel something that isn’t pure suffering and regret. After that dark time period he bumps into Cross (Pierce) right after Ink had joined Dream and now Cross was looking for company. Nightmare was unsure at first, but Cross’s dumbass energy was too comforting to let go, so he became best friends with Cross :3

He told Cross about his powers so the same thing doesn’t happen. Cross is totally okay with that and steals a pair of high tech gloves so that Nightmare can touch things without using his powers. He becomes a lot happier than before now that the burden of killing someone with a simple tap was mostly gone. But it doesn’t stop there. Cross was a wanted thief according to JR, and needed to be executed. So one day, when Cross left for a bit to go and explore she came across Dream, who captured her and, well, executed her in the execution room :,)

Nightmare finds out through numerous newspapers saying ‘Pierce, one of the greatest thieves of time was finally executed and killed!’ The depression came back maybe even worse than last time. It was a cycle of just his best friends getting hurt.

He went into a void while hiding from Iddriss (Ink) then hearing pleas for help. It was Error (Ribbon) right after The Bell Incident, eyes gone and blood everywhere. Nightmare was a little phased but he still had so much in his mind. He couldn’t leave Error there. That would be cruel. So he takes Error in, giving her Cross’s old room and making sure the house is safe. They are comfort buddies, both sides experiencing terrible experiences, Nightmare says less though.

Currently, Error and Nightmare still live together, running away from the forces of JR. He hasn’t told Ribo (Error) about Pierce (Cross) or about the covered cuts on his arms, (they are wrapped in bandages) he just says the bandages are for aesthetic purposes.

[everypronoun]

Could I have all the plushie/soft related pronouns u know?🍰🌈

plush/plushies/plushieself

ri/rib/ribo/ribbon/ribbonself

teddy/teddy/teddy's/teddyself

soft/soft/softs/softself

com/comfort/comforts/comfortself

blan/blanket/blankets/blanketself

com/fort/comfort/comself

comfort/comforts/comfortself

cozy/cozys/cozyself

cute/cutes/cuteself

fluff/fluffy/fluffys/fluffself

com/comfy/comfys/comfyself

silk/silk/silks/silkself

floof/floof/floofs/floofs/floofself

hug/hug/hugs/hugself

🧸/🧸s/🧸self

some of these yoinked from this coining post

[pupyzu]

if requests are still open, can i get some harajuku pronouns? nothing too feminine though please. thank you so so much!!

under the cut!

adorbz/aborbz’/aborbzself anko/anko/ankos/ankos/ankoself baby/baby/babys/babys/babyself badtz/maru/batz/batz’/badtzmaruself bambi/bams/bambis/bambiself bee/boo/beep/boop/beepself/boopself blu/blu/blus/bluself blu/blue/blues/blues/blueself bo/bon/bons/bonself bo/bow/bows/bowself bon/ribbon/bonbons/bonbons/bonbonribbonself bri/bright/brights/brightself bri/bright/brightself bub/bubu/bubus/bubuself bun/bun/buns/bunself ca/care/cares/careself cand/candy/candys/candyself cappu/cappuccino/cappuccinos/cappuccinoself charmy/kitty/charmy/charmy/kittyself chibi/maru/chibis/chibis/chibimaruself chiff/chiffon/chiffons/chiffons/chiffonself choco/cat/chococat/chococats/chococatself cinnamoroll/cinnamoroll/cinnamorolls/cinnamorolls/cinnamorollself co/col/colo/color/colorself co/cot/ton/otton/cottonself coo/coo/coos/coos/cooself coo/coos/cooself cud/cuddle/cuddles/cuddleself cute/cute/cutes/cutes/cuteself dai/dai/dais/dais/daiself dai/dais/daiself doll/dolls/doll/dolls/dollself fizz/fizz/fizzes/fizzes/fizzself fleur/fleur/fleurs/fleurself floof/floofs/floofself flow/flower/flowers/flowers/flowerself fluff/fluff/fluffs/fluffs/fluffself fu/fu/fuzz/fuzz/fuzzself fu/fuch/uch/uchia/fuchsiaself fur/fur/furs/furs/furself fuzz/fuzz/fuzzes/fuzzes/fuzzself gem/gem/gems/gemself glim/glimmer/glimmerself glit/glitter/glitter/glitterself gu/gude/gudetama/gudetamas/gudetamaself h3/h1m/h1s/h1ms3lf h3/h1m/h1z/h1mz3lf ho/hope/hopes/hopes/hopeself honey/momo/honeys/honeys/honeymomoself hu/hun/hunj/hyunj/hunjiself jel/jel/jels/jels/jelself jel/jels/jelself kandi/kandis/kandiself keroppi/keroppi/keroppis/keroppis/kerropiself kit/kit/kits/kits/kitself kit/kit/kits/kitself kit/kit/kitz/kitself kuro/kuromi/kuromis/kuromis/kuromiself kya/kyas/kyas/kyaself kyuu/kyuu/kyuus/kyuuself lae/lace/las/las/laceself or lacelf lav/lav/lavs/lavs/lavself lav/laven/lavend/lavends/lavendself li/lilac/lile/lila/lilacself lo/love/loves/loves/loveself love/love/loves/loves/loveself mae/maer/maers/maerself mag/magi/magis/magiself mai/mai/mais/mais/maiself marsh/mallow/lows/lows/mallowself marsh/mallow/lows/lows/marshmallowself marsh/mallow/lows/lows/marshself melo/melody/melodys/melodys/melodyself meow/mews/meowself mew/meow/rowr/rowrs/meowself mew/mew/mews/mews/mewself mew/mews/mewself mo/mochi/mochis/mochiself ne/ne/(neo/neos)/neself nom/nom/noms/noms/nomself nya/nyan/nya(n)self nya/nyas/nyaself pa/pastel/pas/past/pastelself, pasself, or pastelf paw/paws/pawself pe/pep/peps/pepself pep/pep/peps/peps/pepself pep/peps/pepself pez/pez/pezze/pezze/pezelf pez/pezze/pezelf pi/(pin/pink)/pinks/pinkself pitter/patter/pitters/patters/pitterself/patterself play/playful/playfulself play/plays/playself plush/plush/plushies/plushies/plushieself plush/plushies/plushieself poch/acco/pochacco/pochaccos/pochaccoself pu/puff/puffs/puffself pup/pup/pups/pupself pur/pur/purs/purpleself pur/purin/purins/purins/purinself pur/purp/purs/purpleself, purpself, or purself purr/purrs/purring/purrself ri/rib/ribo/ribbon/ribbonself san/rio/sanrio/sanrios/sanrioself sh3/h3r/h3rs3lf sh3/h3r/h3rz3lf sof/soft/softs/softself soft/soft/softs/softs/softself splash/splish/splosh/splish/splishself style/styles/styleself su/suwi/suwis/suwis/suwiself su/suwi/suwis/suwiself sugar/bunny/sugars/sugars/sugarbunnyself sweet/sweet/sweets/sweetself swi/swirl/swir/swirls/swirlself th3y/th3m/th31rs/th3ms3lf th3y/th3m/th31rz/th3mz3lf twin/star/stars/twins/twinstarself ve/vel/vel/velve/velvetself vel/velvet/velvets/velvetself vi/viol/viols/viols/violself (violet) 🌀/🌀s/🌀self 🌸/🌸s/🌸self 🍬/🍬s/🍬self 🍭/🍭s/🍭self 🎀/🎀s/🎀self 👑/👑s/👑self 💗/💗s/💗self 💫/💫s/💫self 🦄/🦄s/🦄self 🧸/🧸s/🧸self

