#to them: rose is essential. so important to the doctor and so important - in their eyes - to the whole universe because of it.

[quietwingsinthesky]

even does know what plants are though. (as per doctor who canon, the way ships manage to keep oxygen on long voyages is via having literal forests in them. now, nothing to that extent, obviously, they weren’t that well-equipped or funded. but there’s definitely plants In There, probably relegated to a much more ordered existence, think the difference between a natural forest and one grown for logging.) at least they have that. they have seen plants. not often, but they have.

i don’t think they really understand plants beyond their functions (to eat, keep everyone breathing, etc.) whereas with natural beauties and animals and other such things that even has no experience with and can wonder over, they can’t really. do that with plants. the ability to admire a flower rather than immediately think of it in terms of resources lost and gained in its creation is a skill they have to learn.

but you know. at least they have seen them. that’s something. that’s slightly less depressing, right.

[sprnklersplashes]

I can't find the original post and am probably misremembering some of its meaning but I found a post about RTD companions vs Moffat companions and how "relatable" they are and it got me thinking again about that one post about how its more important that characters are resonant rather than relatable. This is a mindset I think could go a long way in how DW fandom perceives and compares companions.

To illustrate my point, let's talk about Rose and Amy.

Rose is consistently praised for being, above most things, relatable. Because she Has A Job and A Family and Went To School and hey, we have jobs and families and go to school, so we can relate to that, right? In a sense, Rose could be us. Now, I'm not going to sit and claim none of this praise is warranted, I think one of the biggest strengths of RTD's era is how it melded the sci-fi wonders of the show with companion's families who feel like characters from a completely different genre, a soap or a sitcom. To quote full-fat videos, Davies achieved a perfect balance between the domestic and the fantastical. However, I also think its worth noting that, after Moffat started leaning more into the fantastical elements of the show, there was a bigger cry from the fandom of "Rose has family, family makes character relatable" which served to erase a lot of the complexities of the Moffat-era companions.

Take Amy for example. Amy was constantly accused of being 'unrelatable', the biggest crime a character can commit apparently because she was "too special" and "we don't know about her family". Ergo, we don't know about her. And yes, you can tell a lot about a character through their family life, RTD did it beautifully, it's not the only way we can learn about a character. We learn about them through how they interact with the world they are in and through their arc.

You can claim Amy isn't relatable, in that she isn't The Everyman like Rose, because she was The Girl Who Waited and grew up with a crack in her wall and we can't relate to that. But... Amy also spends the entire first season running away from adulthood, its her reason for leaving with the Doctor in the first place. Essentially, series five, hell you could argue the entire Pond run, is her coming-of-age story where she finally grows up and accepts that she's an adult now. And that, my friends, is resonant. Only speaking for myself, I find this resonates with me even more at 25 than at 12. Amy's lack of a stable job was criticised again for not being 'relatable', but holy hell does it resonate as a confused millennial in the job market trying to find who I am that Amy spends seasons 6 and 7 constantly switching careers because she can't settle on one that feels like her.

I've made this post longer than it needs to be but my point in a nutshell is that although Amy, Clara and Bill were criticised for not being relatable because they didn't have things like schools and jobs and families, I'd argue they were never meant to be relatable. They were meant to be resonant; you were meant to connect with them, not their circumstances.

[pagerunner-j]

The Long Road Home: the story so far

And now, a whole lotta fic links.

I might be cheating a bit with this post, seeing as the inception of this series predated any particular theme months, and the stories haven’t been written specifically to prompts. But since I’ve cranked out over 160,000 words of fic about these crazy kids since March (how? help), and I just completed a story arc with the installment I posted this past Tuesday, @tentoorosemonth2024 seems as good an excuse as any to share the lot of them. 

SO.

The series at large: The Long Road Home

Following the arrival of Rose and Tentoo in their new world, the development of their relationship with each other, and the adventures and dangers they start to face as a new family. The series was named after its first chapter, in large part because names are hard and I wasn’t expecting to keep going like this, but here we are. Begins mostly as a romance. The plot whacks me over the head soon thereafter. Includes, so far:

The Long Road Home (M, 24,500 words)

Rose and Tentoo, getting to understand each other, trust each other, and eventually love each other, on the way home from Bad Wolf Bay.

Featuring a long-overdue family road trip, deleted scenes turning into essential plot, existential crises, asides from Jackie Tyler, the wrong Beatles, inappropriate ways to answer room service, and your author shamelessly abusing the limits of touch telepathy.

Understandings and Ultimatums (M, 6,800 words)

An interlude following The Long Road Home, in which Rose and Tentoo, temporarily staying with Rose's parents, maybe start getting a little carried away with each other. And Pete's got a few words to say to the Doctor about it. Oops.

Featuring badly timed father-daughter check-ins, the Doctor continuing to come to terms with having a whole lot less a in his sexuality these days, a children's toy as a conversation starter, Rose getting alternately irritated and turned on by possessive men, and absolutely everybody complaining about London real estate.

At the Threshold (T, 8,500 words)

Rose and Tentoo find themselves facing a number of major life decisions. Some aren't quite yet decided upon...but some important ones are coming together at last.

Featuring the joys of house hunting, the tricky question of names, pointed motherly advice, Time Lord talents at work, gratuitous Shakespeare geekery, ongoing telepathy shenanigans, and life-changing phone calls happening at really inconvenient times.

Four Ceremonies (T, 21,800 words)

A home claimed, a seed planted, a commitment made, and promises spoken.

Rose and Tentoo on the road to marriage...and a few other, perhaps even more significant things.

Entanglements (M, 21,000 words)

Rose and the Doctor may have found a good life together, but that doesn't mean all their worries--or their past traumas--have gone away quite yet.

In which the emotional rent comes due, some painful stories are revealed, risky levels of intimacy are reached, a good number of unsettling memories and dreams unfold, and Rose finds her way to the solution for a tricky problem with their TARDIS...but that might come with a certain cost, too, and it might not only be hers to pay.

Featuring Rose, Tentoo, and...well, Ten, too.

Coming to Light (E, 6,500 words)

A Long Road Home interlude, in which Rose and Tentoo take that trip to Barcelona (the Pete's World version, anyway), discover the alien weirdness behind one of this city's strangest neighborhoods, and then, inspired by that day's escapades, make good on both the rating of the story and the verb choice in the title.

...hey, they're having a nice time on their holidays, who am I to argue.

The House Among the Briars (M, 22,300 words)

Go big or never go home.

In which Rose and Tentoo finally discover the secret of the house where they've been living, but get stranded in separate dimensions in the process. To find their way back to each other, they might have to confront parts of themselves that they might not want to have to accept. For the Doctor, it's the rage he's been warned about virtually ever since he first came to be. And for Rose, it might be something even more dangerous, and a whole lot stranger.

Because it might be time for a certain bad wolf to come back out to play...

The Wolves in the Woods (T, 48,300 words)

Rose and Tentoo have secrets. Torchwood has questions. Everything is about to come to a head one way or another, especially if the director of interdimensional research at Torchwood gets her way.

And Rose and the Doctor are going to have to figure out how to stop her, before she lays a claim on their growing TARDIS...or on the two of them themselves.

[analogwriting]

It Comes in Waves

Chapter 24: Wind Chop

Trafalgar Law x gn!reader word count: 3.1k first|next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How the hell did they already cause so much chaos in the small amount of time that Luffy was in Wano? Law swore that Strawhat was going to be the death of him - he never failed to make his blood pressure skyrocket. He just couldn’t stay quiet could he? 

After things settled down after the absolute mess he had made, Law approached Luffy. “Hey, Traffy! It’s been a while.” Law just looked at him, thinking. “Where is…everyone else?” he asked.

Luffy shrugged. “I’m not sure! The whirlpool separated all of us.” He frowned, huffing. “But, I’m sure they’re all okay! They’re all super strong.” His mind did drift to you and you’re not so good a state when everything happened, but you were strong! He was sure you were just fine. 

Law’s stress levels rose. He knew where most of Luffy’s crew was now. The only one that was unaccounted for now was you. The others he had discovered after they landed ashore, but they all assumed you had been with Luffy. Turns out that wasn’t the case and worry grew in his chest.

Just where the hell were you?

“Well, we need to head to the mountain. To the ruins of Oden’s castle. To see the ghosts of Wano.” Law was trying so hard to keep it together. He had to put his trust in you.

‘Do you trust me, Law?’ Yes, he did. He trusted you more than he trusted anyone else. He had to believe you were fine. That you’d come back.

“Ghosts?” Luffy looked at Law incredulously. Zoro nodded. “Even I was in shock.”

Then, they headed up the mountain and towards the ghosts.

--

Law would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy spooking Luffy out just a little bit with the talk of ghosts and the possibility of their allies being some. 

The reunion was as nice as it could be, but Chopper immediately spoke up. “Wait, Luffy. Is y/n not with you?” Luffy frowned, shaking his head. “They’re not with you either?” Everyone else shook their heads. No one had any idea where you were. An air of uneasiness washed over everyone. 

“I’m sure they’re just fine,” Nami was the one to provide comforting words. “They’re strong and smart. I’m sure they’re hiding out somewhere, waiting for us to find them!” She smiled.

Chopper frowned. “I’m worried about their wounds though. They weren’t healing very well…” 

Law’s heart almost stopped. “Wounds? What happened?” He looked at Luffy. “What happened to them?” He felt panic rising in his chest.

Sanji spoke up, a dark look on his face. “They were trying to keep from Luffy and I getting hit by arrows, only to get hit themselves.” He frowned.

Chopper nodded. “And they said they couldn’t heal properly because they didn’t have something that apparently aids in that. You supposedly have it,” he piped up, looking at Law. The doctor blanched, looking down at the pendant laying on his chest. 

“They’re essential to our lives and very important to us. We almost can’t live without them!”

Your voice rang through his head as if it was the only thing occupying it. What the hell was this thing and how the hell was it tied so heavily to you? How could this affect your lifeforce? There were so many questions unanswered and now he was worried that you’d die without it. “I-It…” He couldn’t find himself to speak.

He cleared his throat, collecting himself. He could not lose it in front of everyone. “They gave it to me to look after before they left. I had no idea…” He frowned. 

Luffy spoke up, shaking his head. “No, until we know for certain. We have to believe they’re okay.” Whether this was blatant denial and wishful thinking, Law wasn’t sure. But sitting here wondering wasn’t going to do anything. He also knew you enough to know you’d be irritated that everyone was wasting time worrying about them. 

“Let’s get inside then. There’s a lot to catch you up on,” Law said.

--

It seemed like nothing was going right ever since Luffy arrived. Kaido ended up showing up and he fought him - giving away their whereabouts and overall ruining the plan. Luffy ended up in prison. Zoro made himself a wanted man. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo were caught by Basil Hawkins and held hostage. Along with several other things just going into the shitter. On top of it all, you were still missing. Law was putting out one fire at a time.

Currently, he was putting out his own personal fire that his crew had accidentally created. They were captured by the enemy, but he was able to ensure their safety in exchange for himself. He was chained up by two headliners of Kaido’s. Two other supernovas and members of his own generation - The Worst Generation. Basil Hawkins and X. Drake. He never cared for either of them, really. 

“We know you’re connected with the Strawhats and you’re going to tell us everything you know - everything you’re planning,” Hawkins said. Law just looked at him with a smirk. He hadn’t said anything thus far and he didn’t plan on it anytime soon. 

“And why the hell would I tell you anything? I haven’t said anything so far.” Law scoffed, rolling his eyes at them. This was a pickle, yes, but he knew he’d get himself out of it. He was a smart man. A meticulous man. He just needed to come up with some kind of plan. He knew they wouldn’t kill him, so he’d just stick it out for as long as he could until he came up with something a little more solid.

