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adora-but-ginger · 10 months

Text

(Not So) Champagne Problems

pairing: miguel o'hara x gn!reader

summary: he had infuriated you, and you deserved a drink.

word count: 3.2(ish)

warnings: drinking, reader being at a bar, intoxication, drunk!reader, swearing, a stabbing and an injury, angst but also fluff don't you worry, a little bit of klepto tendencies, no y/n used, mentions of death?, brief talk of a lack of self-care, miguel having feeeeelings

a/n: it's one am and i crunched this out in two days so no beta we die like men (gender neutral). also since i don't speak spanish i used spanishdict.com, but if i messed anything up please let me know and i will fix it!

masterlist

one more thing! don't repost my stories, otherwise i can sense a real nasty cold coming your way that will last just long enough that it becomes annoying, and when you think it's gone it will come back for another week. don't be like that, you don't want that, do you?

thank you for reading! -ella

credit to gif owner!

By now, the sun had long set, and your vision was a little blurry.

You had to have been on what, four? Five drinks? And were surely going to be cut off if you asked for another. But you fucking deserved these drinks, after what Miguel had put you through. He had the nerve to bench you after you saved his life.

The only other thing he had was the audacity.

As you placed the remnants of the fruity drink back down on the bar, your mind swirled with what had gone down earlier that day.

"Where's our anomaly at?" You heard Peter B shout from behind you, a giggling mayday in the baby carrier attached to his front.

"I'm rounding on them now, Miguel do you see them from up top?" How Jess could speak into her comms without the wind from her bike getting picked up was beyond you. You were swinging through a train tunnel of this particular universe, tasked with trying to catch the anomaly alongside Peter B from below. Jess took the road route, and Miguel took the birds eye--there was no way this villain of the week had a shot at escaping.

"Yeah Jess, eyes on them now. Heading down."

Woof. Miguel got on your nerves more than you'd like to admit, but man did his voice send a shiver down your spine.

"We're existing the tunnel now, eyes on them." You answered for Peter and you, checking back to make sure he was still good before the light of the day enveloped your vision.

One thing led to another, and soon enough you saw what was going to happen before you could warn him. There was the anomaly, fighting Miguel, who stood with his claws out and fangs bared. This anomaly could phase between states of solid and liquid, and just as Miguel was about to paralyze them, they switched states, forming back to solid right behind him.

And sure, maybe you had a certain lack of self-preservation that made the team a little concerned, but you had lost enough in your life to get to that point. So that's why when you moved to block the anomaly's strike from Miguel instead allowing the hit to come to you, you didn't think much of it. In fact, you'd gotten your hopes up thinking that he might even be grateful.

But no, he was most certainly not. The anomaly was quickly taken down afterwards, the familiar glow of Miguel's red eyes painting your vision every now and then as the job finished up. The anomaly had stabbed you, not in anywhere too concerning, but it still hurt.

From there it was a bit of a blur, with images of the portal and the team and Miguel running through your mind, until you were in the infirmary with stitches in your shoulder and the tall brooding man towering over you with his arms crossed.

"You were stupid." He had said in the infirmary.

"A thank you would have been nice. My shoulder is the same height as your heart, and the anomaly had a perfect shot." You had scoffed at him, and his face had flashed with a look mixed between anger and something you couldn't quite place.

"And what if they missed and had gotten your neck instead? In no universe do I want to deal with you dying, especially right in front of me, for me." His tone had developed a softer edge toward the tail end of the sentence, his jaw clenching. He hated the vulnerability, and you saw right through him.

You weren't too sure what you and him were, in terms of a label. Sure, you'd been one of the first spider-people to be recruited into his (not so) little boy band, and sure you had seen glimpses of him that no other spider-person had seen, but the latter had only been done late after hours between shared cups of tea or as he laid in bed falling asleep holding you. But then again, he always had that stoic look to him otherwise, with his mountain of an ego and his asshole-like behavior.

It was complicated with him.

"Plus, I would have to deal with mess of your death." There it was.

You rolled your eyes and stood to get up, him walking to your side to help you maintain balance from the pain of your cells rapidly healing.

"For the next few missions, I want you back with Lyla."

You turned to him then with anger washing over you. "You're benching me?"

"Yes, until you can prove you're not going to do something as reckless as that again."

And then the argument broke out, and he fought you on your recklessness and its consequences. Well, fuck him then.

He never took the time to think about what would happen if the anomaly did strike him, heightened healing abilities or not. It's hard to heal from an impaling of the heart. And he refused to listen to anything you said to justify your actions.

He was so bullheaded and strict, and you were tired of it, tired of him. If he wanted to bench you? Fine. But he could kiss those late nights goodbye, no matter how much you craved his sweatpants and t-shirt look, with his fluffy, soft hair, his so broad shoulders, the fangs, oh the fangs, and his a-- enough.

Snap yourself out of it. You cursed to yourself and flagged the bartender down, your intoxicated state making your hand sway a little as you did so. The bartender looked over at you and shook their head, making you loll your head back in irritation.

Big mistake.

Rapidly shutting your eyes, a groan accompanied you as you felt the effects of the alcohol sink in. You had taken off your watch too which you severely regretted now, because not only were you about to glitch any minute, you needed to talk to Peter. He would know what to do, and the watch was the quickest way to contact him. But it was in your bag somewhere, and you would rather suffer the consequences than even try to look in that thing right now.

His spider senses must have been pretty accurate because not even three minutes later your phone was ringing, his name appearing on the screen.

He spoke your name into the phone upon your answering, and you chuckled as you pictured him in that pink robe, probably pacing in some rabbit slippers too. Not that there was anything wrong with that of course.

"Hey Petey B, what's up?" You tried to muster all of the shards of your soberness to sound as articulate as possible, which was not much.

"Where are you? Hobie said he saw you walk out after getting in a fight with the big guy, and we've been trying to get ahold of you for hours now!"

You snorted. "I'm fine, Peter, just..." You trailed off, the sight of a rather interesting wine bottle catching your attention.

Your name was called again, his voice reverberating through the microphone. "Hm? Hey Peter, Can I tell you a secret?" You whispered back, a giggle following the beginning of your little confession.

"Are-are you drunk?"

You scoffed and continued on disregarding what he said. "Miguel definitely doesn't want me sharing this, but he's being a big ol' mean bundle of muscles so I'm going to anyway." You looked around to make sure no one else was listening to your drunken ramble and whispered into the phone. "He'll deny it until the day he dies, but he likes being the little spoon." Another giggle followed after that, thinking of what else to tell the brown-haired father about Miguel.

"Yep, oookay you are definitely drunk, and in no universe did I want to learn that information. Where are you? Lyla--" You tuned out after that, focusing again on that wine bottle you fancied. It would make for a perfect vase, and if you could just avoid bringing attention to yourself--

"Hey! Listen, I have to get back home with mayday, but Lyla found your location and is sending for someone to pick you up, okay?" His concerned voice made you worry a little. Maybe he needed a little pick me up.

"Peter you should know that you're such a good friend, you don't need to worry silly." A hiccup accompanied your words of attempted comfort. "You don't need to have anyone come get me, I'm fine--"

That's when the pain started--your heart feeling like it was being ripped from you. The feeling surged through your body at a wicked pace then, with your nerves burning as if they were on fire. You felt like you could feel your molecules splitting apart, the pain circling through you for what felt like an eternity, when in reality it couldn't have been more than a few moments.

You hadn't glitched in a while, and you forgot how much it hurt and threw you off-balance. Add on top that you were pretty intoxicated, and you felt like your world was upside down, literally, because your vision danced, and you couldn't locate any solid surface to grab onto.

You must have dropped your phone while you glitched because it was no longer in your hand, and as your senses started to half-hazardly return, you fought to keep everything in your system. Yeah, you seriously regretted not putting the watch back on. Of course, they could still track it if it wasn't on your wrist. You should have just left it at the Spider Society. Or better, you should've just returned home.

But you needed to escape, and you weren't thinking clearly after you fought with Miguel.

Miguel. Stupid, cold, stoic Miguel. Hot, soft, sexy Miguel. Couldn't hold in his anger for the life of him and doesn't know how to properly process emotions Miguel. Sweet, aggravatingly cute, loving Miguel.

"You think I'm cute?"

The low accented voice made you whip around, your head catching up a moment after your body, making you sway. You stuck your hands out to catch yourself from falling off the chair, your arm hitting a hard surface.

Ow. Did you just say that out loud?

"Yes, you did." The same voice, unimpressed, crossed his arms.

There Miguel stood, clad in everyday clothes, jaw clenched and shoulders taught as he looked at you in your drunken state. "Come on, we're going home." He grabbed your arm from where it laid against his chest, lowering it while using his other hand to support you while you stood up. You could hear him say a string of curses in Spanish before meeting your eyes, an annoyed look reflecting from them.

"You can't just walk out of there into the city this late at night without telling anyone that you're leaving. Something bad could've happened to you."

You rolled your eyes and pushed his arm away, reaching for your bag and missing a couple times before grabbing its handle. "Oh, stop pretending you care, Mr. 'you're off duty even though I'd be dead if you hadn't stepped in'." Almost stepping on your dropped phone, you bent over to try to pick it up, nearly falling over as you did so, the world spinning. A hand lightly grabbed your waist to steady you, and you cursed at his subtle show of affection.

"You dealt with that by getting drunk?" He said as he helped you back up, placing some money on the bar. "That's extremely irresponsible."

"Tough talk coming from someone who gets his anger out by throwing desks." Why did he have to be the one to pick you up? Why couldn't it have been literally anyone else?

An annoyed huff sounded from him then, and you turned to fully face the spider. Giving him a good once over, you couldn't help but become a little flustered at how he looked. Yes, you were extremely fed up with him right now, but jeans, on that ass? Accompanied with the compression shirt he donned, well, you took a good drink of him in. Enough of that, he benched you.

"We're going home, come on." He tried to coax you from your spot again, but to no avail. You may be drunk, but you still were stubborn.

You scrunched your eyebrows and crossed your arms. "No. Not until you un-bench me."

You heard him take another deep breath, you clearly getting on his nerves, but you couldn't care less. "I took you off duty because you don't care about yourself and your well-being, and until you can prove that you're going to be safe out there, we'll find something for you to do."

He really had the nerve, huh? "Oh come on, you would have done the same for me, and you know exactly why I did why I did. Look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn't have taken my place if the roles were reversed.

He hesitated a moment, deciding whether or not to indulge your drunken challenge.

"I wouldn't have."

You snorted in response, pushing his hand away from you. "Liar." The floor was still spinning, but you weren't going to show any signs of that to him. You tried to turn around and wave for another drink to be brought your way, but the bartender paid you no mind. "If you think you can come in here and be mean to me, especially after earlier, think again Miguel."

He grabbed your shoulder then, turning you towards him a second? Third time? He was always more touchy when it was just the two of you, not that you were complaining. You heard him mumble under his breath, though he never talked that loud in public settings--you figured it had something to do with his fangs. Oh, those fangs, those--

Snap out of it.

"Dios mío, mi amor (Oh my god, my love). I didn't mean it like that. You know I would have done the same, it's just that..." He trailed off, and you in turn raised your eyebrow.

If he was going to admit anything right now, whether you were drunk or not, he was going to fully say it. "Hmm?"

He had let the last part of that slip out and was thankful that you hadn't said anything about it. Once he realized the situation he was in though, he begrudgingly continued. "I tend to not think as straight when I'm around you sometimes, and it leads me to make rash decisions. I know you did it out of care."

"And?"

His stone-like facial expression finally, finally dropped, and you could take that for a win in itself. "And I'm sorry for benching you, but you have to see where I'm coming from."