[doctornolonger]

I’ve just read your Heartshaven theory from 2018, about it being like Ixion in The Book of the War, and it’s a very interesting version, it works extremely well- or it would, because unfortunately, Romana is not actually from the same generation as Larissa, she’s younger: according to The Book of the War, Morbius was executed when the Doctor was 286, and in The Ribos Operation Romana states the Doctor’s age as 759 and her own as 140, and Romana II later says she’s 125 (perhaps the graduation is around 120, and she didn’t want the Doctor to see her as that young and inexperienced, so she lied, at the same time as correcting his own age lie; anyway, this definitely places her as not having been woven yet at the time of the civil war).

But, this theory fits so well I’m now almost completely sure this is exactly what Gallifrey authors intended, they just didn’t care about the ages stated on the show.

Very interesting, great catch! It's true that Newtons Sleep makes it seem as if Larissa was newly-Loomed at the time of the Imperator's trial, I suppose we can rescue the theory by saying that isn't necessarily true: by the time she arrives at House Ixion, Thessalia is already there in her self-imposed exile, so maybe Dvora kept looming new childeren and dispersing them among other Houses for a few hundred years.

Besides, ages are unreliable things with Time Lords. According to the official timeline from the Faction Paradox website, sections of which admittedly predate The Book of the War, The Invasion of Time occurred 699 years before the War and the trial of the Imperator 865 years before the War. So if Romana aged purely linearly before joining the Doctor, she may have been Loomed into House Dvora just 40 or so years after the Imperator crisis.

Regardless, with the mention of the worldquake and goblin infestation as roughly contemporaneous with Larissa's graduation from the Academy, it's clear that this is what O'Mahony intended when he wrote Larissa's scenes. Plus, it's likely that Panacea was released during the writing of Newtons Sleep, and that O'Mahony would have heard it, since he was writing audios for BF's Bernice Summerfield range around that time. If it was all intentional, it's surely one of the most elegantly hidden yet satisfying canon welds in Who history!