It seemed that one of them was about to do something to try to make him talk when alarms began sounding through the halls. The two headliners looked at each other. One of them took out a small transponder snail and called, what Law was assuming, was another guard. 

“What’s going on,” X. Drake demanded. They were immediately greeted with hollers and crashes. “It’s the demon, sir! They’ve seemed to begin to retaliate! We need back up - ARGH!” The communication was cut off and the two headliners looked at each other. “What could’ve possibly triggered them? We’ve been trying for a few days now with no success…” Basil tapped his chin.

Law looked between the two pirates who seemed to have completely forgotten he was there. Demon? What kind of demon? And did they mean literally or was it just a nickname for someone? What was going on here? 

There was a large crash from down the hallway, causing the two pirates to shift their attention to the end of the hallway where they saw several people running. They ran past, yelling and looking back as if something was chasing them. Then there was the sound of…rushing water? “Every man for themselves!” Someone yelled, pushing another person down as he ran over them. Someone nudged the cell door, swinging it shut and locking the three of them inside. 

“Hey!” Basil went to the door with a groan. “You’re probably safer in there anyway!” Someone shouted as they ran by. 

Suddenly, a large wave of water was coming through the hall as if a pipe burst. “What the hell?” the two headliners said in unison. The water surged through, temporarily flooding the hallway and surrounding cells before draining back out. Once the water had died back down, all three men in the cell were sputtering. They were all devil fruit users, after all. Water wasn’t exactly their friend.

“What is going on? What was that?” X. Drake mumbled, standing up.

A memory flooded Law’s mind. Punk Hazard. He had seen the same kind of stunt pulled there. Was this your doing? Were you here? Were you the demon they had been yelling about? 

Footsteps began to echo down the hallway, amplified by the water that was spread along the floors. “Who’s there?” Basil demanded, making his way to the cell door, looking for the key. Only then did he realize that the key had fallen out of his pocket during the mini flood and was now on the floor across the hallway.

“That’s unfortunate,” he mumbled, looking to his comrade who looked insanely annoyed at the moment. 

The footsteps sped up, running now. It was hard to tell what their destination was, but they were coming in hot. It was hard to see in the dimly lit hallway - some of the lights had been knocked out from the water. A figure was soon seen racing straight for the cell the three men were currently occupying. Nothing was able to be made out except for the glowing eyes that seemed to stand out against the darkness. 

The two headliners backed away. “What are you doing? Wait-” They both braced themselves as the figure ran straight into the bars, immediately turning into water and splashing to the ground. They both blinked, staring at the ground. “What is this? Some kind of trick? A joke? Show yourself!” Basil Hawkins demanded, looking around.

The water slowly began moving around their feet, causing them both to step back. It began to form a figure and soon solidified.

Law’s eyes widened as he saw you standing there. “Y/n,” he found himself saying in disbelief. The two pirates looked at him. “You know them?” The doctor quickly snapped his mouth shut, knowing he already said too much.

“Y/n, huh?” X. Drake said, standing in front of you. “So, that’s your name? Well, I hope you had your fun because it’s time for you to go back to your cell.”

As Law looked at you, he realized something was very wrong. You almost seemed…unreceptive? It was as if you were a shell of a person and there was no one occupying your body. There was a blank look on your eyes that he had only seen corpses have. There was no life - no recognition of anything. The entire expression on your face was just…dead. Not to mention the fact that you were bleeding. He assumed that was the injury that Chopper had mentioned. It had ripped open and possibly gotten worse. You really looked like a walking corpse.

X. Drake went to grab you only for you to quickly move out of the way, flicking your wrist. As you did so, a stream of water shot up, slamming him into the side of the cell and knocking him clean out. Then you turned to Basil who readied himself - only to suffer the same, unconscious fate as the other moments later.

You stood there, expressionless and unresponsive. 

“Y/n?” Law tentatively called out. Your head turned to him, your expression sending shivers down his spine. He did not like this one bit - it was haunting. It reminded him too much of all the death he had seen as a child.

You slowly made your way over to him, your movements silent. Everything about you just seemed…dead. You crouched in front of him, staring at him. He stared right back, but not for very long as he squirmed under your gaze. “What’s going on?” he whispered, but he knew you weren’t going to answer. There was something wrong and he didn’t know how to help.

It was driving him mad. 

“Y/n.” He reached out, touching your face softly. For a moment, there was a spark of recognition, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. However, upon the point of contact, the necklace around his neck began glowing a soft white, drawing his attention.

“They’re essential to our lives and very important to us. We almost can’t live without them!” Your voice rang through his head as the memory hit him once more. Right. Maybe that’s why you looked so lifeless? But, if this was the result then why the hell did you give it to him in the first place.

He moved to take it off and he noticed a noise coming from you as you did it. Law looked at you quizzically, slowly removing it. However, the closer he moved it to you, the more you seemed to pull away from it. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why didn’t you want it? 

He grabbed your arm to pull you in place. Animalistic noises came from you as you tried to pull away from him, the water around you rising, preparing to attack him if he didn’t let go.

Then the necklace was back around your neck.

The dead look in your eyes slowly went away as life seemed to seep back into them. He felt relief spread throughout his being. He didn’t like seeing you like that. Though, as you began panting and looking worse for wear, his worry began to build back up again. He moved to wrap his arms around you and you leaned into him. “Y/n?” he tried again. This time, you answered. 

“Law,” you finally said, voice hoarse. You were panting heavily and struggling to keep your eyes open.

“W-What’s going on?” he asked, worry apparent in his voice.

“I need…” you closed your eyes, trying to catch your breath but to no avail. “Recalibrate.” 

He stared at you. Recalibrate? Like what a robot did? Were you like Franky? Though, the lack of metal parts and the amount of blood you were currently covered in said otherwise.

You took a deep breath, wincing. You slowly pressed a hand to your necklace, pulling out what looked like an ornate chest. It seemed to match your necklace in terms of design and color. The stark white and ocean inspired patterns. He noticed a heart where the lock should’ve been.

“You know…your ability?” You paused, giving yourself a moment. “The heart swap one…” He nodded, wondering what you were about to get at. “T-Think of this…like that…”

“My heart…is in this box…” You took a deep breath, wincing once more. “What? Why?” You shook your head at his words. “Listen. Explain later…” Your breathing was becoming more and more labored with each inhale.

“Take…my heart…put in my chest…two minutes…” You looked up at him and he just stared at you. Only two minutes. “Not…a moment less…or more…” So many questions raced through his mind, but he knew that he needed to trust you. Trust that you would explain things and that you knew what you were talking about. 

He gently laid you down, nodding. “Okay…” His own voice was strained with worry and emotion. He was really going through it, but he was trying to keep it together - for you. You needed him right now and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure you were okay. That you would live. He’d be damned if he lost someone precious to him again.

After laying you down, he reached for the box. It seemed to glow in response to his hand, popping open and revealing, as you said, a heart - your heart. It looked about as rough as you did. He gently took it out of the box, moving it towards your chest. A spot on your chest began to glow as it neared you. You caught his arm and he stopped. 

“No matter what…” Your gaze was intense and definite. “Do not let go…” You took a deep breath, groaning. “Two minutes…” Then your hand fell and you let him do what he needed.

What the hell did that mean? What was going to happen to you? Ugh, this was more stressful than any surgery he had ever conducted in his life. He supposed that’s why you were asking him to do it. He was a doctor, after all. It probably would’ve been Chopper doing it if he had been here instead. Nothing more, right?

Law moved again, the heart slowly disappearing inside of your body and as it did, your eyes widened and you began screaming in pain. Panic immediately flooded Law’s entire being as you began to thrash about. He used his other hand to try and hold you down. He had to move on top of you, straddling your whole body under him to keep you still enough for him to keep his hand on your chest without too much fuss.

He clenched his jaw, his stress levels rising as you screamed and cried out in pain. Why the hell was this happening? If this was your heart, why was it so painful? Why was it out of your chest in the first place? Just what were you? The questions were growing and he knew he wouldn’t be getting any answers anytime soon.

As the seconds passed, your thrashing slowly died down - as did your cries. He slowly began to relax as you did, able to finally focus once more. Eventually, a peaceful look settled on your face and he thanked whatever god that was out there for granting you some peace. He was able to notice, now that you stopped thrashing about, that your wounds were beginning to heal again.

“119…120!” He pulled his hand back, your heart coming out with him. He held your organ in his hand and he stared at it for a moment. It seemed to be in perfect condition again. It really was connected to you despite not being in your body. Much like when he removed his own heart in Punk Hazard. 

He placed your heart carefully back in the box and it sealed itself up. He looked at you then at the box then at the necklace. Well, how was he going to get it back in there? He knew that he couldn’t access it. He knew that only you could but…something was telling him to try.

He put the box in his hand, his other hand pressing against the necklace. It seemed to respond to his touch, the stone changing from a stark white to a golden color. He blinked. He’d never seen it change color before. He moved the box towards the necklace and it disappeared inside. He stared at it before looking at his now empty hands. What in the hell is going on? His head was reeling.

He wasn’t able to think for long as he heard one of the headliners groan. Right. He needed to get the both of you out of here. Only he needed a key to get out of these cuffs. That’s when he noticed the key to his cuffs right next to him. Did you do that earlier? Or was this just an insane coincidence? He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t going to question it either. 

He undid his shackles, scooping you up in his arms gently before using his own ability to transport the two of you out of there and to safety.

[lovedrunkheadcanons]

Chapter Contents

(Arranged Marriage Fic) Read on AO3

RATED M

The clock struck five in the morning. Contaminated test tubes and beakers were wet in the sink. A bright green bar nearing 65% completion was loading on a large computer screen surrounded by monitors. Shoko was busy in her lab, observing a single drop of blood, splotched between two thin slides under a beaming microscope. She hadn't left work since yesterday. You’d think after all these years hunkered down in the school’s basement like an obsessive recluse, she’d be used to the loneliness. She could already hear poor Ghost yowling for his breakfast, but there was no room for pause. The blood sample results from the New National Theater had finally come back, but Shoko was only interested in one.

The jujutsu doctor’s lips drew together in concentration, suspending the tail end of a depleted cigarette. Screw resolutions. This was far more important than her respiratory health. Her findings so far were not as she’d hoped. The red blood cell count was starkly lesser than last week. She reckoned about a third of them had vitiated in that timeframe, even with the aid of reverse curse technique, but how? How? The discovery troubled her. She would start from scratch again if need be. After all, there was still more testing to be done.

Exhausted, Shoko wiped the beads of sweat off her brow and smothered her depleted cigarette in the ashtray. The computer monitors increased to 66%. She just prayed her hypothesis did not hold the truth.

Nanami Kento removed the strainer of brewed oolong leaves from the Royal Copenhagen he had sitting on a tray; a teapot and two cups with matching saucers, Blue Fluted Full Lace. They were heirlooms once owned by his late great uncle, who subsequently died of a stroke three years ago; another Henriksen lost. He had no wife or children and his mother didn’t want them, despite their value, so she bequeathed the china over to him. Not that he ever had a reason to use it. The full set of plates and fine tableware cost more than his apartment lease. He mostly kept the novelties for decoration. And perhaps nostalgia.

But not today.

Today he had a guest.

Nanami closed the lid on his uncle’s Copenhagen teapot and lifted the tray to walk back inside the living room of his small, one-bedroom sized apartment. It wasn’t the grandest place in the world, nor the cheapest. He could afford a much bigger unit if he wished, yet the space was well accommodated. It was furnished with all the essentials befitting of a bachelor; functional kitchen appliances, a washing machine and dryer, a brand new air conditioning system, and modern furniture. He had picked the farthest unit down the hall, so he wouldn’t be subjected to the loud elevator cranking up and down the many floors. It allowed him some peace and quiet in this bustling, wayward city known as Tokyo, granted, if you ignored the endless stream of ambulance sirens, blaring jumbotrons, and cries for help.