And maybe you should have dropped it there, for you were able to get an apology out of Miguel, which not many people could say the same for. But your liquid confidence pushed you forward, bringing a finger to his chest. He lit this fuse, and you weren't going to let the fire go out just yet.

"If you don't let me go, I'm just going to sneak out to join a mission anyway. Leader of the Spider Society or not, you're not withholding me from something I enjoy doing." You could see the conflict on his face, but you knew you had won; after all, you were telling the truth. Either he let you go on the missions, or you were going to find a way to get on one anyways.

But this isn't how arguments got resolved, and you weren't sure he was used to someone talking back to him. Arguments were solved with compromise, so that's what you decided to do. "Okay, how about this. I'm not used to looking out for myself, but I'll try to do it more, yeah?"

He visibly relaxed at that, and maybe that was what he needed to hear all along. He knew that he was in too deep with you, and after Peter had told him of your late-night outing, his senses got a little frenzied. He couldn't put a name to the feelings he felt for you just yet, or maybe he could but he was afraid, but all rational went out the window when he found out that you were out here, not sober, in a universe you did not live in, by yourself. It was a recipe for disaster, and almost gave him freaking heart palpitations.

He had rushed to your location, and whether he was still frustrated with you or not, he loved cared for you and wanted you safe.

You were going to be the death of him, and he would willingly follow the reaper if that meant he got to spend the rest of his time with you.

At your offer he relaxed a bit, maybe he was being a little harsh. "Fine, I'll agree to that." He saw your eyes light up and quickly continued. "But only if I join you the next few missions, okay? You really had me worried today." You nodded at that, and the ghost of a smile could be seen on his lips. This was a whole lot better than fighting. Giving you a once over, he could tell that exhaustion was hitting you. "How about we head back home, mi querido/a, y ve a dormir (my dear, and go to sleep) . You can stay at my place for the night, sleep this off. I'll get you some medicine to help with the headache tomorrow, okay?"

You stifled a yawn, and his heart melted at the sight of you. Yeah, he was in deep. "Yeah, sounds good." Just as he dropped the tension in his jaw and shoulders again though, your frame began to glitch. He reached both his hands now to your shoulders to ground you. Why hadn't you put your watch back on? Why had you taken it off in the first place? You were blinking furiously when you returned to normal, falling into his touch.

Without a second thought he took his own off and secured it on your wrist, after all he wouldn't need his until tomorrow, when he traveled again. "Where's your watch?" He raced out, holding gently onto you. Eyes wide and mind scrambled, the moment you motioned towards your bag he retrieved it, setting it on his own person before ushering you out of the bar. "Are you alright?" He hated that his voice held a tinge of panic, but his stomach dropped at seeing you glitch, knowing how the pain felt first hand. You mumbled a yeah, and he walked with you back to his place. Swinging would make you all the more queasy.

When you two got in the door, he gave you another once over. "Are you doing better, are you sure you're okay?" You nodded, and the next thing he knew you were against his chest, hugging him.

Maybe he was freaking out a little on the inside at this, but he couldn't remember the last time he had received a hug. Returning the embrace, he murmured to you. "I've got some clothes you can change into, let's get you in bed." He heard an 'okay' slip from you, and he led you to his room.

And as he tucked you into his bed before heading to go change himself, dare he say that his heart fluttered when he heard you speak.

"Thank you Miggy, I love you."

And as sleep lulled you into its song, he was left momentarily frozen, an unfamiliar but not unwelcome warmth filling his chest. Because drunk words are sober thoughts, aren't they?

#spiderman #across the spider verse spoilers #across the spiderverse #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel x reader #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara #oscaar isaac #miguel o'hara x you #spiderman 2099 #spiderman 2099 x reader #spiderman 2099 x you

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fatuismooches · 5 months

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Hold! Let me cook!

So, realistically, well not even that, it's a fact - language evolves and dramatically changes over the years, compare how we talk in this age to the letters of the past for example! The way we word things, how we formulate our sentences and the meaning behind them evolves with the context of current events, as in the use of modern slang compared to let's say, 1920s slang where they called alcohol "giggle water."

Now what am I on about? Well, I thought that hey: being comatosed for almost 500 years would surely mess up your communication, your words would be dated after all.

So here's the dish: Fragile!reader wakes up after 500 years, and can't understand a single lick of what anyone is saying.

A century passing = new slang and terms

Two centuries passing = grammar would have changed, but you could still hold a conversation

Anything past that? That's a new language! (See ye olden English from the medieval period, old English doesn't sound like our English!)

Poor fragile!reader spouting a dead language (old Sumerian) and the only one that understands is Dottore—

And, since their grammar would be different, the length they would speak would be different too! A bit hard to explain so:

[Reader: *Is speaking for a good thirty seconds*

*Confused cicin mage nodding along.*

Dottore, translating: "Your hair looks nice."]

Language anon here I just read your most recent post I served a cold-dish, room temperature, you were already on it 😭 I'm just gonna 🚪🏃‍♂️

ANON PLEASE, DON'T WORRY I LOVE THIS ASK SM 💗 And I was actually very much inspired by an anon right here so if anything, I'm also serving a cold dish as well 😭 But you're so right, the language of Teyvat has definitely changed a lot! From the way it's written, to new words, to old ones being now unused, pronunciation, and all that! Fragile reader was in for a shock for sure, because they would hear the segments and Dottore speaking in complete gibberish, and then switch back to the old language just for you. To reader, perhaps it's obvious that the language would no longer be the same but... it really hits them seeing it be so different right in front of them. You'd probably freak out a bit, considering literally no one can understand you, nor can you understand them.

Besides your lover, of course. Good thing he's a genius and made sure to preserve the old language for this day, and also program it into his segments. Thankfully, they are all quite patient in the process, as switching between languages is a piece of cake for them. I imagine you try very hard to learn certain words and phrases (how does one flirt in modern Teyvat? did courtship change much in 400+ years...? 🤔) in order to surprise him. Just don't do it too quickly... he will flirt back in much more advanced language that you don't quite understand yet and he'll laugh at your frustrated face. (AND READER TRYING TO BEFRIEND HER BY COMPLIMENTING HER BUT FAILING MISERABLY... you've been trying very hard for so long until he finally took pity on you.)

I imagine sometimes the two of them get jumbled together when you're feeling strong emotions, so only a select few people can really understand you. Sometimes, you still speak to Dottore in old Sumerian, if only to recall the old days.

#smooches talks #fragile reader <3 #dottore love notes <3 #reader: so how do i curse in the new language? 🤨#SO SO CUTE!! im eating this before bed #but unrelated history is so interesting

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canyourfavesurvivecastledracula · 3 months

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Can Wei Wuxian survive Castle Dracula?

I actually wrote up a long analysis for Jiang Cheng back at the very start of this blog but then realized I was misunderstanding some of the plot points. I'm still reworking it. And then you guys started joking about Paprika Hendl for The Locked Tomb posts and I was like, wait you know who is ALL ABOUT CAPSAICIN AND QUEER DREAMS? so yeah we're doing the protagonist.

[disclaimer: I have not actually read Dracula or MDZS, just a lot of fanfic and meta and dashboard osmosis]

So first: he would accept the crucifix from the old woman. He also would charm the pants off her and the other villagers giving him warnings, so that they would be sad to seem him go more because they're genuinely fond of him than because they fear for his life. He's good at distracting people like that.

BUT BEFORE THAT: Wei Wuxian would be thrilled to discover paprika. Finally something spicy in this strange land! The Queer Dreams are either business as usual or an added bonus. I'm not saying he abandons the plot entirely (he would be tempted, but he has a strong sense of duty) but at the very least he's going back for seconds.

He would clock Dracula's supernatural evil pretty quickly I think -- he does this professionally, and he's one of the best. He's unfamiliar with Dracula's type of vampire but he's good at improvising. He might even start a fight in the coach -- but I think, if Dracula's putting on the whole servant routine, Wei Wuxian would be more likely to wait and investigate. No point in taking out the servants and leaving master free to keep being a problem, and he has not the slightest sense of self-preservation.

Wei Wuxian is unfortunately very familiar with various flavors of abuse and manipulation. He would also manipulate right back, and abuse the heck out of guest right/hospitality norms. Dracula would not enjoy this -- WWX is skilled at antagonizing people almost to the point that they're willing to contravene social mores to kill him, but not quite. On the other hand, he might also feign that Dracula is getting to him, because an overconfident monster will reveal more information.

Wei Wuxian would explore every part of the castle as quickly as possible, he would probably find the Girlies before they found him. He would not allow any baby eating, and that might actually be what causes him to flee the castle (to bring the baby to safety). If he has his flying sword, neither cliff nor wolves are a problem, but even without that I think he can figure something out? He's terrified of dogs but he also knows how to manage that phobia enough to get out of the situation. He only dies to cliffs if he intends to, and he's survived other falls from great heights.

...in fact, people familiar with this story know that I've been kinda burying the lede. Wei Wuxian canonically survived something worse than Castle Dracula, after he'd been beaten within an inch of his life and stripped of spiritual power, thinking he'd fulfilled his debts and was ready to die. I've assumed none of those disadvantages here, and given how the Burial Mounds turned out...

What I'm saying is, at the end of this, Castle Dracula has a new dark lord. There's no more wolves and children aren't taken in the night, but people whisper terrible rumors of graves disturbed. This fell presence is a little more tied in to the local economy, though -- the castle now imports peppers by the ton. The manservant who picks up supplies is a friendly enough, though a strange foreign fellow himself. He'll hang out in the local tavern(? I know we discussed coffee shops as social foci in this setting previously, but WWX is more of an alcoholic than caffeine junkie) telling endless fantastical tales from far off lands, but all that he'll say about his master is that he won't cross anyone who doesn't cross him first. The locals take the warning to heart and keep well clear.

[tags if I could submit tags: he's probably not actually robbing graves, at least not very often?, he'd respect local burial practices once he understood them, but he also wouldn't mind the rumors if they get people to leave him alone to study forbidden magic/mad science in peace up at the castle]

#submission #wei wuxian #unindexed

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midnightsslut · 4 days

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the whole cardigan/Peter parallels are messing my head can u explain

okay so peter is actually one of my favorite songs on the album for this reason! I think it has parallels to a lot of other songs, not just cardigan. the first thing to get out of the way is the cardigan lyric about peter and wendy: ‘tried to change the ending, peter losing wendy.’ now, that line doesn’t make a ton of sense because peter losing wendy is the ending of peter pan (idk I’ve never seen it and never thought I’d spend this long thinking about them), but I think what she’s saying is that he tried to change the ending of *their* story to peter losing wendy. peter loses her because she outgrows him, while he remains a ‘lost boy’ forever. the cardigan demo has an alternate lyric where peter actually *leaves* wendy. this does not happen in the original story, and to me, it reads like betty (eh, I don’t think those characters existed when she wrote that song, but bear with me) is accusing him of trying to change their fate by leaving her. peter is meant to always come back to wendy. *she* is the one who eventually leaves him. either way, cardigan ends with them together. yay for betty and/or taylor.

now, peter was written 3-4 years later, and it is the conclusion of a story about outgrowing someone despite truly wanting them back. the ending was not, in fact, changed. she did outgrow him. very sad. I actually want to go lyric by lyric, but I’ll put a cut just in case.

Forgive me Peter

My lost fearless leader

In closets like cedar

Preserved from when we were just kids

Is it something I did

the song starts with taylor trying to figure out what went wrong. did she do something wrong to crush these dreams of theirs? she kept him in a closet of cedar (where unmarried women kept their belongings that they would want to take with them after getting married) in her mind, but things didn’t work out anyway. the first line being ‘forgive me, peter’ indicates that she is the one who pulled the plug, and she’s apologizing for it. again, she isn’t entirely sure what went wrong, which, to me, is a clear parallel to how did it end.