[magicofthepen]

For the character thingy, romana and leela?? ❤

ROMANA - I’m going to answer for Romana I, since I already did Romana II!

favorite thing about them: so I fell in love with Romana I instantly when I watched The Ribos Operation. I was like “wait no one told me that Romana’s basically a recent graduate who always thrived in school but has now suddenly been thrust into the Real World and is a bit of a mess” and oh my god why is she so relatable, also I love that about her. I love that she doesn’t quite know what she’s doing, and her academic brilliance doesn’t necessarily help in the situations she’s finding herself in, but she keeps trying and learning, so by the end of season 16 she’s much more confident and capable on her own than she was when she started. I just absolutely adore the premise of her character and how she develops during the key to time quest. also her banter skills are so excellent. (….this wasn’t one thing whoops. 😄)

least favorite thing about them: I feel like it’s something about how she’s portrayed in the Gallifrey audios, but I can’t quite articulate what? but I feel like somehow, some of the things I really liked about her on TV (her witty fun banter, her determination even when she’s out of her depth) aren’t represented as much when we get glimpses of Actual Romana I (not Pandora or an alternate universe version). idk if this is even fully true, it’s just….she doesn’t quite have the same vibe as the character I remember from the TV show (but this is also tricky because the Lies scene, the Matrix projection in Lies (which *isn’t* really her technically) and the remains of her consciousness in the body that Pandora’s using are the only times we get Actual Romana I - which isn’t that much time to express all the nuances of her character.)

(continuing to skip the favorite line question because it’s too hard)

brOTP: her and the Doctor!! (like I said in the Romana II ask, I used to ship them more, but lately I’ve been more into a platonic interpretation.) I just as instantly fell for their dynamic in the Ribos Operation - two people with very different personalities who don’t get along but are forced to work together and gradually become friends?? this is exactly the kind of relationship arc that I adore. Their banter and snark is So Good (I was so entertained by their interactions in Ribos Operation that my brain refused to pay attention to anything but their scenes, and I ended up having issues following the plot later oops). And I love their growing respect and care for each other - how they go from being mutually dismissive of each other to valuing each other and being a solid Team and just really genuinely liking each other! their friendship is just Very Good (…..and now I really want to rewatch season 16….I’ve only seen it like one and a half times but I loved it very much….)

OTP: I don’t think I have any ships with Romana I that I would consider an ‘otp’? (the closest would be her and the Doctor since I have sometimes shipped them and I adore their relationship in general)

nOTP: Brax/Romana again….and tbh with Romana I it’s more of an actual nOTP (rather than ‘kinda nOTP, kinda ‘it’s complicated’’) because this is the time frame when she’s actually his student and so my discomfort with student/teacher relationships really rears its head (although there’s still one fic out there that I just think is so well-written.....but it does show the relationship as very unhealthy). 

random headcanon: .....so sorry to continue Sartia posting, but oops the first thing that popped into my head is my new maybe-unrealistic headcanon that Sartia was Romana’s first kiss. in a teenage “I’m curious and want to try this thing and you’re the only person I hang out with, but it doesn’t mean anything....or does it??” way. (.....this is so self-indulgent in such a terrible way rip.)

unpopular opinion: Armageddon Factor is my favorite Key to Time story! (I gather this is an unpopular opinion in Doctor Who Fandom At Large, it doesn’t seem to be liked as much as some of the earlier stories in the season.) technically I’ve only seen it once and it was a couple years ago, but I remember loving it as a Romana story, there were a lot of really interesting character bits for her!

song i associate with them: hmm I don’t really have one? my Romana playlist is specifically for Romana II in Big Finish so....yeah.

favorite picture of them: anything with her Ribos Operation outfit (with the full cloak), it’s iconic and beautiful! on a similar note, I love this Romana I art by @volucris-liga, it’s the first Romana fanart I ever reblogged and it’s so pretty!

more under the cut!

LEELA

favorite thing about them: her resilience and her kindness. Leela goes through so much grief and pain, she has her world upended again and again, she never really finds a place where she belongs. and yet she still keeps choosing to love, choosing to keep fighting for what she believes in, choosing to rebuild again and again. and sometimes it’s really hard and she doesn’t want to go on….but she does, and she finds moments of happiness again. and that strength is really powerful. and no matter how cruel the universe (and other people) are to her, she is still relentlessly kind - she listens, she protects, she wants to help, she cares. 

least favorite thing about them: I mean, the “savage” stereotype that her character references is a racist/anti-indigenous trope (especially the whole dynamic of the Doctor trying to “civilize” her ugh). and I hate that characters keep calling her “savage” (even when they’re the Bad Guys, it’s still bringing up this trope again and again, and it’s even worse when it’s the Good Guys). why are they still doing this.

brOTP: see all characters listed under otp, every relationship that I ship is also an incredibly important friendship in Leela’s life and I love all of them <33 as far as relationships that I see as entirely non-romantic….I really love the version of Leela and Ace’s relationship that exists in my head (and in fandom) - they didn’t get to interact enough in the audios, but I absolutely think they were really close, because of their shared experiences and the ways their personalities mesh. (I feel like I should also say the Doctor here, but tbh I don’t remember her TV stories that well, so I don’t really have a solid memory of what their relationship was like.) and of course, Leela’s parental relationship with Rayo is very important to me!