The part-time Jujutsu sorcerer entered his living room and acknowledged his guest sitting on the sofa.

“I apologize for bringing you out here like I did. I’m usually not this spontaneous.”

Nanami set the tray down along the coffee table and handed his guest a teacup. Hannah smiled at her host warmly and took the blue and white china from his hand. The porcelain clashed with the pink roses on her dress.

“Not at all, it’s perfectly alright,” she assured him. “I hear you’ve been busy with work, so this is me intruding on your time.” She looked down at the coffee table. “Anyway, I hope you like the rødgrød. Satoru mentioned you were Danish, so...”

Nanami sat down on the leather armchair, opposite her, and glanced at the small portable crockpot she had brought atop the table. Rødgrød med fløde was as much part of the Danish diet as cheeseburgers and fries were to the American. People preferred eating the berry porridge with custard or poured over freshly baked bread. Everyone loved it. Nanami hadn’t tasted the dessert since he was a young boy visiting his grandparents on holiday. Hannah had used raspberries and cherries for hers; exactly how his mormor used to make it. The tarter, the better.

Well, there were those waves of nostalgia hitting him again. He’d sample a bite later.

Satoru had dropped his wife off at his place that afternoon and hurried to go “run some errands.” Whatever that meant. Nanami had no choice but to leave the office. As ever, the Six Eyed moron liked to make things difficult and keep his whereabouts elusive, in addition to getting his lineage wrong.

“A quarter Danish,” Nanami clarified, loosening the lavender silk tie around his neck. He hadn’t been allotted time to change out of his business attire. “My grandfather was born and raised in Denmark, however my grandmother is Swedish.”

Hannah looked positively delighted.

“Ah, a Swede and a Dane,” she exclaimed. It would explain his blond hair. “That’s quite a match. The closest I got to living in Denmark was Germany. Did your grandparents ever alternate between countries?”

“For a time,” the quarter Dane replied. “But my grandmother has lived alone in Aarhus since my grandfather’s passing. I still get Christmas cards from her every year. She’ll be ninety-one this October.”

Unable to stop herself, Hannah heard the word “Christmas” and blurted the next question out loud without thinking.

“Oh. So you’re Christian?”

She could see the tug pull on the corner of his lips, barely noticeable to the untrained eye, and instantly regretted it. He was so cool, you’d think he hadn’t reacted at all. The quarter Dane shook his head. “Mom had me baptized in the Lutheran church as a baby to appease my grandfather, but the buck stopped there. She wasn’t very religious and I myself hold no beliefs.”

Hannah felt her cheeks burn hotter than the tea she was sipping, flushed with embarrassment. Her shoulders sagged. Of course he wasn’t Christian. What a foolish thing to expect? She felt awkward.

“I see,” she said rather sheepishly. “Please, forgive me. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

Nanami nodded understandingly. He thought it wasn’t dumb of her to ask, but with introductions out of the way, they had official matters to attend to.

“Satoru said you had some information about a possible Sukuna finger.”

Hannah nervously tucked a strand of long auburn hair behind her ear, lowering the expensive Copenhagen in her lap.

“Yes,” she said, swallowing her tea and straightening her bad posture. “I think I know where one is.”

Nanami leaned back against the armchair and crossed his legs, hands folded patiently in his lap. His eyes never wavered.

“I’m listening.”

Hannah coughed. “Well, you see,” she began, trying to decide where to start. “I think nothing of them at first. My dreams - er visions - are often quite,” she searched for the adjective, “sporadic, if you know what I mean. But lately I’ve been having a recurring dream.”

“A recurring dream.” Nanami quirked a pencil thin, blond eyebrow. “I’m guessing that’s a dead giveaway?”

Hannah let slip a dry laugh. “You’d be correct. In my experience, whenever a dream is recurring, it’s usually indicative of a vision.”

“What has the vision shown you?”

“It’s hard to describe,” she continued, squinting her eyes as though aiming for a moving target that refused to stay still. “I don’t know why, but it always begins with me…drowning. I’m ever so slowly sinking towards the bottom.” She closed her eyes for a second, trying to imagine the nightmare in her mind. “It’s very dark and murky, so I can’t see anything. I’m terrified out of my wits. I try to kick and swim my way back up to the surface, except someone, or rather something, has me by the ankles and won’t let go. I fight and struggle to free myself, but I can’t. It isn’t until my lungs give out that I finally look down and…” she stopped for a second.

“Go on,” Nanami coaxed gently, waiting in silence. He wasn’t going to force her to talk, if she didn’t want to.

“Eyes,” the seer said, own eyes flitting open. She took a much needed breath from the horrid memory. “Four glowing, scarlet eyes staring at me from the black. That’s it. That’s all I see. Then the vision pivots.”

“Pivots?”

Hannah took a sip of oolong before humming in agreement. “I’m shown a film reel of things. Places, I think. I can’t remember what they are, but there is one feature that stands out from all the rest.”

Nanami also took a sip of tea. “Like what?”

Hannah placed her teacup on the coffee table and used her fingers to “draw” an invisible picture for him. “A massive red o-torii, floating above a large body of water.”

The quarter Dane’s brow narrowed ever so slightly. He knew what place she was referring to.

“Itsukushima Shrine,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” Hannah sighed. “Satoru showed me a picture of it when I told him. It’s the exact same gate. He then mentioned you were working on a secret case and that I should speak to you immediately.”

Well, it’s not so secret anymore, Nanami thought, holding his tongue. Now he understood why Satoru had been so adamant the two of them talk, but hell, what a pain in the ass. The white haired dolt could’ve explained all this on the phone, or typed a quick text, instead of wasting he and his wife’s time. Even though she was a lovely person, both inside and out. Reminded him a bit like Haibara; her kindness and selflessness towards others.

But a tad miffed by this new flux of information, Nanami rose from his leather chair, teacup in hand, and walked over to the large window overlooking Shibuya Crossing, the thousands of city nerdowells commuting below, crammed like sardines.

“In the last four weeks, a total of eighteen people have been reported missing from the shrine,” he said, staring monotonously out the apartment window. “Evidence suggests it’s curse related. I and a few other sorcerers have been called in to investigate the disturbance.”

“Then perhaps this is your lucky break,” Hannah added, hoping to shed some light on the subject.

The quasi-business man continued looking out the apartment, almost like he wasn’t listening (but of course he was). “Itsukushima Shrine is a popular tourist destination in Miyajima. We’ll be fighting heavy crowds if we search during the day. Curse activity tends to worsen at night, but then there’s high and low tide to contest with. Your presence might also be needed. Could get dangerous.” He was listing all the potential roadblocks ahead.

“Can’t we disperse the crowds at least?” was Hannah’s suggestion. “Close the shrine off to tourists?”

Nanami hummed deeply in thought. Things were never that simple. He at last turned away from the window. “You’re sure this is a vision?”

Hannah shrugged. “More sure than not.”

“And you think a Sukuna finger is hiding somewhere at the bottom of Hiroshima Bay?”

The seer frowned. She felt her confidence wane at his scrutiny. “It’s the only lead I have.”

Confined to his thoughts, Nanami walked back towards the coffee table, relinquishing his empty teacup and saucer, and plopped back down in the leather chair, hand in his chin. A disconcerted expression became him, though his eyes were fixed on the Royal Copenhagen. Hannah thought he looked far older than his real age said on paper. He was handsome, she decided, with golden blonde hair and mixed Scandinavian features, but in a battle-hardened, wise kind of way. Forever pensive and stoic, like he had crossed the river Styx and managed to survive the harrowing ordeal, but only just so. Even without the bloody cleaver knife in his hand from that night at the opera, she could tell he wasn’t much for taking days and nights off. Kento Nanami was certainly a man operating under a lot of stress.

“I can’t name anyone on the top of my head with a water curse technique,” he vexed tiredly, observing the porcelain tea set. “A diving team will have to be dispatched. Damn. It’s always a risk when we get non-sorcerers involved.”

“But maybe we won’t have to,” Hannah said, complexion brightening. “Because as it were, I know someone who might be able to help us. That is, if we can persuade her.”

Nanami’s hand fell to his lap, eyes raised. “Her?”

Hannah rested her teacup on the coffee table and hurriedly rummaged through her dress pocket for a folded piece of paper. She offered it to him.

“Her.”

Feeling pessimistic, Nanami took the paper and slowly opened it. His eyes landed on the contact’s name above, and thus the part-time jujutsu sorcerer’s face tensed into a shrewd scowl. He exhaled loudly through his nose.

A bowl of that rødgrød didn’t seem like such a bad fix all of a sudden.

Neither did some brandy.

Chapter Contents

[metacrisisdoctor]

everytime i read a quote about the doctor and river it makes me rub my temples in frustration while also making me so so so deeply grateful that the doctor and rose's story ended how it did.

putting this under the cut, so if you do ship the doctor and river you don't have to read this.

the thing is: the doctor and river's relationship was a cool idea that moffat completely half assed, but at the same time he made it so that river is meant to be seen as more important than all of his other relationships up until his final life (without showing us the journey there) and i find that so insulting to the nature of the show. they are both locked into this "marriage" with such little choice in the matter, if any. it makes me sad for BOTH of them.

so according to moffat in the "end" river is uploaded to the library and the doctor is allegedly there too, his mind uploaded to the moon or whatever. but wtf kind of ending is that for the doctor? that's so odd to me. i don't ever WANT to know how things end for the doctor because the story should never have definite end, but moffat wanted to have the very last word in 2008 ig.

it confuses me further that he decided to write a pretty overt romantic storyline with eleven and clara in s7 which then continues onto twelve and clara. not because the doctor can't be in love multiple times or because i think it would bother river but because it makes it the relationship that is actually developed for THREE seasons.

i understand rtd being accepting of river during s4, since he was going to step down as showrunner seemingly forever. and i genuinely think that this is why rose and her doctor were sealed off the way they were even if he's never actually said it.

it's such a large part of why, to me, tentoorose is such a gift. it's so beautiful. because the "original" doctor has this future that is set in stone that tentoo never has to be part of. he is not only free from being essentially immortal, but he is free from being manipulated into a marriage with river and from being potentially uploaded into the library. and rose has the gift of having the last version of the doctor who does not know river aside from one episode. this doctor loves rose and rose alone. he will never be married to river, he will never have whatever romance went on with clara and yaz either. and i do believe that the doctor is allowed to fall in love multiple times in their many lives, which is where both doctor/river and "rose and all the doctors" does not work for me at all but then again, it doesn't matter because rose got her happy ending with the freest and happiest version of the doctor there ever will be and i'm so grateful for that when i remember how bonkers the plot became after season four.

some people say they dislike je because tentoo isn't rose's doctor when it's the complete OPPOSITE by now, and i cannot imagine rtd ever having a reason to undo that so when people suggest he would break them up for rose to be back with the "real" doctor i'm just like, you understood NOTHING. he wanted them to be safe and happy and HUMAN tucked into their own world that no one else but him would or could ever touch. because of journey's end the doctor and rose truly end up together in the most even, healthy and honest way possible. i just still feel so lucky 😭💗

[spindle-magic]

I saw Here We Are this afternoon, and here are some things I can't stop thinking about:

(Possible spoilers!)