The goddess of timing

Once found us beguiling

She said she was trying

Peter was she lying

My ribs get the feeling she did

when they first met, the timing seemed to be perfect for their relationship (‘the goddess of timing *once* found us beguiling’), but that didn’t last. the goddess of timing claimed that she tried, but nothing could save them. taylor even wonders if she lied, which suggests a lack of faith in higher powers like fate or deities. this verse introduces timing as a major conflict in the story. ‘are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these?’

Said you were gonna grow up

Then you were gonna come find me

Words from the mouths of babes

Promises, oceans deep

But never to keep

peter went away, but he promised to come down once he was ready for a relationship. yes, this kind of applies to both of the main storylines on the album. you could take this to mean that they actually broke up a decade ago but promised to get back together, or you could assume there was some sort of break to their relationship, which she and joe did have. i kind of took it to mean that he wasn’t fully committed to the relationship, but he promised to be eventually. again, the renegade lyric, but also ‘i’m a fire, and i’ll keep your brittle heart warm if your cascade ocean wave blues come’ and ‘I’d hold you as the water rushes in,’ both of which are grand promises that neither party could keep.

Are you still a mind reader?

A natural scene stealer

I've heard great things Peter

But life was always easier on you

Than it was on me

he is charismatic. his magnetic field is a little too strong. he can read people. but he’s also fragile and inexperienced (‘he was a hothouse flower to my outdoorsman’). he may be able to read people, but things have been way too easy for him to ever understand a truly hurt person fully.

And sometimes it gets me

When crossing your jet stream

We both did the best we could do underneath the same moon

In different galaxies

And I didn't want to hang around

We said it was just goodbye for now

this is the thesis statement of their relationship to me. obviously, there’s the call it what you want parallel, but more importantly, it shows that the two people really wanted this to work. they just came from completely different places in their lives and perhaps the entire universe. this verse seems to reference the epilogue (‘resentment rotting away galaxies we created’ / ‘some stars never align’). they learned the right steps to different dances, if you will. she knew he needed time, so she left temporarily.

And I won't confess that I waited

But I let the lamp burn

As the men masqueraded

I hoped you'd return

With your feet on the ground

Tell me all that you'd learned

Cause love's never lost when perspective is earned

she does get with other men, but she keeps longing for him. she wishes that he would return with a grasp on reality and be the man she needs. if anything, the time away would give him the perspective he needs to ground himself. interesting parallel to ‘I said I don’t mind / it takes time’ in loml.

And you said you'd come and get me but you were 25

And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired

Lost to the lost boys chapter of your life

Forgive me Peter, please know that I tried

To hold onto the days when you were mine

But the woman who sits by the window has turned out the light

this is just devastating to me. well, first of all, both matty and joe were 25 when they first met her, which, lol. the dreams they had together have expired now. it’s been too long. she cannot keep holding onto a love from almost a decade ago. he took too long to return. he lost his lifelong dreams to what was only supposed to be a chapter of his life. she tried to hold onto the days when he was hers, and everything was right, but she had to turn out the light at some point. this is the moment when she gives up on their relationship. she apologizes for abandoning the ship, but she must do it.

overall, I think peter is a story about two people who genuinely did everything they could to be together, but their needs and their growth no longer aligned. there’s a sense of acceptance and lingering fondness here. she did everything she could not to bolt, but the ending was the same.

#peter #loooove this song #cardigan #ttpd

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somethingpersonarelated · 8 days

Text

Why the fuck does Akechi read philosophy and psychology?

Have this metapost when i’m supposed to be working on finals papers hahahahahhahahahah. Follow up to this post!

This is kind of a middle of the night rant that came from nowhere so sorry if it’s a bit jumbled or erroneous in nature. I've always been a bit bothered by people saying that Akechi just reads philosophy and psychology to appear smarter. It's definitely a PART of it, but I don't think it can be singled out to one specific reason.

Yes, part of it is to appear smarter. though, appearing smart has a purpose, and he's proven time and time again in the story he IS intelligent.

It is also a coping mechanism

yes i do mean that let me explain

I'll also be following up to this post with breakdowns of the books on that list I made so if that interests you stay tuned, but I read some Jung and immediately something popped out to me about the will to power. The will to power, as explained on page 30 of Essays on Analytical Psychology by Carl Jung, is the instinct that compels us to do self-preservation. Further on page 31, he writes:

"The discovery is made that the 'other' in us is indeed an 'Other'-a live man, who actually thinks, does, feels, and desires all the things that are despicable and odious.... A true man, however, knows that his most bitter foe, or indeed a whole host of enemies, does not equal that one worst adversary, that 'other self,' who 'bides within his breast.'"

Akechi has already faced himself by the time we meet him, but still struggles with justifying himself as seen in no more what ifs and mementos mission. Let's talk about it in mementos mission a bit more (chp 4.5):

His justifications always end in some acknowledgement that he some control of his circumstances, and as long as that is true he can carry forward with the path he has chosen to take. But the fact that two years later, even around people that are not Joker, he still has difficulties with his position, is interesting.

These philosophies provide a way of living. Or it's better to say, a way of thinking about living, a way of thinking about what it means to live (in the case of psychology). Akechi (presumably) grew up very isolated from others and struggles with conceptions of himself. It's very typical of his age group to have these concerns, but on top of that-he's got a job as a hitman. Not good for self-perception or self-preservation. He is both the normal man and the 'other,' and does not become the 'true' person until Hereward is unlocked. That's when I imagine he kills the last of his doubts and settles on a perception of himself.

Philosophy (and psychology), in a way, can provide answers to these questions in a way that is separated from yourself. Jung hits a point that goes straight through Akechi, and Aristotle implies that souls are moved, rather than souls moving themselves. Both of these points are addressed in Mementos Mission. The latter is visible through those pair of hands wrapped around his neck, he is both a puppet and yet resolves that he is not one.

When these ideas contrast, there aren't many things you can do about it except philosophize (I guess. you could talk to a therapist but akechi doesn't really have that or a good support network so). Akechi having a mix of both in his reading repetoire means he both looks towards understanding others and himself. But he has a much stronger emphasis on what it means to live for himself and for his cause.

tl;dr akechi doubts himself and partially looks to texts like these to solidify his view on everything he does. and he does it to get smarter/look smarter. he's unfortunately that philosophy/psychology guy

#making goro akechi's philosophies everyone's problem #<- new tag for this kind of post #p5 meta #goro akechi #p5r #thinking emoji #i am very open to different opinions on this i wrote this on a whim so its not very good

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kevin-ibw · 2 months

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Hi!! Ive read a couple of your posts abt your salvation au and holy sHIT its so interesting and intriguing!! While i still dont fully understand the differences between ur au and canon, ive noticed that salvation/nun!velvet is the one (literally) preaching about, obviously, salvation when in canon, thats charlies job (and shes vv legit abt it and genuinely succeeded, pentious my beloved)

So i gotta ask, would charlie and her hotel still exist? If it does, does it also offer their own version of salvation similar to velvettes cult? Whats the differences between the hotel and the cult? Their respective salvations? What kind of dynamic do they have?

If it doesnt, how does velvette replacing charlies hotel affect hell? Whats the ramifications of that?

Sorry if this is already been asked about, i havent read every post and i just got really curious! I love your art of the vees, and i cant wait to see more of your stuff!!! Have a nice day!! :))

Charlie and the Hotel

- Charlie seeks to give salvation to her people via opening the Salvation Hotel to serve as a paradise for everyone. Sinners are cautious and are uneasy about the offer, but it seems to get a boost in publicity after a certain television overlord promotes her services.

Differences between the Hotel and Velvette's Cult

- Charlie's salvation follows the definition of; preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss. Similar to canon, the hotel serves as a way of protecting sinners from extermination. It’s supposed to be a safe haven and a paradise for everyone.

The Hotel has elements from Earth that would make anyone very nostalgic, and seeing something that reminds them of our time of being alive, especially if they've been dead for so long, it is their salvation.

Mfs when they actually miss touching grass belike

Meanwhile, Velvette is a lot more malicious. She claims she can offer sinners salvation, but their only definitive proof is their fellow vee, Vox, who has disappeared for over seven years. Velvette's cult actively makes their own followers indulge in sin, saying that eventually, when the time comes, their sins will be forgiven, and we will all be saved from damnation.

And they believe her willingly, unknown to the fact that now their souls have been sold, which strips them away of their change of ascending to heaven.

[Thank you so much for the nice words 😭✨️, I enjoy answering these asks as much as you guys liking my AU 💖]

#AU: Salvation Hotel #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel velvette #charlie morningstar #velvette #hazbin hotel au

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bleedingectoplasm · 1 year

Text

A Spark (Real or Imagined)

This was inspired by the prompts for DP Side Hoes Week Day 1, Tucker and Power Up! Of course, I am posting it on Day 3, but better late than never, I suppose? I hope you enjoy!

Read on AO3.

Tucker stands frozen outside of Danny’s bedroom door. He wants to knock, he really does, but for some reason, he can’t get his limbs to cooperate. Some sort of disconnect between his brain and his body is stopping the signals from his synapses from reaching the nerves in his arm.

Maybe it’s some sort of self-preservation instinct. Maybe his body knows that his heart will skip a beat the second he looks into his best friend’s eyes. Maybe his muscles know the best way to maintain homeostasis is to stay far away from Daniel James Fenton and his soft hair and sharp cheekbones and paint splatter freckles.

Ever since Danny and Sam broke up, things have been…different. Well, not between Danny and Sam. Their breakup was amicable, prompted mostly by Sam’s realization that her strong desire to be close to Valerie at all times was not, in fact, entirely platonic and she is, in fact, a lesbian. After the breakup, Danny was…completely fine. Shockingly so. While Tucker never doubted that Danny would fully support Sam’s moment of self-discovery, he expected for there to be some hurt in the fallout. It seemed almost unavoidable. But that hurt never came.

When they talked about it, Danny had just shrugged and said, “we both wanted different things.” He didn’t volunteer any additional information, as if that statement was enough of an explanation in and of itself. And then, Danny had given him that look, the one he’s been wearing more and more lately when he catches Tucker’s gaze. The corners of Danny’s eyes get all soft and his lips quirk up into a fond smile, almost like he’s looking for something and liking what he finds. It’s an expression that makes Tucker’s breath catch in his throat, equal parts intoxicating and unreadable and overwhelming.

The shift in their dynamic hasn’t been because of Danny and Sam. In fact, Tucker is pretty sure that if Danny and Sam had their way, the three of them would still be hanging out every day like nothing has changed at all. No, the difference is entirely within Tucker.

Something stirs in the pit of Tucker’s stomach whenever he and Danny are together. It’s a feeling he is intimately familiar with, a want that has burned inside of him for as long as he can remember. The fluttering of infatuation was much easier to control when Danny was dating someone else. But now that Danny is single again, now that the smallest, dumbest part of Tucker is hopeful that there might be a chance for his friendship with Danny to become something more, he can’t seem to get his butterflies to fly in formation.

Tucker hates it. He hates feeling like a little kid with a schoolyard crush, hates that he can hear his pulse in his ears every time Danny laughs, hates the way that ecstasy tips into nausea whenever Danny’s hand brushes his own at lunch. The butterflies are only manageable when Danny isn’t around, so Tucker has been valiantly trying to avoid him for the past few weeks. He’s made up homework assignments and family commitments and pulsing migraines. Danny knows it’s bullshit, Tucker can tell. He can see it in the little furrow of Danny’s brow and the tiny tilt of his head and slight purse of his lips. However, instead of calling Tucker out, Danny’s skepticism will always melt into that stupid fucking look, and he’ll accept the excuse at face value.