OTP: once again, ot3 my beloved <33 and Leela/Romana first and foremost (I already rambled about them here, so I’m just going to second everything I said earlier). 

and I also ship Leela/Narvin, although I’m not quite as invested in that pairing? (due to a combination of ‘Romana is my favorite character and so I’m just more interested in her relationships with other characters,’ ‘I joined the fandom when things were pretty much all Leela/Narvin all the time (I say with great respect and affection for the artists and writers putting out amazing content for that ship) so I was motivated to write fic primarily for R/L and N/R to balance out the ot3 content,’ ‘apparently I have a contrary streak with Gallifrey and the more the writers push a romantic interpretation of a relationship, the less interested I am in actually shipping it,’ and ‘I’m not really into Leela/Narvin as a pairing on its own - although I do love a lot of fic that portrays them that way bc it’s just very well-written.’) But just. how they form a grudging alliance for Romana’s sake and then develop genuine respect for each other and then build this really solid foundation of teamwork and fondness and care and really relax and feel comfortable around each other….the way they become ride-or-die for each other and just trust and love each other so much….it’s Very Good!! (And I did love writing scenes with the two of them in Call It Home - I might not focus on them, but I do genuinely love their relationship.) 

And of course Leela/Veega <33….I debated if they even interacted enough in the actual audios for me to consider it an otp, but I love the idea of their relationship and the story of them in my head so much?? going to link to this post because it really captures my feelings about them - they’ve both been through so much grief and pain by the time they meet, they’ve both lost people they love before, so the idea of them choosing to love each other and build something together against the odds is just. very powerful. plus I have a whole playlist for the family they’ve built together, which is a strong indication that I really love this ship. 😊

nOTP: Leela/Andred. last time I answered an ask meme about Leela, I had this complicated response about how I hated Leela/Andred when I watched Invasion of Time (bc it’s so abrupt and arbitrary), and then Louise Jameson’s voice acting Convinced Me To Care because oh she really did love him....alas i am a Leela/Andred detractor at heart, and I have been nudged back to my default state by re-listening….I simply hate how he treats Leela in Gallifrey.

random headcanon: I really like the idea of Leela being more politically involved in her own right after they all return from the Axis. She’s just spent a lot of time leading a group of people who don’t have a voice in the government, fighting for their rights against the established injustices of Gallifreyan society. I don’t think she’d easily slip back into only being Romana’s bodyguard after experiencing more political autonomy on the other Gallifrey. What exactly this looks like in practice I’m not sure about - in my one fic ‘verse, I wrote about her being more directly involved with the Academy as a political liaison and guest tutor, and also advocating to Romana for policies that would benefit those who live outside the city on their home Gallifrey. but there’s probably a lot of options to explore here!

unpopular opinion: hmm I don’t think this is necessarily unpopular but idk and I want to talk about it: even though Leela identifies so strongly as a warrior, a “happy ending” for her would, I think, need to involve getting away from fighting. too often she throws herself into a fight to try to avoid thinking about how much she’s hurting, and it doesn’t work, it doesn’t stop the pain. and in the Time War, she’s tied her identity so strongly to war (it’s inevitable, inescapable, and she will Fight and Defend because that’s all she has left). there’s a difference between “I am a warrior” and “all I am is a warrior,” and Leela’s slid too far into the second one, and she needs to untangle her own identity from war to heal. 

song i associate with them: Freedom by Karmina (it’s a song about going on defiantly in the face of heartbreak -  “Tearing my room apart, I’m starting over” / “Take my pride I can still survive I’ve got my freedom” / “Hunt me down you’ll never find me now that I’ve got my freedom”)

favorite picture of them: the first one that came to mind is this gorgeous art by @laurelhach (which I didn’t realize was based on a picture until I stumbled across the original picture and was like oh my god!! it looks exactly like the art!!)

[electro-kins]

ooo are we sharing pronouns ? :o if it’s alr here’s mine !! (the pinks are the ones i prefer most ehe ^^)

mo/moch/mochi/mochis/mochiself

cloud/cloud/clouds/clouds/cloudself

pix/pixel/pixels/pixels/pixelself

ri/rib/ribo/ribbon/ribbonself

fla/flame/flames/flames/flameself

win/wind/winds/winds/windself

cotton/candy/candies/candies/cottonself

🍡/🍡/🍡’s/🍡’s/🍡self

🍰/🍰/🍰s/🍰s/🍰self

your pronouns are so lovely aa!! tysm for sharing ^^ i was considering cloud pronouns hehe <33 but i'm currently trying out angel/angels and star/stars neos ∩^ω^∩ i rlly like them so far!!

[aion-rsa]

Doctor Who’s Best Comfort-Viewing Episodes

https://ift.tt/2UgJy48

I mean, it’s not like absolutely everything is terrible right now, but certainly a lot of things are and we could all do with a break. As a result, here’s a list of Doctor Who stories – one chosen per Doctor – that I put on for comfort. Sometimes you need something familiar and well-worn to unwind with.

This list is very much subjective, some of it is down to which Doctor Who videos I could afford when I was 10. These stories work for me and it’s unlikely they will work completely for someone else. Also worth mentioning is that this list is incomplete; these are not the only stories I watch for comfort, and indeed sometimes that’s not the reason I watch these stories.