In no particular order:

Zeno's Bistro, like Zeno's Paradox, aka the meaning of the piece

Fritz's green juice

"Wake up it's the end of the world you MORONS wake up it's the END OF THE WORLD"

The "Oh my God" that got held out for at least two full minutes

"I am SO SORRY. MADAM."

"We might have a little latte later but we haven't gotta lotta latte noooooooooooow"

"Back to square one!"

"I thought you were anti-fashion!" "Anti-fascist. ANTI-FASCIST!!!!!"

The scene with the young soldier and Fritz on the piano; the soldier representing the past that is ending and Fritz representing the future that hasn't come yet

"I want to know you, I want to know everything about you, I want to be inside you."

Fritz's summary about the room being like "like being in high school" because high school is essentially one big literal representation of Zeno's Paradox

Fritz in general

"I'm not a doctor I'm a plastic surgeon"

The priest's love of shoes

"And then some"

The bear ???? but also !!!!!

Marianne eating the rose

The priest's line about the classics being literally nutritious (I can't remember the actual line)

The entire scene between Marianne and the priest

The pipe breaking and everyone gorging themselves on the water

The cloned dogs joke coming back WITH MORE MEANING

Claudia's breakdown shifting into Claudia's vulnerability

"I want things to be as they seem and not what they are."

"I like lines just fine as long as they shine"

Marianne finally remembering the important thing and not telling anyone. (Self-actualization? "Waking up"? In this essay I will -- )

The last moment. It could mean so many different things but also all of them ????

[bellamuertes]

what was stupid about the new episode?

Okay I'll bite. I'll preface this by saying that I've always ridden hard for Ten and Donna's friendship, their dynamic has always been one of my favorites throughout New Who, so I REALLY wanted to like their return, but it was ROUGH to watch.

SPOILERS FROM HERE OUT >>>

I think for me, if you're going to come back after 15 years and try and rectify one of New Who's biggest tragedies—Donna not only losing her memories of the Doctor but essentially erasing all of the growth and self-confidence she'd built up throughout her travels and putting her back at square one—it's gotta be good, it's gotta make sense, it's gotta be earned. Nothing about what happened makes sense other than RTD wanted to fix it and decided now was the time.

I don't hate the solution to the metacrisis being Donna sharing the time lord mental load with her daughter and then the two of them releasing it because they don't need it anymore. It kind of makes sense if you squint—Donna hadn't wanted to let the power of being a time lord, of feeling important go and confronted with that power again, she realized, consciously or unconsciously, that she is powerful through motherhood, no longer needed it to feel special, and could release the time lord mind meld to her betterment. Maybe that's reading too deeply into it, but it's an interpretation that works. But it's done in such a cringeworthy way (MaLe-PrEsEnTiNg TiMeLorDs cAn'T LeT Go—ok what???) that I can't take it seriously.

It also hinges Rose's trans identity on the meta crisis. Is she trans because her brain's part time lord? She literally named herself Rose for that reason! Did her transition trigger Thirteen's regeneration into FourTen? Why would she be so keen to let go of the time lord energy when it finally made her feel a sense of belonging? Why should any of this even matter?

There are no stakes to Donna's return. You know they're not just going to bring her back then fuck her over again (at least not in this first episode). There could've been a lot more to her remembering her former life and what she'd lost and then risking it all to save the world again but instead the episode focused on wheelchair rocket launchers and respecting alien pronouns and Donna giving away her lottery money. It was messy and not fun to watch. If you were satisfied, I'm glad for you, but it was a huge let down for me.

[milarqui]

Scarlet Lady: Princess Fragrance

Directory | Guitar Villain

“Bonjour,” Nadja Chamack greeted. “Once again, Scarlet Lady, Chat Noir, and Marigold have saved Paris.”

The screen turned to a map of Paris, with one zone marked in green over blue, and a photograph of a woman with plant-like hair and eyebrows.

“Zoe Rapporte was Akumatized into the Enchanted Florist, threatening to engulf Paris in a treacherous jungle!” the reporter continued, as the image turned to show Paris' heroes under the rain, Scarlet Lady laughing while the other two waved and gave the former a glare. Underneath them ran a message announcing Paris' best therapists. “This makes Mlle. Rapporte's Nth Akuma–”

“Well maybe if people were a little less shi–” the florist suddenly yelled, jumping into image with a rather unfriendly face.

“CUT!”

----

Anyone that knew Chloé Bourgeois would have been surprised to see what she was doing.

She was in a public bathroom. Willingly.

That she was fixing her hair was a lot less surprising.

“Ugh, can you believe I have to work in the rain?” she complained, glaring at her own reflection.

“A-choo!”

Chloé looked into her bag, where laid Tikki, the Kwami of Creation, who did not look healthy.

“Ew, don't sneeze in my bag.”

Not that Chloé cared.

“Chloé, you n-need to take m-me to a doctor,” Tikki begged, but Chloé didn't seem to be up to it.

“What, a kwami doctor?”

“I know a healer,” Tikki said, but Chloé closed the bag.

“Oh, suck it up. I'm not letting you ruin my attendance.”

“Your attendance is already ruined!” the kwami pitifully pointed out. “Doctoooooor!”

----

Rose watched in her phone the news of the day (she shouldn't be, since she was at class, but this was important!), paying special attention to one report.

“Today, Prince Ali, heir to the Kingdom of Achu, will be organizing a toy drive for the Paris Children's Hospital,” the news anchor said, as the image turned to show the young prince at previous engagements.

“He's so beautiful, inside and out!” she said, feeling the tears threatening to drop off her eyes. He was truly a Prince Charming!

“So, like you?”

“Oh, you!”

Juleka had always been a bit shy, but ever since they got together, she had been more open about this. In fact, there were times she was really romantic. Like now.

“You know what?!” she said, pulling out a sheet of paper and uncapping her pen. “I'm going to write him a letter to tell him how much I love and respect him!”

“How you gonna get it to him?”

Alright, she wasn't sure about that. But...

“Love will find a way!”

“Does love do delivery?”

“It delivered you to me.”

Juleka blinked and blushed, but there was a wide smile on her face. She couldn't let her doubt her love for her!

----

For Olga Mendeleiev, teaching was a passion, an attempt to show her students the importance of science in the modern world. She knew that few of them saw it the same way as she did, but she didn't let that prevent her from trying to follow through.

She also knew that she had a fame of tough, but it was necessary: in places like a laboratory, it was essential to pay attention to everything, lest you suffer an accident that could be grave. In her entire career as a teacher, only thrice had a student messed up, and she always made certain that such a mistake was not repeated.

However, there were things she could not handle well. Like students arriving late to class.

“And where have you been, Chloé?”

“Fixing my hair and makeup, duh. This perfection takes time.”

The fact that Damocles bent backwards over this girl was the only reason she wouldn't punish her.

And then the door opened, paving way to the other tardy girl of the day.

“Waghh!” the girl said, almost tripping over her own feet as she ran in.

“Marinette, what's your excuse?”

Going by the girl's face, she braced herself for a terrible excuse.

“I, uh, had to bring my... dog! To the vet! He... ate all of my socks!”

…

If only she could apply her clothing artistry to other fields.

“Maybe if you were early, you could fully bake your excuses, Clumsinette!” Chloé laughed. “And you wouldn't look like a drowned rat!”

“You were also late!” she reminded her. She decided to let them go with just a warning, since she could hardly punish one and let the other free, and they had arrived before she could truly begin her class.

And then she saw something else that she knew she had warned about multiple times.

“Rose, I doubt the room needs to be perfumed,” she said as the blonde sprayed an envelope with perfume. It was a bit of a miracle that they hadn't started the experiment part yet – it could have cause an explosion! As she approached to grab the bottle, she also noticed that the girl was keeping her phone – switched on – under her table. “And using your phone in class? Take your things to the Principal.”

“Aww,” the girl moaned, but she had to be inflexible. Rose knew well enough what the rules in the lab were, and she had skipped all over them.

“I thought someone forgot a rotten fish in their bag, but it's just Rose's perfume!” Chloé, ever the troublemaker, shouted out loud, thinking she was funny.

“You have the exact same perfume in your locker,” Sabrina fired, causing everyone else to laugh while Chloé growled in embarrassment.

Alright, she could admit that it was a little funny. But that had no bearing with what was important right now – which was their class. She called everyone to order and began with her teachings of the day.

----

“Chloé, I don't feel so good,” Tikki moaned, her innards feeling like Plagg was doing his thing inside them.

“Oh, hush” Chloé replied, pushing her into the bag. “Don't you know Prince Ali is waiting at the hotel? I have to get ready!”

“Chloé!” That was Rose, who was clearly walking up to her. “Were you talking about Prince Ali?!”

“Not to you,” Chloé, ever the 'diplomatic', answered.

“Were you talking to your bag then? Cuz you have no friends?”

Ouch, that was kinda insensitive, Tikki thought, even if it was somewhat true.

“NO!”

----

Rose smiled. Poor Chloé, ever since Sabrina broke ties with her, she had been so lonely! But... she couldn't deny her a little favor such as this one, right?

“Could you give him this letter?” she asked, offering the letter she had been writing earlier in class.

“But of course!” Chloé replied, picking the envelope, before her smile turned... evil. “NOT!”

And she ripped her letter apart.

“AH!”

While she knelt to grab the pieces of paper that were all that remained of her work, Chloé got in her car, laughing like the evil witch she was.

“You seriously thought I'd walk around with that smelly fish rag?! Hahahaha!”

----

“Aghh!” Tikki groaned. The sudden movement was not doing her any favors.

“Hey! You better not get sick in my bag! You're ruining this moment for me!”

Love you too, Chloé, she thought sarcastically.

----

Hidden beneath her Queen's hair, Pollen was carefully combing through it to get rid of the knots that a long day at school had produced. She was glad that she could help her Queen in this way!

Then a car passed by, and her Queen's attention was drawn to it.

“Huh?! Wait, is that–?!”

Pollen looked in the same direction – and saw Tikki, lying on the hand of her wielder!

“Tikki?!” her Queen exclaimed. “Pollen, Chloé has Scarlet Lady's kwami!”

“Oh, my!” she said, smiling. Yes, her Queen had realized the truth of who had taken Tikki –

“She probably stole her! Cuz she's a thief and Scarlet is careless!”

“Oh my.”

Oof, so close.

----

He felt optimistic about this Akuma. The power she was granted could easily turn those blasted heroes into mere puppets of his will!

“Princess Fragrance, your perfume will be, from now on, your secret weapon. No one will be able to resist it, no one will oppose you!”

“I mostly just want my prince, to be honest...” the girl replied, “... but we can torment Chloé a little.”

Ah, Chloé Bourgeois. Clearly his best pawn in this world that kept preventing him from reaching his goal.

----

Marigold was a woman on a mission! And she wasn't going to let anyone prevent her from saving Tikki!

“Ahem,” she coughed, calling the attention of the hotel doorman. “Hello, I need to see Chloé Bourgeois! Hero business.”

“I'm afraid I can't let you in, Mlle. Marigold.”

What.

“Huh?!”

“Unless you have an invitation from the Bourgeois or there's an Akuma, you and Chat Noir are banned from the hotel.”

“B-but, why–”

“We're still finding ladybugs, Mlle. Marigold.”

“Ehehe...” she laughed.

C'mon, that was only because Scarlet wouldn't show up!

----

KNOCK KNOCK

“Oh, that'll be Adrien! Coming~” she sang out, putting Tikki back into her bag as she ran to open the door.

“Hey, Chloé,” and there he was, so handsome in his coat and vest and shirt and pants and he was so ready to be her one and done!

“Adrichéri, you're here –!”

And then her mood soured as she saw that chrome dome standing next to her Adrikins, wearing some sort of an ugly robe she wouldn't be caught dead holding in a hand.