Tucker has been completing his duties to Team Phantom remotely, but his latest project requires face to face interaction with Danny. He’s been working on some modular enhancements to Danny’s suit, and there needs to be a fitting before final adjustments. Tucker tried to just get Danny to send over his measurements, but Danny couldn’t quite figure out how to use the measuring tape properly, for whatever reason.

Mechanical engineering is a bit outside of Tucker’s comfort zone. He’s always been more of a software guy, but Danny’s rubber hazmat suit isn’t doing enough to protect him anymore. Danny’s armor needs an upgrade, and as Danny’s guy in a chair, that responsibility falls squarely on Tucker’s shoulders. So, with little to no experience in practical construction, Tucker has been tasked with crafting something that will protect his best friend and guy he’s maybe sorta kinda in love with from facing mortal injury.

No pressure at all.

It should be a simple visit, really. He just needs to take some measurements, have Danny try a few pieces on, and then he can leave. In and out. Easy.

After one more heavy sigh, his brain and his body finally get on the same page, and he forces himself to knock.

“Come in,” Danny calls, voice muffled through the door.

Slowly, cautiously, Tucker opens the door and steps into the room. Danny is splayed out on his bed, scrolling through his phone. His shirt has ridden up a bit, and Tucker can see a small sliver of skin right above the cut of his hip bone. All the air empties from Tucker’s lungs, and he sharply turns away, unable to meet Danny’s eyes.

Danny throws Tucker a lazy grin as he hauls himself into a sitting position, his movements relaxed and self-assured. Tucker is grateful when Danny’s shirt drops to fully cover his stomach and he can breathe somewhat normally again.

“Hey,” Tucker says, hating himself when his voice waivers. “Hey, dude.” He tries again.

“Hiya, Tuck,” Danny smiles back at him. He stands and stretches his arms above his head, exposing that strip of skin once more. Tucker can feel himself short circuiting. The butterflies have become wasps and are pounding at the edges of his ribcage. He’s pretty sure that all the blood in his body has rushed up to his cheeks to paint him bright red.

This visit may be trickier than he initially thought.

“So, what’s the plan?” Danny asks.

“Uh,” Tucker says eloquently. “Um, yeah. Plan. Right. I’m just going to try these pieces on you and see what adjustments need to be made.”

Danny nods, then asks, “Do I need to change my clothes? Or does this work fine for the whole fitting thing?”

Danny is wearing jeans and an oversized NASA hoodie. The hoodie has a small blotchy stain on one of the sleeves, and Tucker can’t quite tell if it’s remnants of ketchup or blood. The stitching of the front pocket is ripping, like Danny has shoved his hands inside of it a bit too hard a few too many times. The jeans are fraying at the edges, and Tucker is pretty sure that they’re the same pair of pants that Danny has been wearing for the last four school days.

He looks beautiful.

“Are you wearing a shirt under the hoodie?” Tucker manages to ask around the lump in his throat.

Danny cocks an eyebrow at him.

“I just mean for fitting purposes,” he rushes to explain. “The hoodie looks like it might be a little thick so, you know-“

“Yeah, I gotcha,” Danny interrupts, stopping Tucker from embarrassing himself further. “I can take it off, one sec.”

Danny crosses his arms over himself, grabbing the sweatshirt from the bottom hem and lifting it over his head. Mercifully, his t-shirt remains in place, and Tucker is spared from seeing any flash of Danny’s torso.

Danny tosses the hoodie onto the bed before ruffling his unruly hair back into place.

“All good?”

Tucker swallows. Hard. “Great,” he chokes out.

The air between them is supercharged with a tension that Tucker can’t quite place. He steps closer to Danny, removing the armor prototypes from his duffel bag and laying them onto the bed.

Piece by piece, Tucker places the suit upgrades on his friend’s body, snapping and buckling the flexible plating into place. He tightens the breastplate around Danny’s chest, careful to touch only the armor itself, refusing to indulge in fantasies of resting his hand on the small of Danny’s back. As he settles the shoulder piece across Danny’s collarbone, he can feel Danny’s icy breath dance across his cheek. It’s tantalizing, and it takes all of Tucker’s willpower to hold himself back.

His fingertips just barely brush against Danny as he places the final piece of the armor around Danny’s forearm. There’s a spark that skitters across the surface of Tucker’s skin where they made contact, and for a moment he thinks it’s just in his head, the same sort of electricity he always feels whenever he gets too close to Danny. But as he catches the incremental shift in Danny’s expression as he winces, he realizes the spark was very real.

Tucker jerks his hand away from Danny, tripping over himself to apologize. “I’m sorry, this is new tech and all, but it shouldn’t have—”

His voice seizes as Danny catches Tucker’s hand in his own and presses Tucker’s palm firmly against his arm, refusing to break eye contact. The atmosphere in the room shifts and gravity collapses into them. Tucker can’t move away, he doesn’t want to. He may never move from this spot ever again. He keeps waiting for Danny to say something, but Danny offers no explanation. The only sound in the room is the twin rattling of their breathing. Danny’s bedroom has become a cathedral, and speaking would disturb the holiness of the atmosphere.

The moment stretches into an eternity. Tucker can feel a flush licking over his skin like fire. He is afraid he may burn up, completely consumed by the flames of his own desire. In a last attempt at self-preservation, Tucker finally finds his voice.

“What are you doing?” The question resonates in the room with a rasp.

There it is again. The look. Tucker’s nerve endings are lit anew.

“Pressure is good for pain,” Danny explains. The twinkle in his eye dares Tucker to disagree.

Tucker’s head is pounding. The butterflies have migrated from his stomach to his skull. His entire body is an inferno. The metaphors are getting all mixed up and Tucker can hardly move. Breathe. Think.

Danny edges forward by a nanometer, and his nose is practically brushing against Tucker’s cheek. He doesn’t know when Danny got so close. Tucker turns his head on instinct, and he can feel Danny’s breath skitter across his lips. An electric sensation zings down Tucker’s spine. His mouth parts ever so slightly, and the movement causes Danny’s eyes to dart down to Tucker’s lips. He can see Danny swallow, hear his shuddering breath, feel his uneven pulse where his fingers hook around Danny’s inner elbow.

Danny moves impossibly closer. Tucker is frozen, either in fear or anticipation. He’s not quite sure. For the briefest moment, Tucker thinks that Danny’s lips will meet his own. He braces himself for the brush of Danny’s chapped lips. He doesn’t know what he wants. He wants this. He wants everything. He wants nothing at all.

Suddenly, Danny pulls away, opening a vacuum between them. Tucker gasps, feeling as if he has been plunged into an ice bath. Danny seems completely nonchalant.

“This looks great, Tuck,” Danny flexes a bit, turning his arm to get a better look at his new gear. “Thanks for the power up.”

Tucker is still struggling to catch his breath. “Uh, yeah. Of course. Anytime.”

“And Tucker?” Danny peers over at him, a patient smile painted across his freckled face.

Tucker absentmindedly rubs his thumb across his lips, the ghostly memory of Danny’s breath still buzzing beneath his skin. “Yeah?”

“Let me know when you’re ready, okay?”

Tucker has never been more confused in his entire life. “When I’m ready?”

He forces himself to meet Danny’s gaze, and only to be met once more with the look.

God fucking damn it.

“Yeah. Just let me know.” Danny says softly, lovingly. “I’ll be here.”

#savant par #danny phantom #danny fenton #tucker foley #danny fenton x tucker foley #danny fenton/tucker foley #tucker foley x danny fenton #tucker foley/danny fenton #dp side hoes week 2023 #i am on my romance novel bullshit!!!#ecto writes #as i am ought to do #also can you tell i like physical descriptors? i am so very subtle about it <3

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justicerikai · 7 days

Text

Charisma House - Superhuman Sharehouse Story “Charisma” - #87 The Bus Won't Come

Please read alongside listening to the drama track on Youtube.

Let me know if I missed something!

TL note:

Iori calls himself a シルバーキラー (lit. A silver killer). It’s the same way the term “lady killer” is used in English, except it’s more versatile in Japanese by applying it to different groups of people. Such as older men (おじさんキラー lit. old man killer), or if you’re a “handsome young man who seduces married women”. (マダムキラー lit. madam killer). Basically, in this case, senior citizens fall for Iori’s wiles.

Iori: No sign of the bus, huh

Rikai: ….

Rikai: …How strange. It should’ve come already…

Iori: Aren’t you thirsty?

Rikai: ….Ah no, I’m fine.

Iori: Doesn’t your butt hurt?

Rikai: Eh?

Iori: This bench is tough. Not to mention the lack of satisfactory service.

Iori: Here, you can sit on my lap if you’d like.

Rikai: I’ll pass.

Iori: No need to hold back!

Rikai: Iori-san.

Iori: ….

Iori: Lemme know if somethings bothering you then

Rikai: ....On the same line of thought, it does bother me how the bus hasn’t come at the appointed time.

Iori: I’ll go track it down

Rikai: No no no! Iori-san, please stay here.

Rikai: We’ll ride the bus together when it comes.

Iori: ….’Kay.

Iori: Lemme know if somethings bothering you then

Rikai: What about yourself, Iori-san.

Iori: Huh?

Rikai: You’re always preoccupied with the business of others

Rikai: Isn’t there anything that’s bothering you, Iori-san?

Iori: ….Nah, don’t mind me.

Rikai: I can’t, please tell me if there is.

Iori: Eeeh~... I dunno…

Iori: How there’s nothing I need to do, I guess. Keep thinking if spending my time like this is any good.

Iori: Being sort of useless and all that. Or more like I end up being fidgety over it

Rikai: Please don’t think of such things. You’re always supporting us from behind the scenes, no?

Iori: Really? I’m glad

Rikai: Just remember to keep yourself in consideration too sometimes.

Iori: Yessiiiir~

(Iori gets up)

Rikai: Are you going somewhere?

Iori: Got nothing to do so I’m going to look for something to keep me busy

Rikai: Did you even listen to me!?

Rikai: Besides I would much rather prefer if you stayed here with me! Iori-sa….

(Iori leaves and Rikai sighs)

(Terra walks by)

Rikai: Terra-san, where are you headed off to?

Terra: On a walk~♪

Rikai: Selfish as always…

Rikai: Why can’t everyone sit still and wait patiently. What am I supposed to do if the bus comes and leaves them behind in the meantime?

Terra: Terra-kun won’t be left behind that easily

Rikai: ….

(Terra sits down)

Terra: The bus sure won’t come~

Rikai: My apologies, if only I had my act more together.

Terra: ?

Rikai: I haven’t been able to preserve order at all lately. As the leader, I feel responsible for my conduct.

Terra: What are you on, all of us would’ve perished with you long time ago

Rikai: Eh?

Terra: The fact that we like, somehow got this far is thanks to you

Rikai: Terra-san! Do you mean that!?

Terra: Yup, that’s why I can take it easy and go on a walk

Rikai: I see! Of course!

Rikai: I, the perfect man of society, standing proudly in the middle allows everyone to be free as they please to!

Terra: Uh I didn’t like, say that much….

Rikai: Yet in other words, an existence such as myself has the potential to sow chaos too on the contrary.

Rikai: Terra-san, education is difficult no matter the era we’re in.

Terra: What are you yapping about?

Rikai: Alright, I’ll give it my all! Rikai-oniisan shall not falter!

Terra: Where you going?

Toilet: To the lavatory

(Rikai leaves)

(Ohse and Amahiko walk by)

Terra: Amahiko, you already good?

Amahiko: Yes, I’ve surprisingly recovered quite well. Although I do still feel slightly sleepy.