First Doctor: ‘The Aztecs’

‘The Aztecs’ is a great example of Doctor Who that can be both familiar, endearing and brutal. In this story Barbara is mistaken for the goddess Yetaxa, and attempts to use her influence to stop the practice of human sacrifice. The Doctor rails against changing history, the High Priest plots to reveal Barbara’s ploy. To escape, Ian has to fight to the death, Susan has to avoid an arranged marriage, and the Doctor has to pretend to romance an Aztec woman who might have the key to letting them reach the TARDIS again. It’s all very morally murky yet comes away feeling generous.

A lot of the characters are flawed and interesting. You understand their motives even if you don’t agree with them. The original TARDIS crew, who have hit their stride now, are included in this. The Aztecs are shown to both practice human sacrifice and meet writer John Lucarotti’s description of ‘a highly civilised and cultured race’.

It’s also a well-made show, and if anything the improved picture quality has been cruel to Barry Newberry’s backdrops – not for lack of detail, but for picking out the folds in the material. With the script doing the same for the characters, ‘The Aztecs’ shows us that comforting does not have to equal light.

Second Doctor: ‘The Macra Terror’

There’s something counterintuitive about choosing a Troughton story with almost no existing pictures because so much of his performance is visual. However, having first experienced a lot of Troughton stories as audio there’s still a lot to admire in his expressive vocal performance.

Also something potentially counterintuitive here is that I’m picking a story outside of the Base Under Siege format that dominated Season 5, which for many people is their platonic ideal of Doctor Who. However I feel that this does a great disservice to a subgenre I’m going to call ‘Weird Troughton’, defined by being an outlier from the series format or featuring Troughton still working out the role (so ‘The Highlanders’, despite being a historical with no science-fiction elements, counts because Troughton is still trying out strange and fun things with the character). ‘The Underwater Menace’ is ridiculous and I love it anyway, David Whittaker very much ploughs his own furrow, and ‘The Mind Robber’ raises the possibility that Doctor Who is a self-aware entity. ‘The Macra Terror’, now available as an animation, is for me one of the best pieces of drama produced from this group, managing to be sinister, fun and have giant crab monsters in it.

It’s an angry take on uniformity, jingoism and control and feels very current. The Second Doctor’s response to having his clothes cleaned and hair combed in accordance with colony beauty standards is great. Ben’s brainwashing gives Michael Craze a chance to show his range, and by choosing not to play it in a zombie or fugue state it’s all the more chilling. Plus, and I can’t stress this enough, giant crabs.

Third Doctor: ‘The Sea Devils’

‘The Sea Devils’ is a sequel to ‘The Silurians’, Malcolm Hulke’s story of prehistoric lizard people who were the dominant species on Earth before humanity. That story was a more considered, intense tale, whereas this is more of a romp with depth. With aquatic lizards instead of underground ones, it also features the Navy rather than UNIT, and the Navy is credited with assisting the production.

Possibly because of this collaboration Jon Pertwee (formerly of the Naval Intelligence Division during World War Two) is clearly having a great time. Otherwise the tropes of the era (the Master, the military, meddling civil servants, Jo Grant gets to be resourceful and plucky, six episodes that could have been done in four) are all present and correct and ready to be argued at. It’s extremely comfortable, and directed with pace and energy by Michael E. Briant (he also knows when to slow down: the submarine attack, for example, where the sailors arm themselves and get into position, watching in horror and confusion as the door melts in front of them).

Hulke injects just enough detail into the characters to bring them to life, with the cast rising to the challenge. Colonel Trenchard, for example, feels like someone you could hear at a golf club complaining about immigration. The final two episodes dispense with any notion of depth and instead we get a big ol’ fight scene where the Navy gets to show off its machinery and the stunt team gets to show off its flips and falls.

This story also features an experimental synth score and a swordfight between the Doctor and the Master where one of them stops for sandwiches. The Pertwee era is pitched incredibly astutely. Sure, it’s absolute nonsense, but it’s amiable nonsense with teeth.

Fourth Doctor: ‘The Ribos Operation’

‘The Ribos Operation’ (or, as it should be known ‘The Best Fourth Doctor Story’) kicks off The Key to Time arc by systematically undermining the entire concept. The Doctor is given a mission by the White Guardian (ostensibly nicer than the Black Guardian but with a hint of unease to him), to find six pieces of The Key to Time and restore balance to the universe. The Doctor is given a new companion, a recent Time Lord academy graduate with all the book knowledge but no experience of the universe.

Robert Holmes’ script is layered, funny, and treads a perfect balance between anger and (unexpectedly) kindness. It hides its subtleties with engaging dialogue and characters, all played with the right levels of bombast. And such characters! Garron and Unstoffe, one of several Doctor analogues (he’s a big, booming and charismatic conman, with Unstoffe as his game but questioning companion who brings compassion that Garron can’t) are rightly regarded as the standouts, but it’s also worth noting the Graff Vynda K: a villain of the piece, a prissy warlord full of self-importance but never heard of before or since, a backwater despot bullying his way across a tiny corner of the universe. The Doctor’s solution to a vainglorious, self-mythologising monster? To blow him up. An interesting response on a number of levels.

There’s nothing wrong with this story. It’s superbly constructed and well-made. It’s a perfect anti-epic, and the only story I’ve rewatched on DVD as often as I did VHS.