“Agh! What are you doing here?!”

“I was invited,” the girl replied, glaring back at her.

“Doesn't she look great, Chlo?” Adrikins asked, unable to understand what he was supposed to be doing (which was getting rid of this girl, of course).

“Thanks, 'Adrichéri',” the girl said in a mocking tone.

“How dare you.”

----

She still wasn't sure why someone had thrown a perfectly serviceable motorcycle helmet and cape, but they (along with the pizza box she had also found in the pile) had allowed him to fool the doorman into thinking she was doing delivery.

She would have to thank Luka later for indirectly giving her the idea to do this.

Take your ban and shove it, Chloé! she thought, giggling to herself.

----

The doorman watched as another person dressed in what was obviously not normal clothes walked up to him.

“Oh, Lord, another one,” he muttered under his breath, before turning to the newcomer. “Mademoiselle, you can't be here–”

“That's no way to talk to a princess!” the stranger said, spraying him with a rather delectable perfume that assaulted all of his senses.

“Agh!”

Then, he realized he had had it all wrong! How could he have so horribly treated Princess Fragrance! He bowed to her and bid her enter the hotel.

“At your service, Princess Fragrance,” he said.

“I'm coming, my Prince,” Princess Fragrance sang out, before she turned. “Where's Prince Ali?”

“Restaurant floor, Princess Fragrance,” he informed her. She would soon meet her beloved Prince, and that could only make him happy.

----

This was Ali, Prince of Achu's, first visit to the city of Paris, which he had heard much about. But this was not a tourist's visit – it was meant to be about visiting the local children's hospitals, ensure the money was correctly invested in ensuring their health and, most imporantly, speak with the children and see for himself they were getting better.

But, still, as he was the representative to his country, there were unavoidable moments, such as meeting the local authorities. In this case, he would meet the mayor and the children of some of the city's biggest names.

Like the blonde girl standing in front of him – if his notes were right, she was the mayor's daughter – who was now holding a figurine of a girl that resembled her, but dressed in a red-with-black-dots costume and a domino mask over her eyes.

“Prince Ali, I brought you this beautiful, unique Scarlet Lady figure – for the children,” she said, offering him the figurine.

“Oh!”

He wasn't sure of what the children would do with the figurine, but it certainly wasn't safe for them.

----

He couldn't know that Chloé had just grabbed the figurine she liked the least off her shelf-slash-altar.

----

Then approached a boy with blond curls, holding a plushie of a boy that resembled him, but with wilder hair, a black domino mask and clad in black from neck to toes.

“I commissioned a friend for a few Chat Noir plushies,” he said. “The rest have been delivered.”

He picked it up, and smiled both at the detail and how good it felt to his hands. He knew the children would love this and the others.

“Oh, soft!”

----

He couldn't know that Adrien had asked his crush and number one fan to craft them. Or how handsomely he had paid for them.

Or how Marinette had worked on it as her 'compensating' Adrien for the Pixelator incident.

----

The last teen in the room was a Japanese young lady, dressed in traditional garb, greeting him with a bow that he returned.

“The Tsurugi's have delivered a truck of Marigold merch in your name,” she declared in (very) slightly accented French.

“That's so nice of you!” he declared. He and his companions would have to check and make sure the merchandise was child-safe, but he was certain the children would also love to play with them.

----

He couldn't know that Kagami's decision had been prompted by what some would call a 'girl-crush' she had on Paris' true heroine.

----

“And who are these characters?” Ali asked, confused. He knew he was not up on current cultural events, but maybe they could tell him? Perhaps it could be something to bond with children in the future?

----

He couldn't know...

... he was about to learn the truth.

----

Marinette ducked behind a short table as she saw the small group passing by, with Chloé between her father and the foreign prince Rose had mentioned in class – holding one of the Chat Noir plushies she had crafted at Adrien's request.

But her current target was elsewhere.

“Oh, there!” Pollen pointed out, signaling with her tiny arm at Chloé's bag, where Tikki could be seen hanging from.

“Pollen, she doesn't look so good,” she muttered, her heart hurting at the look. She had to find a way to get Tikki out of Chloé's hands!

Then the elevator's doors opened, and in came –

An Akuma?! One that resembled ROSE! What is she –!

The Rose Akuma aimed with what looked like a gun and pulled the trigger, but instead of a bullet it fired a cloud of green smoke that washed all over Chloé.

Everyone around her quickly covered their noses.

“Prince Ali, what – is that awful smell?” someone from the prince's entourage asked, her face almost as green as the cloud that now seemed to hang around Chloé.

“C-Chloé, you smell like rotten fish!” Adrien declared, trying to step away from her.

“What?! It's not me!” Chloé screamed, before she began to smell around.

It was definite.

This might be my favorite Akuma, she thought, giggling again as Chloé realized the true source of the smell.

“Oh no, it is me! Waaah!” the girl cried out.

“W-Who are you?!” the prince asked, clearly shocked. Didn't he know about Akumas?

“I'm Princess Fragrance, I came just for you!” Rose – or, rather, Princess Fragrance – declared. “One little PSHH, and you'll be my Prince Ali!”

Alright, pranking Chloé was one thing, but control someone was another – and she wasn't about to let the Akuma win.

She grabbed the pizza box and threw it at the biggest flower bouquet in the room.

“Not on my watch!” she shouted, as the flowers almost exploded from the impact, filling the room with flower petals – which fell around the Akuma.

“Wha– hey!”

“Now's our chance! Run!” the Mayor stated, ushering his guests away.

----

Adrien dodged out of the way of the rest of the group, ducking into a side hallway as Plagg came out of his pocked.

“Now's our chance! Plagg! Claws Out!”

----

With everyone escaping from the Akuma, and the latter distracted, it was her chance.

“Pollen, Buzz On!”

“Uh, wait, the helmet–” Pollen tried to say, but the magical transformation absorbed her before she could finish her warning.

Oops.

----

The Mayor slammed the door behind him, his back forcing it closed.

“We're safe, the door is reinforced,” he declared, but that was little comfort for everyone else, who were trying to hold their breath and avoid smelling the stench coming from Chloé.

“Disastrous!” Prince Ali's aide said. “How does anyone keep to a schedule like this?!”

Chloé looked around, and realized someone was missing.

“Hey... where's Adrien?!”

Kagami, covering nose and mouth with her sleeve, chose to answer.

“He must've been caught like the news crew.”

----

When Chat Noir returned to the place where he had split off from the group, he realized it was emptier than it should have been.

“Where is everyone?!”

----

The Mayor's claims that the group was safe were quickly put to test, as Princess Fragrance approached the door.

“Mon Prince~!” she sang out. “Breathe the perfume of our eternal love!”

And she fired her gun, which now shot a cloud of a dark pink that threatened to slip into the safe room.

“Not so fast!”

But a vacuum cleaner was turned on – and the pink cloud got sucked into the latter, preventing it from reaching the other group.

“Hey! How dare you... Marigold?” the Akuma reacted, seeing the heroine entering the scene by wielding the cleaner...

“Marigold is here! With... a helmet?” the Mayor said, surprised at the mysterious change.

“Make a break for it!” Kagami said, pulling from Ali's free hand.

“Wait, she's real?!” the Prince shouted, shocked.

Hasn't he been seeing news on Paris? Kagami thought.

----

Unfortunately for her, the vacuum cleaner had only worked as a temporary measure, as Princess Fragrance had simply amped up how much perfume she could fire. She was getting cornered.

But she found the means to escape. It was going to be tight, but she could fit in.

“You won't escape my perfume!” she heard Princess Fragrance sing.

I already have, she thought, and closed the dumbwaiter's door to go down to the kitchen. That was her way out.

----

Chat Noir finally found the rest of the group, diminished in number, as they reached another part of the restaurant.

“Chat Noir!” Alright, Kagami would act as a voice of reason.

“There you are! Where's the Akuma?” he asked, but the answer quickly came from another source.

“Behind us, close the door!” Chloé shouted at one of the hotel's workers, pointing at one door. “Daddy's been bewitched!”

But it was too late. Princess Fragrance walked through the door, still spreading her perfume around.

“Come into my arms, mon cher Prince~”

“No means no!” Chat Noir shouted, enlarging his baton and forcing the Akuma out of the room.

“OOF!” the Akuma complained. Chat Noir quickly turned it around and pushed out of the window, enlarging it until it touched ground.

“All aboard the Escape Express!” he declared, ever the showman.

----

Fortunately, lowering everyone who was still free of the Akuma's influence was easier than expected, and soon enough they had reached the Prince's car.

“Let's go–” Chloé said, but Kagami interposed her bokken.

“Stop,” the Japanese girl stated.

“Huh?! Where were you hiding that?!” Chloé asked, surprised.

“She's not after you and you'll stink up the car,” Kagami replied, ignoring the question.

“Let me in! Who do you think you are?!” Chloé yelled, and in her agitation, she made a mistake.

She forgot Tikki was in her bag.

And when she shook the bag, Tikki flew out of it.

“Go hide in a bush,” Kagami ordered, not caring for the other girl, as everyone else got into the car.

“Chloé,” Chat Noir said as the doors closed. “Wait for Marigold. Or your BFF, Scarlet Lady.”

“GRR!” Chloé growled.

“HOW DARE YOOOOU!” both Chloé and Princess Fragrance yelled out in unison.

----

Chloé's irritation with the world increased as she saw the Akuma fly off the restaurant's terrace in pursuit of the fleeing car.

“How dare that Akuma prove Tsurugi right by ignoring me?!” Chloé complained. “Tikki, time to give her a piece of my–”

But when she looked down into her bag, she realized the kwami was missing.

“Tikki?” She began to look around. “Where'd she slink off to?!”

She thought over what had happened, when she saw someone else showing up.

“Oh, no, where'd they go now?”

“Marigold!” she shouted, approaching the heroinesidekick.

“Chloé?!” Marigold waved her off, putting a disgusted face. “You stink!”

Chloé ignored that.

“After that car! Tsurugi stole my, um, important bug plushie!”

“Oh, I bet she did,” Marigold replied, before taking off after the car.

----

At the car, its four occupants remained on edge. Chat Noir and Kagami were more than conscious about the danger the Akuma still represented, while the Prince and his attendant, Soraya Khan, remained in shock about the sudden turn of events, of something that they had never heard about.

“Ugh, I can still smell it,” Mlle. Khan complained, as Chloé had been close enough to the rest that the rotten fish stink had permeated through their clothes and into the car. “I'll open the moonroof a little.”

“Ah, wait–!” Chat Noir warned, but the woman still did it.

“Don't be a fool, do you want the Akuma to gas the whole car?” Kagami stated, hitting Soraya's hand with her bokken.

“OW! What?! Surely we've gotten enough distance–”

“What a great idea, future servant~!” Princess Fragrance suddenly said, from the top of the car.

“NO!” Chat Noir yelled, but it was too late, as the car's interior got flooded with the pink mist.

“I'll take you to the Pont des Arts to seal our love!”

----

Out of sight of all the humans, a tiny kwami laid on the floor of the car, unable to act. Brought low by her sickness, she could only beg for her holder.

“C-Chloé...”

----

By the time she was able to track down the car, it had crashed into a pile of (now empty, fortunately) cars and buses. She knew it was a bad sign, that the Akuma had captured the ones riding there. Right now, though, she couldn't do much – save for helping the reason she had been running around.

“Oh no, Tikki!” Running up to the car, she finally got rid of her helmet (it would be restored to normality as soon as the Cure was cast) and checked into the car.

When she saw the tiny kwami, laying on the floor, in clear pain and distress, broke her heart.

“Tikki! Oh, you poor thing, you're worse than I thought!”