Amahiko: ….The bus isn’t coming, huh.

Terra: I give up

Ohse: …Sorry

Terra & Amahiko: ?

Terra: Ghost-kun, what’cha apologizing for?

Ohse: Eh… ah, no…

Terra: No apologizing without a reason

Ohse: Sorry

Terra: Again

Ohse: …

Ohse: Understood.

(Terra gets up)

Amahiko: Terra-san, where are you off to?

Terra: Just a lil’ walk

Amahiko: Would you like to go together?

Terra: Nah, alone’s fine

Amahiko: Very well then

(Terra leaves)

Amahiko: Sigh…

Ohse: …Um, please go to sleep. I’ll wake you up once the bus comes.

Amahiko: ...Ohse-san, you shouldn't overdo it yourself. You're tired too, no.

(Ohse running off on the road)

Ohse: You better show up soon… Bus…

Amahiko: Hmm~ ....To come… or not to come…

Ohse: Eh?

Amahiko: What would you prefer, Ohse-san?

Ohse: I’d… like to be alone.

Amahiko: Eh?

Ohse: Ah, no not like that! I didn’t imply a-anything else with being alone!

Amahiko: Fufu

Ohse: I messed up! I’m really just a piece of shit! I’m so sorry!

(Ohse runs away)

Amahiko: Ohse-san!?

Amahiko: …He ran away

Amahiko: ….

Sarukawa: Oi Amahiko, you seen Fumiya ‘round?

Amahiko: I haven’t

Sarukawa: Where did that bastard run off to

Sarukawa: Came up to me like, let’s hitchhike so I stuck with him and then he poofed into thin air

Sarukawa: Forreal gotta get his ass at least once

Amahiko: Haha…

(Sarukawa sits down)

Sarukawa: When’s this damn bus coming. And why we gotta wait for sumn’ that won’t show up

(Sarukawa stands up)

Sarukawa: I’m gon’ run off on my own y’know!

Amahiko: …..

(Sarukawa sits back down)

(Amahiko smiles)

Sarukawa: ….Your ma all good?

Amahiko: …Yes, she made a full recovery one way or another

Sarukawa: Really, that’s good news

Amahiko: However…

Sarukawa: ?

Amahiko: Father ended up bed ridden instead.

Sarukawa: Puh- hahahaha! Hahahaha!!

Sarukawa: Forreal!? That old man’s got his shit fucked!? Amazing!

Amahiko: Eeh!?

Sarukawa: Fuckers that mess with ya deserve to get their asses beat!

Sarukawa: Now that’s what I’m talkin’ bout, hahaha, hahahaha!!!

Amahiko: Aha… Ahahaha…!

(Amahiko gets up)

Sarukawa: Mh, where you off to?

Amahiko: I’m going to search for Ohse-san

(Amahiko leaves)

Sarukawa: ….

Sarukawa: Fufu…

Fumiya: Kei

Sarukawa: Fumiya! Where the hell were ya!?

Fumiya: I finally got it

Sarukawa: Hah?

Sarukawa: Ah! Someone to hitchhike us!? Ya finally got them to stop!

Fumiya: Nah, got this giant stag beetle

Sarukawa: Hah?

(Fumiya shoves it in Sarukawa’s face)

Fumiya: Isn’t it cool? Look, a giant stag beetle.

Sarukawa: Stopstopstop

Fumiya: Looook, very big. So cool. Jealous, aren’t you.

Fumiya: A giant stag beetle, look, looook

Sarukawa: Aaah! And the hitchhiking then!? The fuck you playing around for!

Sarukawa: Owowowow! It’s pinching me! Bastard!

Fumiya: Hahaha

Sarukawa: ….!

Sarukawa: Wait all ya want, s’not coming

Sarukawa: I’m gon’ run off on my own, y'know!

Fumiya: …I wonder if Ryuu’s fine

Sarukawa: Hell if I know, what’s gotten into ya

Fumiya: Would be nice if he was.

Sarukawa: Shuddup, ain’t nothing for you to worry ‘bout. Be quiet.

Sarukawa: ….It’s his problem to deal with. Ain’t nothing we can do ‘bout it.

Fumiya: ….

(Sarukawa stands up)

Sarukawa: ….! Where they at!

Fumiya: Eh? How should I know? You’re the one that knows about Ryuu-

Sarukawa: The giant stag beetles!

Fumiya: Eeeeh!?

Sarukawa: I’m so gonna find a way bigger one than yours, just watch!

(Sarukawa runs off)

Fumiya: Hahaha…

(Iori walks by)

Iori: Ah, Fumiya-san. Huh? Where’s everyone?

Fumiya: Dunno

(Iori puts down the bag of drinks)

Fumiya: Ah, water, where from?

Iori: Asked some people in the neighborhood and I received these.

Iori: Who knew I had the charms to woo over the elderly.

(Iori opens a bottle)

Iori: Okay, here you go

Fumiya: ….

Iori: …Hm? It’s fine to drink?

Fumiya: …Yeah, but let’s wait for everyone. We’ll drink together

Iori: …

Iori: ….Roger wilco!

Iori: Still no sign of the bus

Fumiya: ….Mhm

Iori: Wonder what’s gonna happen from now on

Fumiya: ….Mhm

Iori: Fumiya-san, what are you planning to do?

Fumiya: …Eh? Uh, nothing, haven’t decided on anything.

Iori: Really now~?

Fumiya: Being with a bunch of like-minded people, and passing the time away together is more than enough for me.

Iori: Liar!

Iori: What just happened!? Eeeeh!?

Iori: Actually, where are we even going when we get on the bus?

Fumiya: Ah, about our next destination. Just so you know--

Rikai: Ah Iori-san, you came back, I was searching for you.

Iori: Oh, sorry sorry

Amahiko: Catched myself an Ohse-san~

Terra: You’re like, the worst!

Sarukawa: Your damn fault!

(Everyone’s being noisy)

Iori: Guuuys, there’s water. Please have a drink.

(Everyone sits down and drinks water)

Rikai: What… do we do…

Rikai: Should we walk?

Terra: Eeeeh~

Sarukawa: See? It’s gon’ be that after all, stupid

Fumiya: Lame

Ohse: Amahiko-san, will you be fine?

Amahiko: Yes

(Rikai stands up)

Terra: Eh! Are we seriously walking???

Iori: Not like we have much choice, it didn’t come despite us waiting.

Terra: Geez!

(Everyone standing up slowly)

Fumiya: …Then, we’re off?

Rikai: Guess we’ll depart

(Everyone sighs and starts dragging their feet)

Ohse: ….?

Ohse: Ah! A car’s coming!

The six of them: Wuh!?

(Everyone gets frantic)

(The car speeds by without stopping)

The seven of them: AAAAAAAAH!!!

Rikai: HELP US!

The seven of them: ASSHOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

#charisma house #charismahouse #kusanagi rikai #tendou amahiko #motohashi iori #ito fumiya #terra #sarukawa kei #minato ohse #one of my fav drama tracks ever btw

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djangodurango · 1 year

Note

for the WIP ask game... The Future Is Still Silver and Black? (original train fiction from you two sounds really interesting!)

So last year, I went up north to visit Ray. Ray lives in Chicago, which just so happens to have the largest railway museum in the United States, the Illinois Railway Museum.

At the IRM, we saw the Nebraska Zephyr, which is a streamlined stainless steel articulated trainset. Each of the cars in this train are named after Greek/Roman goddesses. Venus, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, and Juno. It's really quite striking. And the train is pulled by an EMD E5 (the only surviving E5 in fact) named Silver Pilot.

The next day we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. There we saw the Pioneer Zephyr, the first of the Burlington Zephyrs.

So after we get out of the MSI, we're sitting in the Metra station, waiting for the train, and we're doing Independent Research on our phones. Because the concept of the Nebraska Zephyr is great, right? Five beautiful cars all named after goddesses. And that is when we learn that Silver Pilot did not originally belong to this train.

"Those aren't even his bitches," Ray said to me.

So over the next few months, we did more Independent Research. And every new piece of information we found about Silver Pilot just made his story even better. The whole thing is fuckin' wild and we had to DIG to find almost all of it. It's insane because the engine has this amazing story - a story that Ray often points out would sound contrived if it wasn't true - and apparently no one has cared until a pair of fucking cunt dorks went to the train museum.

Comparatively, the Pioneer Zephyr was easy to find more about. Its history is extremely well-documented and lots of people in the past have been fucking cunt dorks about that train. The thing about the Pioneer Zephyr though is that it was made in the early 30's, right? And Burlington promoted this train in a way almost... vaudevillian. It broke the land speed rail record on its way to its debut at the 1934 World's Fair (outdoing its competitor from the Union Pacific, M-10000 only a couple months after it broke the record), it went on an exhibition tour, there were commemorative letter covers given for its service milestones, there was a ride-on children's toy made of it, it starred in a movie!

So me and Ray were now thoroughly enthralled by these two separate but related trains and how different their service lives were - and continue to be - when we get an idea.

We'd considered the idea of trains writing letters to each other before, but it's a little human for them in general, particularly for working engines who are busy. Although I was quite pleased when I was able to report to Ray that there was indeed an episode of TTTE where Thomas sends Percy a postcard.

But these guys are both preserved and while Pilot still works, the IRM is only really open on weekends. They got time. They have people with hands who can read and write who also have time.

DJ: Oh, what if they send each other letters? Ain't like they've got anything else going on. Ray: c2c. I was thinking about them being pen pals. Especially since they live so close, the letters don't take long to arrive. They can be short and sweet. DJ: Gives them something to look forward to. Ray: You can send some a few times a year and not be overwhelming with the information.

Which was all well and good, but then I found something practically serendipitous. A sign that this was the way to go.

So remember how Pioneer had all these publicity stunts and events done for it? On its tenth anniversary, they made a six foot birthday cake and rigged up an eight-foot-long knife such that the train could pull forward, break a ribbon, and cut its own birthday cake.

Most of this cake was given to veteran and child hospital patients, but individual pieces were also sent off to each of Pioneer's "brothers" and a hundred-ish other fellow streamliners across the country.

With a letter.

DJ: Raymond. There's a train letter IN the Pioneer Zephyr book. FROM the Pioneer Zephyr. About his birthday party. Although he does say in it that he only has brothers. Ray: OH MY GOD. How did we know??? Are we just that fucking good???? Do we just know and perceive the truth THAT well. DJ: It's too fucking cute. Ray: The fact that he is a he and also says he has brothers is revolutionary. That almost strains the limits of credulity, knowing how Train Guys are about calling engines "she". But I know you would not lie to me about this. Can you scan it?????

The fucking train actually, canonically, wrote a letter.

So yeah, the trains are pen pals. And they write to each other about their past and but moreso about their present. Because as it happens, their history post-preservation is interesting too (as I'm sure you can relate) and there's far less said about it already.

The first batch of letters are done, we're just getting some other materials together before we can publish.

EDIT: people are reblogging this again so just editing to add that you can read the train letters here.

#pioneer zephyr #silver pilot #the future is still silver and black

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sisterspooky1013 · 11 months

Text

Parallel, Chapter 1/6

Rated X | Read it here on AO3

She’s been watching him all morning, studying the way his long legs dance back and forth across the office as he articulates with his hands. He’s a beautiful creature, limber and primed like a bird ready to take flight, but somehow concurrently staid and steady as a mighty oak.

She’s watching him because she’s grown tired of listening, and watching the twist of his hips as he paces to and fro gives the appearance that she’s engaged, especially when punctuated by the occasional nod or skeptical squint. Not that she couldn’t muster interest in…whatever it is that he’s talking about if she wanted to, it’s all just feeling a bit pointless lately. A bit directionless. A bit like they’ve been circling the same city block for seven years and Mulder hasn’t seemed to notice that they’re only making left turns.