Fifth Doctor: ‘Enlightenment’

A wondrous peak in Eighties Doctor Who, starting as a cerebral science-fiction adventure before morphing into a cerebral science-fiction adventure that’s camp as tits.

You may recall Craig Ferguson’s description of Doctor Who as ‘the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism’. ‘Enlightenment’ is a great example of this, with the romantic image of seafaring ships sailing through space corrupted by both the aloof officers and the Black Guardian’s influence. The Guardians here are ostensibly still representations of order and chaos, but mostly they’re ‘nice old man with bird on head’ and ‘ridiculous hyuk hyuking villain with bird on head’. The officer class are made up of Eternals – a race of godlike immortal beings who created this space race for entertainment – a great concept invented by writer Barbara Clegg after witnessing her rich relatives interact with her poorer ones at a family gathering.

The Doctor, through his intellect and faith in his companion, removes the corrupting forces. It’s not clear what happens to the surviving ships after the race is finished, but imagine finding one abandoned in space. It’s such a strong image in a story full of them. Clegg’s writing is full of great concepts and characterisation, including some excellent work with the regulars that makes them feel much more like real people than usual.

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Sixth Doctor: ‘The Mark of the Rani’

In which Time Lady the Rani experiments in a north-eastern mining town, causing violence to erupt.

First of all there’s the score, which is still of its time but feels distinctive due to its more tranquil ambient feel. It doesn’t sound dissimilar to The Microgram, someone who travels round the North East of England recording ambient noises and playing synths over them. There’s even one recorded at Beamish, which completes the loop here.

‘The Mark of the Rani’ is set in Killingworth, north of Newcastle, and technically so are the accents. They sound like someone went round RADA asking ‘Has anyone heard the song “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” by PJ and *checks notes* Duncan?’

This slightly askew version of reality fits Pip and Jane Baker’s version of Doctor Who. Their debut script for the show establishes their style of endearingly serious batshit nonsense (landmines that turn people into plants, leading to the immortal line ‘The tree won’t harm you’). It’s like their stories are written by Wallace with minimal input from Gromit.  

As a result ‘Mark of the Rani’ stands out amidst the aggressive stories surrounding it. It can be taken as merely enjoyably daft, but it’s also got some substance to it. Pip and Jane clearly remember Doctor Who as being the kind of show where the Doctor and his companion got on, so Peri is subjected to less arguing and is even defended (admittedly in terms of utility) by the Doctor.

The Rani is actually a character here, as opposed to her other appearances where she is simply A Villain In Doctor Who, and her presence immediately reduces Anthony Ainley’s Master to a supporting comic relief character. This suits him. When you’re standing in a field caked in shit pretending to be a scarecrow and laughing at passers-by for not noticing you clearly we can’t take you seriously anymore, so at least this story doesn’t pretend he’s a credible threat.

So on the one hand it’s daft, silly fun, but on the other it’s a mid-Eighties story featuring a chemist torturing Northern miners for her own gain. Guess what degree Margaret Thatcher graduated from Oxford with?

Speaking of Thatcher:

Seventh Doctor: ‘The Happiness Patrol’

Within Doctor Who fandom, no one has ever said ‘Oh you don’t like the McCoy era? I’m sorry, you never mentioned it’, and ‘The Happiness Patrol’ revels in all the things its detractors hate about the era. It’s intentionally camp and uses symbolism rather than demanding to be taken literally, like a more confident version of Season 24. The Kandy Man is rightly noted as (visually) a Bertie Bassett parody, played as the ludicrous creature he undoubtedly is.

Knowing that it is restricted in what it can show in terms of violence, the show had now worked out how to be ostensibly child-friendly and incredibly morbid, hence the screeching sweetie-creature, the Day-Glo ray-guns, and the guy who gets drowned in a vat of jam. When you’re three and have never seen Doctor Who before the Kandy Man is downright terrifying, this bizarre monster who twists and turns and screams. This was my first experience of Doctor Who and, appropriately enough, it scared the hell out of me.

As an adult, I find it’s a pleasing return to the ‘Weird Troughton’ stories of the Sixties, the ones where the Doctor was an unassuming but powerful anarchic figure. Here we have a variation of this, where the Doctor has been trying to explore the universe but finds it full of monsters, and starts doing something about it.

Before Season 26 attempted something approaching realism, this story suits Ace and the Seventh Doctor who both feel like Children’s TV archetypes who have grown tired of their roles. Ace’s CBBC leanings (with crap swearing and Blue Peter badges) fits into this heightened reality better than she does a less tonally certain story (like ‘Battlefield’). ‘The Happiness Patrol’ feels like a combination of the different approaches of the McCoy era, a best of album with a life of its own.

Eighth Doctor: ‘Night of the Doctor’

This is specifically because of the circumstances of broadcast, although it’s also a melancholy meta-commentary on the show’s cancellation and wilderness years in which Paul McGann gets to demand ‘Bring me knitting’.