“M-Marigold?” Tikki weakly said as she picked her up. “I-I need to get back to Scarlet Lady, to transfor–”

“Absolutely not!” she interrupted. “I'm taking you to Master Fu first, no ifs, ands, or buts!”

“B-But–” Tikki tried to say, but Marigold was resolute.

“No buts!”

----

Finding her way to Master Fu's home was not easy, but with Pollen's help she was able to remember the path, and soon enough the venerable man was using his magic on the sick kwami.

“How did you find her like this?” the man asked.

“My classmate had her,” Marinette said. “Knowing Chloé, she probably stole her.”

Tikki let out a groan of what sounded like pain, but Fu smiled and retired his hands.

“She should be all better now.”

Tikki sat up and smiled. Her countenance had completely changed now, and it was obvious she was hale and hearty.

“Oh, thank you! I feel so much better! I'll go right back to Scarlet Lady now!”

“Tikki!” Pollen exclaimed. “Goodbye hug!”

“Huh?”

“My Queen gives the best hugs!”

“I-If it's okay...” Tikki replied, feeling insecure, but then Marinette smiled and opened her arms.

“Of course!”

And Tikki jumped to hug the one that should have been her wielder.

And if there were tears in her eyes, no one said anything.

Then Tikki opened her eyes and noticed Pollen giving her a face.

“Tikki, just to be clear, you're the only one I'm willing to lend my Queen to,” she whispered. “Tell the others she's off limits: especially Mullo.”

Wow, Mullo had to have done something bad to bring this side of Pollen.

----

“This padlock will seal our love for eternity, Mon Prince!” Princess Fragrance said as she spread her perfume over the object the ensorcelled Chat Noir was presenting her.

“At your service, Princess Fragrance!” Prince Ali replied, not realizing the danger due to the Akuma's power.

Suddenly, a top flew and struck the heart-shaped padlock Princess Fragrance had created, forcing it out of Chat Noir's hands and causing it to drop into the waters of the Seine.

“Rose, did you forget you have a girlfriend?”

“Marigold!” the incensed Akuma shouted as the top returned to the heroine's hand. “I have two hands, busy body! Servants, attack!”

As the people the Akuma was controlling ran over to her, Marigold just rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, I'm more afraid of Kagami than Chat Noir.”

----

Tikki quickly tracked down Chloé by the Earrings, and found her sitting down by the hotel, moody and arms crossed.

“Chloé!” she called out, and the girl looked up at her.

“Tikki! Where've you been?”

“The doctor. Like I told you earlier.”

“Don't you know I was stuck on the sidelines like some civilian?! Ridiculous, utterly–”

“Chloé–” she said, interrupting the girl's favorite sentence before she could get more absurd, but that was interrupted when Chloé looked up.

“Ah, there she is again!” the girl exclaimed, and she turned around to see the Akuma flying with the young boy from earlier holding onto her. “Tikki, Spots On!”

“Agh!”

Now, she could only hope Chloé would actually be able to do her part.

----

Hawkmoth was feeling impatient. The girl had managed to put Chat Noir under her control, but for some reason, instead of doing the obvious thing and taking the Ring, she was instead focused on forcing some boy to love her. He opened the connection to her and got ready to berate her.

“I'll enchant all of Paris and make it our kingdom!” Princess Fragrance declared, much to his shock.

“Wait, not me though, right?” he said before he could contain himself.

“ALL OF PARIS!”

…

I might have miscalculated this time.

He was now confronted with a Morton's fork. If he didn't reclaim the power, this Akuma might well manage to put him under her control, and he'd be unable to escape. But, if he did reclaim the Akuma, he'd lose the chance to get a half of what he needed to make the Wish! This was the closest he had been to his goal!

But then the Akuma's concentration was broken.

----

“I don't think so, Stink Bomb!” Scarlet shouted, throwing her yo-yo and hitting Princess Fragrance's gun before she could fire her perfume.

“Ah! Scarlet Lady!” Princess Fragrance turned to glare at Scarlet, only to see Marigold landing right next to her. “And you again?! What happened to my servants?!”

Marigold ignored the question.

----

At the banks of the Seine, Chat Noir had recovered his senses, and was now guarding the stunned people that had been controlled by the Akuma, tied up with his belt.

----

Scarlet called up the Lucky Charm, and as soon as it showed up Marigold grabbed it, an angry face over her features.

“I'll be taking that Lucky Charm!”

“Hey!” Scarlet yelled.

Nobody cared.

The one who cared was Princess Fragrance, but what she cared about was how the Lucky Charm – a balloon – got thrown into her gun just as she tried to put the heroines under control.

“Wha– NO!” the Akuma shouted as the balloon caused the gun to backfire and break down.

“VENOM!” Marigold shouted, jumping at Princess Fragrance, who had suddenly found herself defenseless.

“Wai–!”

Too late. The tip of the spinning top pierced her, and the Akuma was paralyzed, allowing Marigold to grab the perfume gun and smash it against the floor.

“Well, that was easy!” Scarlet said, immune to the glare the ticked-off Marigold threw at her.

“Easy for you, maybe.”

----

Prince Alí came about somewhere in the streets of Paris. Not only he didn't know where he was, he didn't know how he had actually arrived here. The last thing he could remember was that... Akuma? Throwing some perfume into the car he was riding, and after that it was a blank.

And then there was the girl next to him. He felt a bit uncomfortable about how she was holding his arm, but... he couldn't deny there was something genuine about her, unlike other girls he had met before.

“Prince Ali!” the girl said, smiling and blushing as she stood there.

“Where am I?” he asked, before turning to the two... heroes that had apparently saved him. “Who are they?”

The one in red and black – the one that resembled Mlle. Bourgeois – stepped up, while a loud beeping came from something around her. Had she left some alert that she was ignoring?

“Why, I am the famous hero of Paris, Scarlet–”

“Lady of Timers!” the other one, the one that resembled a bee, interrupted, pulling from the red one's ear.

“OW!” the latter said, but clearly the bee girl didn't care about her pain.

“Time to go, my Queen of Irresponsibility.”

The bee girl kept pulling from the other one, until they were at the top of the Sacre Coeur and...

“See you later!” she said, waving with one hand as she just shoved off her partner down the other side of the dome with the other.

“Are your heroes usually this... eccentric?” he asked the girl, who was similarly shocked.

“Um...”

Deciding to learn more of the situation and this young lady, he decided to talk with her, because maybe she'd be able to throw some light.

Rose – the girl – explained what Akumas were and how the heroes – Scarlet Lady, Chat Noir, and Marigold – fought the Akumas in order to prevent them from stealing some sort of object on behalf of Paris' villain. As for Rose herself, she had been Akumatized, and apologized profusely for what she had done, but he forgave her: if what she had said was true, everything she had done was not something she would have done if she wasn't under control of this Hawkmoth, so he couldn't blame her.

And then she had come down to explain why she had been Akumatized.

“I know you help the sick children of the world. I just wanted to tell you that you're the nicest person I've ever met!” Rose said, her face blushing from cheek to cheek, and he also felt his face redden. He had been told similar things many times... but never by someone so honest and sincere as Rose.

“Really?” he asked, but before Rose could answer someone else interrupted.

“Prince Ali!” Mlle. Bourgeois shouted as she ran up to them

Rose turned to look at Mlle. Bourgeois, but it didn't seem to be friendly at all.

“Chloé?”

Ah, so they knew each other?

“You're safe! Aren't you glad I'm safe too? Let's continue where we left off! And ditch Rose.”

The words had come out of her mouth like bullets from a machinegun, but still he understood them easily. He understood what the girl intended to do.

And put a stop to it.

“No thank you, I'll be going to the Children's Hospital with Mlle. Rose.”

“Whu–?! Uh, but–” Mlle. Bourgeois babbled, before she appeared to settle on an argument. “She has a girlfriend!”

Hm? Well, if Rose had someone she called a girlfriend, then she had to be a wonderful lady as well!

“Oh, I'd love to meet her!” he told Rose, smiling, and she smiled back at him.

“She'd love to meet you!”

“Arhh!” Mlle. Bourgeois yelled. Clearly, she had not expected this outcome.

----

Soraya Khan, Prince Ali's personal attendant, had been on a quest to track down her charge after waking up drenched and tied with other people by a belt next to the Seine. After the young hero untied them and explained something of what had happened, she had thanked him and then started to look for Ali, knowing that she was risking some severe punishment if the Prince of Achu suffered any damage while under his watch.

Fortunately, a lucky find had pointed her at the Children's Hospital the Prince had meant to visit, and she quickly rushed over, finding him playing with one of the cancer-struck children that were tended to there, as well as another girl of Prince Ali's age holding the child.

“Prince Ali! There you are!”

“Ah, you found me,” the Prince replied. Soraya felt slightly apprehensive: did the Prince not understand how important his security was?

“I've been looking all over Paris for you!” she pointed out, as the Prince and the blond girl stood up – holding hands.

What.

“Who is this?” she asked, surprised that her charge was holding hands with this unknown girl.

“This is my girlfriend, Rose.”

She felt her jaw dropping. At fifteen, the Prince had never shown any interest in other ladies, not even the ones presented to him by her family. And suddenly, a girl he had known for less than a day, he was willing to call her 'girlfriend'?

“And this is her girlfriend, Juleka!” he continued, pointing at the girl holding the other hand of the first girl, a contrast because, where this Rose was blonde and wearing colorful clothing and was just sunny, the second wore black all over her body and looked like she was used to look gloomy.

But here, the girl was smiling, and even waved at her.

“Hey.”

She felt a current of cold sweat down her back. Explaining this to the family was not going to be pretty...

----

As soon as he was certain he'd be able to get away, Adrien had transformed into Chat Noir and jumped his way across Paris.

He had received a message from Marigold.

Meet me at the usual point, 23:30.

And he might be mistaken, but she had sounded like she was on edge for some reason.

He hoped she wasn't angry with him.

When he landed, he found her with her back turned to him, and he decided he needed to avoid being the target of her anger any more.

“Hey Goldie, I got your message. Everything okay? You sounded a bit off.”

When she didn't react to this, he decided it was time to admit his mistake.

“Is this about the Akuma? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get hit–”

“Chat Noir.” Wow, she sounded serious. And when she turned around, he realized she was really serious. “We need to talk about taking the Earrings from Scarlet Lady.”

He felt like his jaw was dropping. They had both thought about it once or twice... but this time, it was clear that Marigold really meant it.

It felt like nothing would be the same any more.

----

Despair Bear

@zoe-oneesama Here endeth Season 3. Season 4 will begin as soon as I can get the inspiration in the middle of this heat. Dealing with high 30s ain't fun.

[lady-of-the-spirit]

☔ (for wip ask game)

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

I have Several fics I'm not sure I'll ever write on rotation in my mind. But there's this Doctor Who fic idea I've had for ages now. And the premise is essentially that NONE of the Doctor's modern companions are human. or at least not like, human in the way the Doctor thinks they are. And the Doctor never realizes it until the companion actually tells them or they find out through other circumstances. (rest under the cut because I got very ranty.)

For instance, Rose is (obviously) a werewolf. She gets the werewolf gene from her dad, who was also a werewolf. She's had it drilled into her head by Jackie (understandably protective of her daughter) that she can't tell people, so she doesn't tell the Doctor. Rose starts to figure out how the werewolf and full moon thing works when she's in space and once she's got it all worked out, she figures out how to keep track of the days and keep herself hidden in the TARDIS or at home until it's over. The Bad Wolf symbols have even more meaning to her. Until, of course, the Tooth and Claw episode, where things go a little better because the werewolf alien has a real life werewolf to play with/fight.