There’s also the fact that she’s no longer capable of suppressing her attraction to him. It used to be a persistent buzz, like some kind of sexual tinnitus that she learned to ignore. Lately, she has to carefully monitor herself to avoid staring at his mouth for prolonged periods of time while her mind wanders to decidedly un-partnerlike places.

He’s done just enough to make clear to her that if she opened that door, he’d happily walk through it. If this were a rom-com, they’d share their first kiss on a rain-soaked sidewalk after confessing their true feelings and the credits would roll. But he only felt brave enough to kiss her under the cover of a New Year’s tradition, and their rain soaked sidewalk was a sour-smelling emergency room. As with other aspects of their relationship, it was just a bit off the mark. Add up all those bits, and it feels like it’s simply not meant to be.

There’s something to be said for the bond that’s formed between two people who have shared unique and sometimes traumatizing experiences. Who else but Mulder understands the shock of fear she feels when exposed to sudden bright lights, or the thoughts that run through her head when he doesn’t answer the phone? Who else can relate to the unrooted sensation of lost time, or the way it changes your brain chemistry to evade death with more frequency than a feral cat?

But that bond, however strong, is rooted in self-preservation, not compatibility. If they’d somehow crossed paths in another way, in another circumstance where they had no common enemy to overthrow and didn’t rely on one another for survival, she’s fairly certain that it would have gone nowhere fast. She would have found him attractive but arrogant. He would have enjoyed pushing her buttons, but never even considered her as a possible romantic interest. Strip away all the flashing lights and gunpowder, and they are two people who don’t have much in common beyond their proclivity towards spirited debate and their expansive vocabularies. What kind of foundation is that for a romantic relationship?

“You don’t believe in it, I presume?”

She lifts her eyes to his face, scrambling to recall the last thing he said.

“You do?” she asks, volleying the question.

Mulder sighs and sits on the corner of the desk. He’s wearing his charcoal suit today, which happens to be one of her favorites.

“I think it’s possible. Given the unfathomable vastness of the universe, assuming that this is the only planet among billions with the ability to sustain life seems a bit egomaniacal, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose it does, yes,” she agrees hesitantly.

“And given that we’ve only been able to study the physical and chemical bounds of this universe, and furthermore acknowledging that we still have so much more to discover that we aren’t yet aware of, discounting the possibility of a parallel dimension on implausibility alone is a shortsighted conclusion.”

She blinks at him, and after a beat he springs up again, walking determinedly towards the annex.

“A parallel dimension,” she repeats, her mind turning it over like a river stone, examining it for signs of a hidden fossil. “Are you a basketball star in one of these parallel dimensions, Mulder?”

Though she can only see the back of his head as he rifles through a drawer, she can tell that he’s smiling.

“Am I not a basketball star in this one?” he asks rhetorically, and she fights off a smirk.

He returns with a clear plastic sheet and a handful of pens, dragging a cart behind him on which a weathered overhead projector sits. She watches him with amusement as he sets it up, adjusting the reflected image on the wall until he’s satisfied with the focus.

“Theoretical physicist Albert Homnell posits that we exist in one of countless parallel dimensions, each triggered by a significant change in the trajectory of human history,” he begins, drawing a small blue circle in the middle of the sheet. “Let’s say that this is our dimension. Perhaps this dimension is the one in which we won World War Two.”

Just beside the circle he draws two tiny stick figures, adding a shock of black hair to the top of one’s head and a swoop of red to the other. Scully smiles wryly and sighs. At least this is entertaining.

“However, there’s a parallel dimension,” he continues, drawing a small green circle to the right of the blue one. “In this dimension, Hilter succeeded in becoming a world power, and this changed the course of history so significantly that we broke off into two dimensions, completely separate timelines. In this dimension, my mother’s family was executed by the Third Reich, and I was never born.”

Beside the green circle he draws another stick figure Scully with an exaggerated frown on her face.

“It’s an interesting theory,” she says, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs. “Albeit a disturbing one.”

“Think about it,” he charges on. “There would be a dimension where the Bubonic Plague never occurred, another where the Titanic never sank, another where the Industrial Revolution happened a hundred years later than it did.”

He’s covering the sheet in multicolored circles, connecting them with lines that branch off into a spider’s web-like network.

“It would be like the butterfly effect on steroids,” she says, and he looks up and grins at her.

“Exactly,” he says, abandoning the projector and plopping down in the seat beside her, the sides of his hands smudged with ink.

“You really believe in this theory, Mulder?” she asks with an arched eyebrow. “It’s a bit out there, even for you.”

He pushes out his bottom lip and shrugs.

“I don’t know that I believe it, per se, but it does make Mr. Sawyer’s claims a bit more intriguing.”

“The guy who thinks he’s being visited by his own ghost?” Scully asks, incredulous.

Mulder quirks a smile.

“Homnell also believes that there are thin spots between dimensions, access points through which they can interact with one another. Sedation is one of them, but so is sleep. More specifically, the REM cycle.”

“Dreams,” she says, and he nods. “So you think the ghost that’s visiting Mr. Sawyer is a dream, but the dream is actually a glimpse into another dimension?”

Her tone comes off a bit more derisive than she intentend, and she doesn’t miss the millisecond flash of a wounded cringe on his face before the facade of aloofness is back up.

“I wouldn’t say I think that so much as I’m willing to entertain the possibility,” he corrects her, leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees.

He looks up at her from beneath his eyelashes and she feels herself flush.

“Alright,” she says reluctantly. “Entertain away.”

He pulls a goofy, surprised smile and cocks his neck back.

“Is it my birthday or something?” he asks, looking over his shoulder at the calendar on his desk.

“You act as though I don’t give an audience to your crackpot theories forty hours a week,” she snarks back, and he pretends to be offended.

“It’s almost five, what say we blow this popsicle stand and discuss my crackpot theory over dinner?” he suggests, already halfway to the coat rack.

“I have to assume that means you’re buying,” she tells him, and he holds out her coat for her to slip her arms through.

“Crackpot always foots the bill, Scully. House rules.”

“What would be the point?” she asks, spearing the pearl onion in the bottom of her martini with a swizzle stick.

Mulder makes a face and shrugs.

“What’s the point of any of this?” he asks, gesturing to the room around them.

It’s not a nice place, but it’s not not a nice place. The decidedly after-work crowd are all in various stages of undress, some having shed their jackets, others their ties. Mulder’s suit jacket is draped over the back of his chair, his sleeves unbuttoned and rolled up to his elbows. His tie hangs loosely around his neck, and he’s wagging the toothpick perched between his teeth back and forth with his tongue, much to her distraction. Scully has removed her suit jacket as well, which leaves her in a sleeveless white blouse.

“Okay, so assuming that you or I was somehow able to access one of these thin spots and communicate with an alternate dimension,” she says in her very best I-am-only-having-this-conversation-to-humor-you voice, “what would the motivation be to establish that communication? This isn’t time travel, correct? We couldn’t change the outcome of some pivotal event and prevent disaster from occurring. If one entire dimension is predicated on the fact that Hitler won the war, there’s nothing we can do to change that. So what’s the point?”

Mulder sits back in his chair and considers her for a moment, and she takes a nervous sip from her drink. She both loves and hates it when he looks at her like that, like he’s really trying to see her.

“I’m not sure it’s voluntary,” he offers. “Or Homnell isn’t, anyway. The person being perceived may have no idea that they’re starring in someone else’s dream. So in that sense, it doesn’t have a point any more than dreams themselves have a point.”

“I thought you said dreams are the answer to a question we haven’t figured out how to ask,” she gently chides him, and he smiles warmly.

“You do listen when I talk,” he says, his voice thick and rough.

It hangs there for a moment, their playful banter and his long glance with mossy bedroom eyes. She wonders if he’ll ever kiss her again. She wonders if he knows she wants him to. When she can’t take it anymore, when it feels like she might burst into flame if he looks at her one second longer, she averts her eyes to the table.

“The prevailing theory is that dreams help you consolidate and analyze memories,” she says, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“So what does it mean if I have a recurring dream that A.D. Skinner spanks me with a wooden spoon?” he asks, and she snaps her head up to find him grinning.

“I think you’re confusing dreams with fantasies, Mulder,” she quips, and he shakes his head at her affectionately.

“C’mon, let’s get you home. It’s a school night.”

She once had a horribly vivid nightmare that she was seeing her father off to sea, standing on the shore waving as his ship slowly moved away from the dock. He was perched on the bow, his arm held high over his head and the white of his smiling teeth visible even from a great distance. Something happened that caused the ship to lurch, and she watched helplessly as he tumbled over the railing and was sucked into the rudders. In her dream, the fact that the rudders are located at the stern didn’t matter. It felt so devastatingly real that she woke up screaming, and had to call her parents in the middle of the night to be sure Ahab was okay before she could go back to sleep.

She thinks about this as she lies in bed staring at the ceiling. Under Mulder’s alternate dimension theory, she could have been bearing witness to actual events that happened to another version of herself in another dimension. Would that then mean that a different Dana Scully once dreamt that her sister was shot dead in her doorway? Or that she was abducted from her apartment? Her life would be fodder for some seriously disturbing nightmares.

Recently, she dreamt that she was on Mulder’s couch and he was on top of her. They both appeared to be fully clothed, but in the dream she was certain they were having intercourse. What would that mean for an alternate Dana Scully? Perhaps in her universe, they don’t remove their clothes before sex.

She laughs to herself at the absolute ridiculousness of it all. Are there other universes where people regularly experience all their teeth falling out at once, or stand up to give a presentation only to realize they forgot to put pants on? Nonetheless, she enjoyed her evening with Mulder. Enjoyed it a bit too much, perhaps, because she now has an ache in her chest where she typically stuffs down her feelings for him, and a matching one between her legs.

She reaches for her bedside drawer in search of a little something to help her fall asleep. She can only hope that her dreams are sweet ones.

Tagging @today-in-fic

#the x files #x files fanfic #txf #dana scully #fox mulder #xf fanfic #x files #the x-files #xfiles

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sebinwhite · 2 years

Text

Sebastian Vettel: "Can I still do my job?"

Article link: https://www.zeit.de/2022/36/sebastian-vettel-formel-1-familie-klimaschutz/seite-3

Translation via deepl

Sebastian Vettel: You know, when I was sitting here in this motorhome waiting for you, I had to laugh for a moment.

DIE ZEIT: Because we're over an hour late? We're sorry about that. It wasn't easy to get to you here in the paddock at Spa.

Vettel: No, because I had to think of the ZEIT articles from earlier years that are lying around our house. At my place, the newspapers pile up into towers. I find it interesting to read how people, events and developments were assessed in the past. I thought that if others felt the same way, then I could preserve my farewell a little longer.

ZEIT: Are you afraid of being forgotten?

Vettel: Not at the moment. Before a race like the one here in Belgium, a day is very well planned. On a Thursday before a Grand Prix, there are press conferences, appointments with sponsors and meetings with my team. We practice the start, and in between we drivers walk the track.

ZEIT: On foot? After 15 years in Formula 1, don't you know the track in your sleep?

Vettel: On foot, of course. It's only eight kilometers. It would be fatal to believe that I don't have to prepare in the same way as I did when I was 20.

ZEIT: You are a four-time world champion, have won 53 races, and drove for Ferrari, among others. At the end of July this year, you announced the end of your career with the words: "I love this sport. It has been at the center of my life for as long as I can remember. But there is my life on the track and my life off the track. Being a race car driver has never been my only identity." Has anything already changed in your life since it was announced that the time of your final stints has come? Vettel: I feel more relaxed, yes, freer, because I carried the decision around with me for a very long time. Sometimes I thought it felt right to leave, then it felt wrong again. So it circled back and forth in my head for a long time.