It’s not merely the return of McGann to the onscreen role of the Eighth Doctor after 17 years, it’s that this was kept a surprise until the mini-episode was released in the build-up to the 50th anniversary special. It was such a treat, and I still remember the email I sent to the site’s TV editor when I watched it for Den of Geek. It read ‘OH MY F***ING GOD’ and was sent while the episode was paused just after the word ‘expecting’.

And so I told my friends. I know people watched this in work meetings on their phones under the table. It’s associated with a lot of feelings, not least building excitement. This one is connected very clearly to a moment of shared joy.

Ninth Doctor: ‘The End of the World’

While ‘Rose’ is rightly adulated as bringing Doctor Who back to a large prime time audience, ‘The End of the World’ had a different job to do. Viewing figures went down for this episode after over 10 million people watched the series opener, but went up again after this, suggesting positive word of mouth from this episode, consolidating the success of ‘Rose’.

The production team were aiming to use this episode to show off how Doctor Who could look in 2005, with hundreds of CGI shots and dozens of aliens gathered together. It also showed the new Doctor’s emotional distance, in that his idea of showing off to his new companion is to take her to see her planet getting destroyed.

We also get, in a late addition to the script, Russell T. Davies’ knack for making the alien familiar with the character of Raffalo (‘You’re a plumber?’) who is almost immediately killed, further demonstrating RTD’s knack for knowing which character’s death will have the most impact (and if you’ve not read his novelisation of ‘Rose’ you really should if just for Clive’s death in prose form. Honestly it’s incredible).

‘The End of the World’ is a comforting reminder of the nascent excitement surrounding the 2005 series, that feeling of turbulence that eventually settled because of the strength of these early episodes.

 Tenth Doctor: ‘The Fires of Pompeii’

The episode itself has a soothsay-off between Metella and Lucius to set up a plot point and the series arc, and the first TARDIS trip for Donna as a full-time companion. You immediately get to see the strengths that Catherine Tate is going to bring to the series, not merely her comic and dramatic ability but the way Donna is able to stop the Tenth Doctor from his worst impulses, and by bluntly dismissing the notion of fixed points in history meaning just allowing bad things to happen. This is, for me, the best episode in the first half of Series 4 by a long way.

Sure, there’s a colossal death toll here which is far from comforting, but as ever nostalgia and context plays a huge part here. This was an episode broadcast on the night of our fan club’s night out, a phase of my fandom that turned me from someone who liked Doctor Who in primary school into an adult fan. This has, overall, been worth it. So what this story reminds me of is, following on from ‘The End of the World’s establishing the series, is the initial excitement and patterns of Russell T. Davies’ series where he set up some key words or phrases early on and fandom tried to work out their significance, resulting in the heady days of someone saying Norman Lovett was going to play Davros in ‘The Parting of the Ways’ on IMDb.

Eleventh Doctor: ‘A Christmas Carol’

Quite a few contenders here, but I’ve gone with my favourite Christmas Special because these episodes are often Doctor Who at its broadest, suitable for the half-cut who dwell in food-comas. This episode is one of the last of these stories, before the Christmas Specials became steeped in the main continuity of the series. It’s also a great example of the childlike impulsiveness of Matt Smith’s Doctor before he became more of a teenager in Series 6. It’s great fun and the riffing on Dickens lands really strongly for people like me, who often respond more to a strong realisation of an idea than they do pathos.

This story is designed to be comfortable and succeeds by establishing what a Steven Moffat Christmas Special will look like: lots of time-travel, obviously, but also a big budget version of ‘The Happiness Patrol’s daring the audience to find it too ridiculous. As a result we get a remix of A Christmas Carol featuring flying sharks pacified by a mezzo-soprano, with the joy of these disparate elements coming together through that most underrated of Moffat staples – a grumpy old man learning to let go while being dragged through the sky by animals who usually lack the power of flight.

Twelfth Doctor: ‘Mummy on the Orient Express’

With Capaldi realising his initially abrasive take on the character was too much, this story relieved the tension that had been building with the Doctor’s behaviour, allowing him to explain himself and setting up the arc that culminates in ‘Hell Bent’.

Once this was broadcast I breathed a sigh of relief. Despite wanting it not to be the case I’d had to reach for the positives in the Capaldi era thus far; with the exception of ‘Listen’ the stories had felt like treading water until ‘Kill the Moon’ split the room. Even if you don’t like it (and I mostly don’t) that was the first story that felt like it was trying something different and paved the way for the increased complexity of the Twelfth Doctor’s character. Ultimately what the show needed at this point was a run of good stories, and – appreciating some people don’t get on with ‘Forest of the Night’ (and I mostly do) – this was the start of a really strong run.

‘Mummy on the Orient Express’ is a mash up of concepts that Doctor Who excels at, with an enjoyably horrific Mummy and the actual countdown to its victims’ demises contributing to making each death count. This is harder than it looks, the balance between violence and pathos taking into account the family audience, but the combination of ideas really makes them land as brutal without gore. By putting the Doctor through this writer Jamie Mathieson manages to explain his apparent heartlessness as weariness at making tough choices, but being unable to resist getting into situations that require them. The path is now clear from here to the heights of ‘Hell Bent’ and ‘The Doctor Falls’.