Martha is an actual star - a star that fell to earth and gained human form, like in Stardust. She finds herself with a family on earth and since she has no idea how to get back to the sky, she's content - sort of - with making a life on earth. But there's still that yearning for home, for her sisters in the sky. When the Doctor - and she's heard his name, heard his song in the universe since time began - offers to take her through time and space, she agrees, figuring this will be the closest she can get to returning home. everything goes as normal, the Doctor doesn't know, until episode 42 - when she can hear the screams of her sister star, can speak to the host inside the human bodies without burning, and figures out what's happening much sooner than the Doctor does.

Donna was a normal human - in Ancient Britain, before the Romans invaded. At some point, she was in an accident - she got killed. And then came back to life, no longer able to age or die. Since then, well, her life's been a long, long series of events. A few generations ago, she had a son, who gave her a grandson she adores, who had a daughter, and no matter how critical her great-granddaughter is, she loves Sylvia as much as she loves Wilf, and she's willing to put on a charade of the annoying daughter to stick around them for a while longer. Of course she's heard of the Doctor, although she's never met him her other immortal friends have, but becoming besties with him and traveling to the stars was not expected. But traveling to the stars - she's felt like she's seen it all, but there's suddenly more to see? Sign her up! The Doctor thinks she's just weirdly passionate about obscure historical details and a little spacey on modern things, and things don't get revealed until the metacrisis - when instead of her brain exploding, it heals on its own, though it does take a little more time than normal because it's such a weird situation for her human body. The Doctor is freaking the fuck out the whole time.

Companions past 10's are when it gets a little more vague because I know less about it. Someone in the Donna/Doctor discord suggested Amy's a fae - the importance of names and all of that - and I like the idea. Rory is another immortal like Donna, although a little more timey-wimey. He gets killed like in canon, on his adventures with Amy and the Doctor. But he gets thrown into the vortex back to Roman times, and wakes up to find himself immortal. From there he's following mostly canon events, with some tweaks. He definitely meets Donna, and they're immortal besties. I don' t know at all about Clara or Bill, or 13's companions.

So yeah as you can see from the above 4 whole paragraphs of text I've thought about this plenty. I don't know what'll ever happen to it. But it's on my mind.

wip ask game!

[fashionlandscapeblog]

I am not a religious person, but if I was, I would easily believe the Evangelical Christian far-right/MAGA people ruling Florida and other states making laws forbidding children and young people to learn anything against racism or history of racism in the US, banning anything remotely endorsing diversity or anything they consider 'woke' or social (they are banning and satanizing rainbows in schools, for Christ's sake), banning books that talk about the Holocaust, making it legal for kids to work, are the Antichrist themselves. These people have passed so many evil laws against minorities, it's not funny.

Now a doctor can deny healthcare to anyone they wish, based on their 'ethical views', which is so ambiguous that it could actually mean ethnic minorities, not just queer people (how 'ethical' is to deny healthcare to anyone in the first place? It's a fundamental contradiction). The Republican Party has already started a genocide against trans people and they have started it with laws that are essentially forbidding their existence and denying them healthcare, which will cause a lot of them to commit suicide, something that is already a problem in their community, because society doesn't accept them, let alone if they aren't allowed to transition.

I am pretty sure that if Jesus resurrected today, these MAGA people would crucify him again for being too 'woke' and a sinner loving commie (reminds me of The Grand Inquisitor in Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov). These people are talking even about banning women's rights to vote, they are criminalizing trans and gay people. Believe me, they already came for trans and gay people, the next big target is women (they already started with anti-abortion laws). When the Nazis rose to power, trans people were the first ones they targeted and exterminated, then came the Jews and ethnic minorities, gay people, then came communists and political dissidents. When something batshit crazy like this starts, at the end no one will be safe. But of course, this will all be dismissed as 'paranoid' and 'exaggerate' by the majority, that's exactly how and why fascism advances.

Even though there are so many urgent problems to solve like for instance climate change, poverty, etc, these people are focused on finding scapegoats (trans people are literally only 1% of the population, but they are, according to them, the biggest 'threat'), making laws and all their political discourse about them, deviating the attention of the general population away from the really important issues. This has happened before in history and that's what the right always did.

You guys need to stop watching this happen and should begin to seriously protest this, because if this continues, it will be catastrophic not just for your country, but for the whole world, given the power of the US.

[mulderscully]

What is your favorite thing you love about the doctor and rose?

been thinking about this all day.

i love a lot of things about them but i think what draws me the most to them now is how much care rtd put into their story every step of the way.

i really love how rose's importance to the doctor those first four seasons is never downplayed, even after they were seperated. i like that the fact that he is essentially immortal and she isn't is allowed to take up the space that it should and that it creates just the right amount of repression, where the doctor cannot fully open himself up to her but he also is obviously deeply devoted to her and unashamedly in love with her and vice versa.

i love that (despite what some antis and fics say) he never ever sees her as beneath him or as unintelligent because of her upbringing and in turn i love that she doesn't see him as some sort of god or as above her either. they are just two people who love and complete each other and that's really rare and special in immortal/mortal ships.

and i love that in the end it's him who wants to be human with her, who gets to be human with her even in just one life. i love that rtd loves them enough to give them an impossible soft ending and that he threaded that throughout their relationship so the clues for where they were headed are all there.

i just think they are a master class in writing, honestly.

[pagerunner-j]

The Long Road Home: the story so far

All right: since it's been a while since I shared most of these, and I think a few have flown under the radar of some folks who might enjoy them, it is SELF-PROMOTION TIME.

The Long Road Home (the name of the fic series, as well as its first entry) is a set of Doctor Who stories about Tentoo, Rose, and the aftermath of Journey's End. Come for the romance and an exploration of their relationship; stay for alien mysteries, dangerous conspiracies, and adventures yet to come.

(Read: yes, I started with writing shameless fluff and then got walloped over the head with Plot(tm). These things happen.)

The individual stories include:

--

The Long Road Home (M, 24,564 words) Rose and Tentoo, getting to understand each other, trust each other, and eventually love each other, on the way home from Bad Wolf Bay.

Featuring a long-overdue family road trip, deleted scenes turning into essential plot, existential crises, asides from Jackie Tyler, the wrong Beatles, inappropriate ways to answer room service, and your author shamelessly abusing the limits of touch telepathy.

--

Understandings and Ultimatums (M, 6,808 words) An interlude following The Long Road Home, in which Rose and Tentoo, temporarily staying with Rose's parents, maybe start getting a little carried away with each other. And Pete's got a few words to say to the Doctor about it. Oops.

Featuring badly timed father-daughter check-ins, the Doctor continuing to come to terms with having a whole lot less a in his sexuality these days, a children's toy as a conversation starter, Rose getting alternately irritated and turned on by possessive men, and absolutely everybody complaining about London real estate. --

At the Threshold (T, 8,575 words) Rose and Tentoo find themselves facing a number of major life decisions. Some aren't quite yet decided upon, but some important ones are coming together at last.

Featuring the joys of house hunting, the tricky question of names, pointed motherly advice, Time Lord talents at work, gratuitous Shakespeare geekery, ongoing telepathy shenanigans, and life-changing phone calls happening at really inconvenient times. --

Four Ceremonies (T, 21,812 words) A home claimed, a seed planted, a commitment made, and promises spoken.

Rose and Tentoo on the road to marriage, and a few other, perhaps even more significant things.

--

Entanglements (M, 21,030 words) Rose and the Doctor may have found a good life together, but that doesn't mean all their worries--or their past traumas--have gone away quite yet.

In which the emotional rent comes due, some painful stories are revealed, risky levels of intimacy are reached, a good number of unsettling memories and dreams unfold, and Rose finds her way to the solution for a tricky problem with their TARDIS...but that might come with a certain cost, too, and it might not only be hers to pay.

Featuring Rose, Tentoo, and...well, Ten, too. --

Coming to Light (E, 6,588 words) All right, all right. Before we get down to main-plot business, let's let these two crazy kids, well, get down to business.

A Long Road Home interlude, in which Rose and Tentoo take that trip to Barcelona (the Pete's World version, anyway), discover the alien weirdness behind one of this city's strangest neighborhoods, and then, inspired by that day's escapades, make good on both the rating of the story and the verb choice in the title.

...hey, they're having a nice time on their holidays, who am I to argue.

--

The House Among the Briars (M, 22,388 words) Go big or never go home.

In which Rose and Tentoo finally discover the secret of the house where they've been living, but get stranded in separate dimensions in the process. To find their way back to each other, they have to confront parts of themselves that they might not want to have to accept. For the Doctor, it's the rage he's been warned about virtually ever since he first came to be. And for Rose, it's something even more dangerous, and a whole lot stranger.

Because it might be time for a certain bad wolf to come back out to play...

--

The Wolves in the Woods (T, 48,312 words) Rose and Tentoo have secrets. Torchwood has questions. Everything is about to come to a head one way or another, especially if the director of interdimensional research at Torchwood gets her way.

And Rose and the Doctor are going to have to figure out how to stop her, before she lays a claim on their growing TARDIS...or on the two of them themselves.

--

Within the Kaleidoscope (M, in progress, 47,206 words so far) Vignettes from Rose and Tentoo's lives as two life-changing events unfold: the growth of their new TARDIS, and Rose's unexpected pregnancy. These two things may end up linked in ways they didn't anticipate. And all the while, a larger alien mystery is slowly coming to light. Will be updated periodically.

Latest update (10/15): The Doctor and Rose get closer to truly starting up the TARDIS, but discover some critical data is still needed. With any luck, their new contacts at UNIT might be able to help...

[variousqueerthings]

Ultravox do they split up?!!!

okaaaay so far best fuckn episode This Season, it's Cold War and it's got (checks the list): Liam Cunningham (for anyone acknowledging the good bits of Game of Thrones), David Warner (!!!!!!! no seriously !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and he's the best part of the episode too), Tobias Menzies (for you the terror fans), Josh O'Connor!!?? pre-doing a million great gay movies, and James Norton, whom I've definitely seen around somewhere

basically just a mix of greats and soon-to-be smash hits in terms of guest cast just because it's a time to flex I guess

ALSO Spencer Wilding at this point deserves credit on the level of Doug Jones for the kind of Big Creature acting he's done on this show (including sexiest of creatures - the minotaur back in my favourite eleven-era episode The God Complex) (also apparently darth vader in rogue one??? dude)

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 9/10

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

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 8/10

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

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 7/10

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

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

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

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 8/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 7/10

FULL RATING: 82/100 (if I can count….)

between this and the "Stalin's Russia" moment in Idiot's Lantern, do you think Mark Gatiss is into USSR aesthetics?

OBJECTIFICATION: Clara has a similar gag to Rose back in Werewolf Land and Idiot's Lantern, and Amy with Rio, in that they were heading for Vegas and landed a bit off... inside a USSR Sub during the Cold War! Clara immediately spends the rest of the episode draped in an oversized USSR submarine coat and it's quite charming to be honest

PLOT-POINT: this episode has soooo much Clara feeling in it, specifically Clara reacting to violence, to the point that she's about to have a full-on panic attack and needs to be helped by David Warner (sobs, I want David Warner to ask me about Ultravox to stave off a panic attack too). it's quite brutal, to the point that we only see little glimpses of body and blood, which makes it even more affecting than you know they would have been allowed on a BBC for-kids slot

she also has some interesting interactions with the Ice Warrior, which we'll get to in a sec, but do have a mix of emotional-but-capable to them.

COMPLEXITY: Ice Warrior found. Ice Warrior thawed. Ice Warrior angry. Talk Down Angry Ice Warrior. it's doing what it does on the tin, and it does it well!