ZEIT: What triggered the thought about leaving?

Vettel: Something like that happens gradually over many years. My job as a Formula 1 driver is very intense. I came to the realization that I could no longer manage 100 percent of my time the way I expected to.

ZEIT: 14th place in the current drivers' standings isn't enough for you to fall asleep satisfied?

Vettel: No. Perhaps I could become even more efficient in my planning. But for some time now two different worlds have been colliding: sporting ambition, which has always been my greatest drive, and at the same time I want to be there for the family. For the children. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to combine the two. This is noticeable in little things, when it becomes an effort to get out of the house and get on a plane. When I'm finally on the road, I forget everything and come home in the flow of the race. Then I have to get used to it again. And if the kids then also say, "Stay here, don't go!" the next time, it becomes even more difficult.

ZEIT: You could point out that one result of your work is a large garden.

Vettel: In that case, the time we spend together is worth more to me than the garden. If I could solve my problem by doing without the garden and being at home more instead, that would be great. But being a Formula 1 driver just isn't possible. Of course, the truth also includes the fact that I'm no longer driving at the front of the field.

ZEIT: It's not enough to say, now more than ever?

Vettel: No, unfortunately not. And it doesn't help to tell myself that there's nothing greater than setting up a Formula 1 race car correctly.

ZEIT: When did you start having doubts? Vettel: I became aware of it two years ago. When things weren't going well at all here at Aston Martin, I asked myself: Can I still do my job? As a professional, you don't talk about things like that; somehow it seems to be frowned upon. But what if it was? Personal weakness and thoughts about it are part of performance and success. At least for this realization, the past two years were worth their weight in gold for me. But it started when my children were born, I just didn't reflect on it that way back then. I don't mean that in a negative way, but since then a part of my life no longer belongs to me, but to my children.

ZEIT: Do you find it difficult to go beyond your limits in a profession that is dangerous?

Vettel: Yes, it does. But that doesn't mean I want to be some kind of helicopter father in the future. I don't have to look after my children every minute, and that shouldn't be my only task in life either. But as a father, I feel the drive to do everything in the sense that the children grow up to be a better version of both of us. Of my wife and of me.

ZEIT: You get old early as a Formula 1 driver.

Vettel: There's probably something to that. I didn't think about that until 2013, when everything was going perfectly. Things kept going up. The first setback came in 2014. My expectations were higher than the possibilities. The cars were different to drive, automatic components took many decisions away from the driver, I didn't like that. At that time, we had no chance against Mercedes at Red Bull. ZEIT: In 2015, you switched to Ferrari. Did things get better again there?

Vettel: Yes, the new job spurred me on. My role model was always Michael Schumacher. I thought of his world championship titles with "the Reds." The enthusiasm lasted until 2018, when I came close to success for the second time, and then the hoped-for improvement failed to materialize at the end. 2019 was sobering because our car with its chassis wasn't good enough for a strong engine. At the same time, my children were starting to grow up. That sharpened my focus on what else was happening, how much our environment was changing.

ZEIT: Every season, Formula 1 travels around the world with a huge team of engineers, mechanics and equipment. And in the process, it burns vast amounts of gasoline and kerosene, not to mention the cars in the races ...

Vettel: ... I've been able to travel to so many countries over a long period of time that you have to be very naïve not to see how dramatic the political grievances are elsewhere and how irresponsible the handling of the climate is. I'm not an expert on foreign policy or environmental issues, and I don't want to pretend that I understand everything. But recognizing that there must be something wrong with seeing more palm trees and palm oil plantations in Malaysia from year to year is no great feat. At some point, I began to feel ashamed of the fact that my work was helping to pollute the environment. And at least not being able to stop it.

ZEIT: With today's awareness, you should have stopped immediately.

Vettel: I won't be able to change this development on my own. I don't plant trees full-time, but I burn gasoline to do what I love and have fun doing it. I understand when people say: What right does he have to say that flights within Germany are bullshit?

ZEIT: How did you travel to Belgium?

Vettel: Not by plane.

ZEIT: But rather?

Vettel: With a small family bus that I drive myself. I keep the expense as low as possible. Sometimes I also travel by train.

ZEIT: That's commendable, but forgoing a private jet doesn't really inspire sympathy.

Vettel: Of course I know that. I'm not looking for sympathy, but to explain what makes me tick. Self-promotion is abhorrent to me, and unfortunately it's even more pronounced among drivers today than it used to be.

ZEIT: Do you feel too old for that, too?

Vettel: I'm happy for the others to be able to enjoy it, but I'm really glad to have grown up in a time when pictures of oneself were rather embarrassing.

ZEIT: When you announced the end of your career, you said that being a racing driver was only part of your identity. When your passion is gone, what meaning will you see in your life besides being a family man?

Vettel: I'm still much younger than the average retiree. That's probably the biggest challenge for a sportsman like me. At some point, I'll call it a day. I certainly won't be jumping from boat to boat or traveling from island to island. I want to take on responsibility in some way.

ZEIT: Will something ever be able to fill you up like the feeling of sitting in a race car?

Vettel: Well, I wish I knew. Every one of us athletes has this turning point before us - voluntarily or involuntarily. I could have gotten injured, either in or out of the car. And that would have been the end of my career. The point could have come when I was no longer good enough even for the midfield, when no one wanted me anymore. Of course, I wonder if I'll be able to cope with life afterwards or if I'll miss something. Maybe it will upset me that everything I've built up so far will crumble or burst. When I think about it and look at the post-career careers of other famous athletes, I can already see that it's a big challenge. There seems to be no guarantee of passing this test. Maybe I won't win this race, maybe I won't even finish it. I don't know.

ZEIT: Do you know how many of your colleagues among the Formula 1 drivers are really satisfied?

Vettel: Phew. We're all driven by ambition, the prospect of success. But the satisfaction outside of that is much more valuable. I think that's also a question of age. When we were 20 or 25, we all had different ideas of what it meant to be happy. Personally, I've always been more interested in the boring, the normal things. Trophies, for example, don't give me any satisfaction at all; you'd see that immediately if you visited me at home.

ZEIT: Where do you keep all your trophies?

Vettel: In a room that no one gets to see. On the walls in the living quarters are pictures of people who are good at painting, children's and family photos. But no Formula 1 pictures. ZEIT: Aren't you at all proud of what you've achieved?

Vettel: Yes, of course I am, and I'm also lucky enough to be able to afford things that I used to dream about. For me, that was always a Ferrari F40, that was my absolute dream car. I still have it and I'm not going to sell it.

ZEIT: A 480-horsepower sports car whose used purchase price starts at around 1.35 million. Is that what a Ferrari driver gets as a farewell present?

Vettel: No, I bought it beforehand. But it really is one of the very few status symbols I own. I've always liked to break out of the role of Formula 1 driver.

ZEIT: Isn't it nice to be a little privileged? After all, you've worked for it.

Vettel: How can I explain that without seeming arrogant? People often think they know me. But they don't know me, they only know a small part of me, the role I fill as a Formula 1 driver. No one knows whether I'm really an extrovert or an introvert, whether I like to do this or that. But because they think they know me, they behave toward me in a certain way that doesn't suit me as a person at all. Some apologize if they didn't recognize me right away, and then become effusively friendly. That makes me uncomfortable. I prefer the real thing.

ZEIT: Do you have a hobby that you would like to turn into a career?

Vettel: I really enjoy tinkering with wood. Who knows, maybe I'll do an apprenticeship as a carpenter. Maybe it will fulfill me so much that I'll only build chairs afterwards. Or maybe after a year I'll say it's fun to do something now and then, but it doesn't have to become my life's purpose. And I like farming, that's something that's grabbed me more and more in the past few years. There are so many approaches to farming. I wasn't aware of that before. Where does our food come from? Why? On the one hand, it's very analog, but on the other hand, it's also connected with technology, with new, modern technology.

ZEIT: Could you also imagine continuing to be involved in racing?

Vettel: Not right away, but working in motorsports, if it's the right role, is something I can well imagine. After all, there are also areas that are far removed from classic Formula 1.

ZEIT: As an ambassador for Formula E?

Vettel: No, not that. I don't want to be a greeter, and I don't want to put my face forward for a concept that I'm not convinced of. I don't see the point behind this series. The battery technology that is being pushed and developed has nothing to do with the technology that a normal car could use. It is not conducive to preserving our environment if the batteries or rechargeable batteries are not charged with renewable energy, but with fossil energy.

ZEIT: Why have you actually changed your appearance so much? You wear a beard, your hair is getting longer. Is that also a form of protest, your way of walking the Camino de Santiago?

Vettel: No, it's much simpler than that. When I was 20, I couldn't grow a beard. There was only fluff. Now the hair is already starting to get a little thinner. So I thought I'd better let it grow longer again before it starts to get less overall.

ZEIT: Would you have left if you'd had an offer from a racing team that would have given you the opportunity to sit in a car that was competing for victory once again?

Vettel: I asked myself the same question. I can't answer it for you one hundred percent because the option didn't exist. But actually, when I thought about it, I came to the same conclusion. After all the self-doubt that came up in me, it was more important for me to realize that it's okay to quit. Sure, that would be a great thing, to retire as a champion at the peak. That's what many of us try to do. Some fail at it and lose themselves.

#sebastian vettel #f1 #he drives a family bus to the tracks i.........

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ordinaryschmuck · 1 month

Text

What I Thought About The First Doctor's Run

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and sometimes draw comics and cartoons.

So, I’ve made a discovery…Almost every episode of Classic Doctor Who is available FOR FREE on Tubi! You know what this means?!

“More people can watch the early beginnings of the most iconic sci-fi series of all time?”

That AND I can finally review Doctor Who as a whole!

I won’t lie, this has been something I’ve wanted to do for a WHILE. Either as a ranking of each Doctor or a ranking of their best episodes, I’ve been wanting to go in depth with this series for SO LONG. And since the odds are I WON’T become a writer for television like I’ve always dreamed, I might as well talk about my favorite TV shows! Starting with the son of a bitch who started it all: The First Doctor.

Here’s what I know about the First Doctor: Next to nothing. My experience with The Doctor as a whole started all the way with Number Nine, with the only taste of One being through that Christmas Special a few years back. He’s definitely more cynical and rude than present Doctors, but this is way back in his early beginnings. NO ONE knew what direction this character would take years later and just focussed on making an interesting character NOW. Er, then? Now? Then?

Eh, bibbly-bobbly.

The point is that I’m going to TRY and not be biased with One, look at him as if I were right there in 1963. Unfortunately, unlike everyone ELSE in the sixties, I don’t have access to all the episodes. During 1968-1978, most tapes that held Doctor Who episodes were reused for new film or deleted completely for space, leaving NINETY-SEVEN episodes erased from time forever and causing twenty-six serials either gone completely or incomplete. It’s basically what streaming services and studios are doing nowadays, but without pirating sites as a safety net to preserve the art from being COMPLETELY lost. Now, there are some audio tracks saved for commercial release that feature still images or commissioned animation, but that’s not the case for every episode, unfortunately. So things are going to get a little…weird for this review. For now, I’ll say that I’m going to stick to what’s on Tubi and improvise with what’s NOT on there. Also, I’m not going to go through every single episode. Just share my thoughts on each serial as a WHOLE, mainly because those practically add up to modern episodes anyway, just an hour or two longer.

Now, with that said, let’s take a step back in time as we discuss the first adventures with our first Doctor.

Decades Old Spoilers Below

THE SERIALS

We’ll begin by going in order of each serial, starting with his first adventure and ending with his last. Helps go through this journey together.