Thirteenth Doctor: ‘It Takes You Away’

Obviously there are fewer Jodie Whittaker fewer stories to choose from, and for me it has to be one from Series 11 because that felt like a palette cleanser for an approach to Doctor Who that never manifested. For all its ups and downs, limiting continuity references and focus on new characters or threats felt like a good move. Certainly the guest writers all provided solid stories, and while the series didn’t soar for me it felt like a good platform to improve from, which is partly why Series 12 was so disappointing (it felt like it addressed problems that weren’t there, ignoring the ones that were).

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‘It Takes You Away’ is frequently surprising, offering a simple blunt horror of loss (the childlike refrain of the title, the fear of absence) combined with endearingly outlandish performances by the actor Kevin Eldon and a sentient universe manifesting as a talking frog. It allowed Jodie Whittaker a rare success in negotiating her way out of a situation, and progressed the character arc of the series with Ryan and Graham’s changing relationship. It’s obviously imperfect (ideally, Hanne’s Dad’s manipulative behaviour would be properly addressed) but it’s also imaginative, moving, and weird, and these are three things I really want Doctor Who to be.

Share your go-to Doctor Who comfort viewing episodes below.

The post Doctor Who’s Best Comfort-Viewing Episodes appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[dralimelbey]

There are various species of animals that either live a very long time and / or do not die of old age. Some examples are the tortoise & lobster species that live to be over 130 years old naturally and don’t usually die unless they get sick or are killed.  After we become adults our cells eventually stop self-replicating. Geneticist Leonard Hayflick figured out that each of our cells divide about 50 times and then they stop. The DNA (De-Oxy RIBo-nucleic Acid) telomeres becomes shorten. The telomeres when lengthened turns back years in human cells. Once all of our cells stop replicating we start to deteriorate and then eventually die. This discovery showed that we are actually programmed to die biologically. Scientists everywhere are on a search for the secret to reprogram our cells so that we can bypass this rule and find a way to stop humans from dying of old age.  Full Article @ this link https://www.dralimelbey.com/blog-of-enlightenment/scientists-reprogram-dna-in-order-to-stop-death   https://www.instagram.com/p/B9ClPdMnMkH/?igshid=1j4sosmhyqugh

[doctorwhoprimers]

Basically, How to Start Watching Doctor Who is one of the greatest unanswered questions of all time.The most recent hard break in the series is probably between Series 4 and Series 5. (Eleventh Doctor). It’s a bit far back from “current” (we just finished Series 10) but it’ll be over a while before the series 11 premier, so there’s no hurry.  (Also, series 11 is likely ro be another hard break in the series, so...honestly you could jyst wait and jump in there.) The episode is called “the Eleventh Hour” and is a decent introduction to the show without relying heavily on previous canon.  You could come in with the halfway point of series 7, “the Bells of St. John,” if you really wanted to, but I think the beginning of series 5 is cleaner.

Going back a bit farther, you can start with “Rose” in series 1, (Ninth Doctor), the pilot of the most recent incarnation of the show. That will give you all the Doctor Who that most of the fandom is familiar with, and it is all on Amazon Prime.  It had heretofore been up on Netflix as well, but was recently taken down, although it is available on disc.

Going back before that, the next really clean break in the series is between season 6 and season 7, (Third Doctor), with the episode “Spearhead from Space.” That’s a great episode, and frankly has better effects than “Rose” despite having been made thirty years earlier. The stuff made before 2005 is a bit harder to find and only sporadically available on Amazon Prime, but there are other sources that enthusiasts will be only too happy to point you towards.  Another nearly as clean break is the beginning of season 16, “the Ribos Operation.” Season 16 (Fourth Doctor) is, unusually for the earlier part of the show, a season length story arc called the Key To Time. And it’s a really strong start because the first episode is written by the generally-agreed-upon best writer in the show, and the second episode (“The Pirate Planet”) is written by Douglas Adams. Also, the Fourth Doctor is probably the most iconic of the series - he’s the one with the scarf - and so never a bad place to start. The season is fairly self-contained as well, and so also doesn’t rely a lot on previous canon, although the pre-2005 series is in general a lot more episodic.

And of course, the very first episode of the show is “An Unearthly Child” made in 1963. This is usually not a great starting place except for people already committed to completionism, in large part because, well, there are thirty-five seasons to get through, and a lot of the episodes in seasons 2-5 are sadly missing.The other approach that is commonly recommended is to cherry-pick the especially good episodes. Now, people often disagree about what the especially good episodes happen to be. ”Blink” is one that is often held up as both fabulously good and continuity-light, and good at getting people hooked.  Although with a caveat - “Blink” is terrifying, so can have the opposite of the desired effect.  Really, what’s important is that you start somewhere - anywhere - and get hooked, because then you’ll want to watch it all :D I’m awfully fond of “The Invasion,” personally, because it has all four of my favorite characters in the show, and I like to encourage people to watch the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton).

tl;dr: “The Eleventh Hour” (5x01) available on Amazon Prime and other easy sources. Or “Blink” if you want to be terrified out of your skull. I hope this helps, and good luck to you!

if i were to give doctor who a go, where would i start.