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: teeechnically not much, barring giving us more of what kind of person Clara is and her reactions to a kind of adventure she might find herself in, and the Ice Warriors are seen again!

it's a great one-off essentially, where the heavy lifting is done in other points. I will say I think Clara and Eleven... may be underrated. at least based off the episodes I've seen with them post-Snowmen (which, granted, that and Asylum of the Daleks was not a great way to start them off, and honestly doesn't even really give a sense of who Clara would be in these episodes). they've got kind of a serious sibling energy going on, where they're both a little silly, and it's a relief after so much ooohhh sexy companion Stuff (again, Clara in AotD and TS is not representative of this Clara, who so far hasn't actually flirted with the Doctor, outside of the "Snog Box" thing, which is still why I choose to believe the Tardis doesn't like her)

COMPANIONS MATTER: crucially, Clara represents the non-military face of this episode, and never changes into someone who would decide all-out violence is the right decision, and while it's not explicit, it is I think part of what saves everyone's life. it's not the episode where she makes the most plans or is the most badass, in many ways it goes well with the previous episode, in that she simply is a very nice person

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: he's running around like a headless chicken just like the rest of them. his aim is simply to stop escalating violence on both sides (Cold War, get it) and so it's like plugging a million leaks everywhere, and then begging the Ice Warrior to show mercy... it makes for a nice change, the Doctor as some guy again

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: ICE WARRIORS! honestly not much more to say. ICE WARRIORS!

“SEXINESS”: could we finally be free? of stupid dialogue?

INTERNAL WORLD: they're on a sub, it's the Cold War, there's an Ice Warrior. listen, sometimes that's all you need (often)

POLITICS: it's the Cold War. IIII think this episode is pretty humanising of the Russians in this particular framing. it's mainly just a bunch of scared men on a boat, hoping the world won't end, and it's got quite a prescient "let's not destroy the world now either" feeling to it. Idk. simple. works in my opinion

FULL RATING: 80/100 (if I can count….)

I think this episode is great!

Jenna Louise Coleman and David Warner the Highest of Highlights, they were so great opposite each other. His grounded (but playful) old man energy, her small dog wide-eyedness, the fact that his character immediately took her under his wing, and I think their back-and-forths really complimented one another. where I think JLC weakest bit of directing is that she's constantly speaking a million miles an hour (speeding up Matt Smith's dialogue delivery too), it occasionally slows down here to match Warner, and when it's fast again it feels like it works... dare I say it, if he'd done a First Doctor cameo opposite her, it would have been kind of great

the only things I rated a little lower were not things that I think needed more focus on the whole. it was a simple, claustrophobic, cat and mouse game, in which one could only hope to convince the cat to calm down please

on the whole, things are looking up with this era!

[rosesloveletters]

Hi Rose! I am very new to the self shipper community and I just have a few questions I guess? I hope this doesn't come across as rude but I was just wondering, where do you draw the line between fiction and reality with your f/o's? like do you consider your relationships with them to be like "real" relationships or more of a coping mechanism that you exercise through writing? Do you talk about your f/o's irl? And do you think self shipping can be taken "too far"? I'm just wondering these as someone new to the community. Love your blog and I hope you're doing well<3

Hi, dear anon❤️

First of all, welcome to the self shipper community! I hope that this becomes a wonderful experience for you and that you enjoy yourself to the fullest.

I really appreciate your questions and I don't think you've come across rude! These are very valid and important thoughts and I hope I can answer them effectively for you.

I'll break it down question by question so that my responses are easier to digest:

Where do you draw the line between fiction and reality with your f/o's?

This answer is going to be vastly different from person to person, since every self shipper operates in different ways and applies different methods to their fictional ships.

I obviously know that none of my F/Os are "real" in the sense that I can never physically meet them or be close with them or have a real world relationship with them in the sense that they are there in front of me, carrying on a two-sided relationship.

I think that as long as the shipper knows and acknowledges this, then they are free to self ship any way they want. I think the danger comes in when a shipper does not understand the clear separation and their real life begins to suffer because of it.

I don't think it's a bad thing to incorporate elements of your self ships into your real life, which is something I do, but it is important to note that these fictional relationships are not actually "real" in the sense of what makes something real or not, but that also does not mean that they are less important than real relationships.

It is a fine line between fiction and reality and I think it is important for every individual to maintain a healthy balance and understanding of each.

Do you consider your relationships with them to be like "real" relationships or more of a coping mechanism that you exercise through writing?

Similarly to what I've said above, I don't consider them to be "real" relationships. For example, if I wanted to date a real person, my self ships would not affect that, so my thought process wouldn't be "oh, I'm already in a relationship with Lion, that would be cheating etc. etc."

However, many self shippers are content with having F/Os and fictional relationships instead of real ones, which is true for me. I have no interest in a real romantic relationship, so it would have no real world consequence anyway.

A lot of my self shipping is expressed through writing.

Do you talk about your f/o's irl?

Yes, I do.

Not many people irl know that I self ship or have F/Os, but there are elements of reality that I apply within my fictional relationships.

This answer will differ from person to person, because there are some self shippers who do not apply any reality to their ships, some do and to various degrees.

For me, the best way I can describe it is that it is a very imaginative process. For example, some things I do are as simple as imagining my F/O accompanying me places like to the grocery store, doctor's appointments, etc. I have social anxiety and imagining one of my loves beside me while I engage with the world calms me down. I can play out imaginary scenarios I want to experience with them or imagine them saying certain things to me or whatever I want! I can pretend they got me gifts, read to me, etc.

What really helps me separate my self shipping from reality is that I have a self insert, who is essentially a stand-in for myself, but she is fictional so I can mentally separate her from myself a bit better. Her name is different from mine and my F/Os mostly refer to that name when I'm self shipping because it's easier for me to feel connected with that stuff when it doesn't feel like I'm one hundred percent myself, if that makes sense? My self-insert is basically an idealized version of myself, but depending on what F/O's canon she is currently a part of, her appearance, form and role will be altered.

What I mean by that is, say for example I'm writing something about Lion. In Scarecrow canon, my self-insert works with Lion and Max at the carwash as their receptionist/bookkeeper and there's a whole storyline and everything I won't get in to right now, but then in another canon, we'll say Ocean's Eleven, she is Terry Benedict's daughter and works with him at the resort-casinos. All of my F/Os are separate when I'm writing, respective to their specific canons, but when I imagine them irl, I can imagine that they are aware of each other, how they perceive each other, etc.

I know this is super confusing and a really long explanation, but I don't know how else to put it.

And do you think self shipping can be taken "too far"?

Yes, I do absolutely think it can be taken too far. I think just about anything can be taken too far, depending on the circumstances.

I think self shippers get a bad reputation sometimes, because those who don't understand it think that it is dangerous to mix fiction and reality or that fiction directly affects your reality, which I simply don't believe.

Fiction is fiction. It is not real and cannot affect our reality unless we let it. Just because I self-ship with canonical murderers or a drug dealer, in Tony Montana's case, that does not mean I condone, support or want to be in a relationship with someone like that in real life.

I think perhaps it comes from me being a creator/writer, but I've always been fascinated with complicated or villainous characters. I think their story arcs are very interesting and they are typically a lot more compelling and well-written than the heroes.

It's important for self shippers to recognize the dangers of these types of people within reality and to separate fiction from reality, but the way I see it, fiction does not affect reality. At the end of the day, I am a storyteller and my self shipping is an extension of a written story and is one I'm telling to myself as I go. It keeps me entertained, motivates me to be creative, is a great coping mechanism for stress and anxiety and distracts me from some of the upsetting aspects of reality when it's safe to do so.

It's like watching tv: it's great to do in the moment when your time is your own, but you have to know when to turn it off and focus on reality.

I really hope this helps clear up some of these questions and if there's anything else I can do to answer you more effectively then please let me know! Thank you so much for your genuine kindness and wonderful questions❤️ Welcome to the community and I hope you enjoy your stay here.

[metacrisisdoctor]

love your takes soooo much!

i can't help but notice astrid and joan redforn were very rose-coded love interests (astrid was just a bit of flirting but still), if you ever have the time (and wanted to) i would love to read your thoughts on what role they play in ten/tentoo and rose's relationship...and if you think he ever told her about them 👀

if not, i did also want to thank you for helping me appreciate tentoo and rose so much more than i did when i first watched :)

aw thank you! 🙈💗

oh god, do not get me startedd you will regret this 😂

i don't think joan is rose coded at all, honestly. i think she's rather the opposite of her. racist, judgemental, boring. but that doesn't really matter because the doctor did not love joan because he is not john smith. and more so, joan did not love the doctor. that's the important part of it. i think joan is, honestly, a stand in for rose to show the audience that he wants to be human, that he actively craves that. it's not about joan as a person, which is also part of the problem.

a really interesting parallel to me is when he asks joan to look into his eyes and see him, but she can't and looks away. just that stark contrast to rose putting her hand over tentoo's heart and looking into his eyes, seeing him and obviously believing him. because rose intristically knows him, remember "rose would know." is about rose knowing the right thing to say, it's about her understanding him even if she doesn't know every little aspect of his traumatic past and how she made the present and future have value and excitement.

in s3 the doctor is absolutely drowning (which is why he needs a break from being himself) in his grief of having lost rose, to him losing her was essentially a death and him inviting joan, to me, reads as him searching for rose in other people, because he didn't take the chance to offer his hearts to her when he had the chance and for what? he loved and lost anyway and that is absolutely something he carries with him up until his regeneration.

i can see him telling rose about joan and the entire situation if/when she ever worried about him feeling "trapped" or wanting to leave (which i can see jackie putting in her head bc of her own insecurities which we hear in the audios) but i think there is a lot that isn't focused on, especially his journals:

i absolutely lose my mind at these. especially "i find myself wanting to draw a perfect rose over and over." and "i know face, i know she is my-" this is something that is glossed over but my god, think how massive this is. he had his memories wiped so deeply that he forgot himself, that he can't even remember what the tardis is called, but he remembers HER name. he cannot stop dreaming about her, drawing her. even here he could not escape his love for her, even here there was no respite. THAT is what i think he would tell her. and yes, about joan in the reality of it - how it never occured to him that john would fall in love because he was already so in love with her. but all those things he wanted as john smith are things that live inside him and always did BECAUSE of rose and because of how human she made him, and that's why rose is the only person he could ever live a happy human life with.

i think rose would be jealous and maybe a little hurt, because that's who she is, but i think she would also feel like... how could someone NOT want him? that would floor her. because she doesn't just want the john smith bits, she wants the doctor. she wants all of him and that's what makes them special.

(and tbh, i headcanon that before the cannon started working rose had a meltdown and gave up for a few weeks and had a one night stand with a guy that sort of reminded her of the doctor from a certain angle and was nice but it was unsatisfactory and left her feeling even lonelier- so they're kinda even. remember rose is around 24 in journey's end. they were seperated a while, esp on her end 😭)

i think astrid would be more amusing because she definitely IS rose coded and a lot of it is her flirting with him and him sort of floundering about it, but it being nice to not wanna die for a second too and he enjoyed her company because she reminded him of rose. which i think rose would probably preen about until she finds out astrid also died 💀 like my man COULD NOT get a win!

tldr, i think for their relationship to work (and of course it does) he would have to be honest with her about everything: from her making jack immortal, to donna losing her memories, to everything that happened while they were apart with her being honest about her life in return, BUT i also think that their relationship is largely about healing and living in the present so i don't think they would dwell those things per se. i think their hardest obstacles would be the ptsd they both probably still have about being seperated/apart and, for a while, the fact that ten is losing his absolute mind while they're so happy together. that would be hard. but i think they're just so magnetic and drawn to each other that they can't help but find themselves happy and wrapped up in each other.