The Unearthly Child: Okay, full disclosure, this one’s NOT on Tubi, so I had to look it up through…other means. But to be fair, it’s not like I could just IGNORE The Doctor’s very first adventure. It’s here we see a sort of formula that still remains constant to this day. The Doctor meets new companions, they become shocked by how the TARDIS is bigger on the inside, they go to a place that’s filled with a temporary cast of disposable characters, and are forced to solve a problem for them or die trying. Of course, some things are different, and not just the inside of the TARDIS. The fact that The Doctor had a granddaughter was mind blowing and left me wondering what happened to her since she never showed up ONCE in the revival. And The Doctor was…surprisingly inactive despite being the titular character. He caused more problems than fixed them, like being the reason everyone was trapped in the Stone Age and later becoming the person who needed to be rescued. Honestly, Ian proved himself more as the leading man than The Doctor did throughout the whole ordeal, calling the shots and even being the one who came up with the plan that got them OUT of danger. Even when taking account that this was just the show starting out, it seems weird that the titular character isn’t the one who leads the group and is instead the whiney bitch that the others just tell themselves to ignore. As for the adventure, it’s pretty dull. Granted, you need to introduce audiences to the concept of time travel by showing them something easy to grasp like going back to the stone age. You gotta save weirder stuff for the future episodes. But the characters getting chased around by cavemen isn’t really that engaging, and it REALLY drags down a lot by part four where the conflict feels stretched out to meet the full twenty-three minutes. Overall, not that great of a first introduction but most of the best series of television rarely start off perfect. The question is if it makes me want to see more, and…it honestly doesn’t. If not for the knowledge of what the series would eventually become, I’m not sure WHY someone would stick around. But the Doctor Who fan in me is strong so I say we keep charging on.

The Daleks: The first encounter with The Daleks, the Doctor’s WORST enemies, and the serial is much better because of it. It’s actually interesting to see how these villains began with how simple they are to fight, the fact that they don’t INSTANTLY kill others they attack, and how they actually keep PRISONERS. And the serial does a great job at showing how they’re definite menaces to be feared, but not impossible to defeat, creating decent tension as the characters try to fight back literal killing machines. I also love how every character throughout the serial does something important, especially The Doctor who manages to do much more this time than whine and complain as he actually uses his intelligence to help his companions out of this troublesome situation. Although, he’s still the jackass that got them all trapped in this situation all for the sake of exploring a town that they know NOTHING about. There’s definite improvements to his character this time, but The Doctor being the cause for their current conflict is not one of them. And while we’re on complaints, this serial STILL feels like it stretches its adventure out for the sake of making the serial longer than it should be. There’s some definite excitement in the first half with our core four characters trying to escape the Daleks, but this serial still didn’t need to be seven gosh dang episodes long. I feel like there’s some meat to be cut out with making the Thals stand up for themselves, conceiving a plan of attack, and invading the Daleks’ base. Other than that, this is still a pretty decent serial filled with great tension from the Daleks and strong chemistry and dynamics between our core four. It’s definitely stronger than the last serial and a MUCH better introduction to the series. No wonder it’s the one that Tubi has.

The Edge of Destruction: A nice, short mystery where the first half does really well in making you feel as disoriented as the rest of the cast. There’s this solid unease where you’re not sure what’s going on and you’re left to pick up the pieces, bit by bit, to figure out what happened and if there’s anyone or anything responsible for this mess. Although, part two tends to fall a tad short because most of the clues we got were then explained to the audience and then given this big explanation that came out of left field because the biggest clue wasn’t revealed yet. So as a mystery, it definitely isn’t strong. Though, I do like how The Doctor is the one to figure things out and save the day in this serial. Sure, him being antagonistic towards the others wasn’t great but I enjoy how The Doctor has finally warmed up to his companions and that it’s implied that he no longer chooses to be suspicious of them. So while the mystery fell short, I can’t complain when it improves The Doctor’s character.

Marco Polo: Unavailable on Tubi due to the BBC deleting episodes. Yeah, unfortunately, this is our FIRST serial that can’t be seen in its entirety through official means…Though, no one said anything about using transcripts.

HAHA! Loophole! Because while I’m not going to steal audio-only episodes for the sake of reviews, who’s going to stop me from READING. It’s not stealing episodes if I’m just reading what happens! Although, unfortunately, it only gives me a PART of the picture. I won’t understand performances or fully grasp how characters look, but it’s no different from strictly LISTENING. There’s a lot that unfortunately goes missing when a visual media loses its visuals, and for a case like this it’s best to work with what we have. And what I have is the story pretty much described to me by someone else. It’s not preferable, but it IS what I can do for these times. Remember this every time a studio deletes episodes or entire shows off its platforms.

With that said, based on what I’ve read…Yeah, this one DRAGS. It’s The Doctor and company being forced to move from place to place and dealing with Marco Polo as they do. Doesn’t sound too bad, but each place they go to follows a specific formula: Someone does something Polo doesn’t like, he voices displeasure about it, The Doctor and others argue their case, Tegana points out how they’re actually evil, and Marco Polo, who flips from being reasonably cautious and unreasonably stupid, constantly tells them to get out of his face while still dragging them off to the next location. This goes on for SEVEN EPISODES, each one making the whole serial feel way too long and way too repetitive. I kept hoping this would be the end of the serial and we could move on to the next, only for it to KEEP. F**KING. GOING! It’s so dull that I needed TWO DAYS to read through the damn thing. But maybe that’s the problem: I had to READ it. There might be subtleties in the VISUAL performance that better conveys Marco’s personality, even if it DOES seem to flip/flop on paper. Plus, there are some things like the set designs and special effects that a transcript could gloss over and not properly convey. And there are SOME nice bits like The Doctor trying (and failing) to win the TARDIS back in a game of backgammon, which is all kinds of fun. And Susan made an endearing friendship with Ping-Cho. Those two are surprisingly adorable together and it’s nice to see Susan make a connection with someone her own age. Other than that, though, if this wasn’t that great of a story on paper, the original serial better have some MIND BLOWING execution to make it great. Otherwise, maybe fans aren’t losing much if this serial is lost to time.

The Keys of Marinus: A pretty clever idea with this one. The story for this serial is that The Doctor and his companions are out searching for the titular Keys of Marinus, presenting a story that’s a fetch-quest, with each episode dedicated to the characters finding one key. It’s smart because instead of stretching out one adventure to make the serial longer, it connects four adventures through this loose thread, keeping audience interest up as everyone tries to get out of the danger of the week. It’s fairly effective, filled with great moments like Barbara trying to save the core four from being brainwashed into mindless zombies, the entirety of “The Snows of Terror,” and The Doctor solving a murder. It’s all good fun, but not without some problems. An episode like “The Screaming Jungle” feels like it needs more time as there’s a lot of ideas that don't live up to its full potential or come out of nowhere. Like, a living jungle SOUNDS cool, but it only really comes into fruition until the end. There’s also the fact that the search for the last key feels stretched out because the writers didn’t realize soon enough that the finale for this serial was too short so they made the final hunt longer to compensate. But what bothers me the most is that The Doctor just…leaves the hunt just to spend time in a more civilized society. It works out for the murder mystery, but it also feels weird that the titular character bows out for two whole episodes, leaving his companions to do all of the work he neglects. Honestly, at this point, I’d say Ian should be the one the show is named after with how well he leads the party and even comes up with a clever plan to stop the big bads. And I know I keep harping on it, but why name the show Doctor Who when that same doctor hardly helps? Still, “The Keys of Marinus” is a fun serial that leads to solid short tales, even if there were some rough steps along the way.

The Aztecs: Oh, this one’s racist, isn’t it…? You know what? I’m as white as a ping-pong ball and have the patience of a goldfish to do proper research myself to make any judgments to decide something that I have no official standing on. So I won’t be the one to say what is and isn’t racist…Aside from the fact that those are obviously WHITE people playing the Aztecs.

But possible racism aside, this serial is more on the dull side. I do like this conflict between The Doctor and Barbara, where Barbara tries to change history for what she thinks is for the better (Which means changing the history and culture of Aztecs–Let’s not get into it) where The Doctor tries to convince her that there’s no way to change history. Future episodes continue to dive deep into the idea that history cannot be altered no matter what the characters want, and it’s interesting to see one of the first instances where the characters learn this the hard way. I also love how it ends on this idea that while they couldn’t change what happened, they still touched the lives of those they’ve made relationships with, meaning that it ALL wasn’t a loss. It’s a shining light of optimism within the tragedy that becomes a reoccuring theme through a lot of future episodes, and I love it each time. But other than that, this serial is another one that DRAGS. It’s just The Doctor and his companions screwing around with Aztecs for two hours while this boring subgroup conspired against them. It makes the whole serial feel like it’s running in place for too long, and I feel like if it cut out ONE episode or maybe shorten it down to two, the serial could be stronger for it. It’s also weird how Barbara is, like, a different person in this. Like, I get it, she’s acting like a goddess, but she seems TOO good at her performance, almost as if the writers wrote her as an ACTUAL goddess and not a character PRETENDING to be one. It feels off a lot of the time, and it’s just one more thing that makes this serial weak. Even though I like the idea of characters trying to fight hard to change history, that’s something done MUCH better in the future. It’s a charming first attempt, but not one I’m willing to revisit.

The Sensorites: A pretty…substandard serial. The titular Sensorites start off pretty scary and intimidating, being unlike anything the show has produced so far in this run. It presents a bit of uncanny horror for a good while…But then the serial reveals that they’re mostly peaceful creatures, aside from a few devious outliers, who actually need help. It’s a decent twist that also leads to The Doctor being the most active he’s ever been. The way he goes about finding a cure for this mysterious illness and taking charge in dealing with any dangerous Sensorite made it feel like, for the first time, he deserves to have the show named after him. I like it…but it doesn’t stop the serial feeling like it’s a little aimless at times, almost as if it’s drifting by for six episodes. We get some good stuff from it, but storywise it feels like we’re just bouncing from scene to scene as if the writers are making stuff up as they go and presenting coincidences that foil some villains’ plans. And then there’s this out of nowhere idea that this subgroup of humans lived under the Sensorites for so long, but there was never any indication of this and it’s presented in the VERY LAST episode, making it an almost pointless idea that went nowhere. I’m glad to see The Doctor become more of a leading man, but I would have preferred it in a better, more coherent serial.

The Reign of Terror: MOST of the serial is intact…aside from two episodes. Meaning that it’s incomplete and not available on Tubi, so…ONTO THE TRANSCRIPT!

On paper, this whole thing seems like a drag. It starts interestingly enough with The Doctor being separated from his companions as they’re taken prisoner during the French Revolution. It leads to Ian, Barbara, and Susan trying to escape while The Doctor tries to reunite with them (instead of pissing off for half the serial), creating this situation where everyone’s putting in the work as they share the same goal. The problem is that, like the REST of the serials before, the characters fart around for too long just to stretch the story out to reach a goal. They will escape and then get recaptured for the sake of forced tension, and by the time Susan and Barbara were in prison again I just wanted the serial to come close to an end. Thankfully, by then, there were two episodes left, but it doesn’t change how it’s all two episodes too long. The only thing to catch my intrigue later was Barbara wishing they could help Robespierre from getting killed and The Doctor reminding her that they can’t change history. I still love an idea like that, but here, it happens near the very end and there’s barely enough time to appreciate it or dive deep into it. In fact, this could have been a great “Can’t mess with the past” episode, but it’s just…the characters trying to escape a situation and spending too long on it. The worst part is that this is the Season One finale, the time to go for broke, and it’s just…the same old thing with the same old problems as previous serials. Maybe it worked better visually or even through audio, but on paper it’s just as slow and boring as ever. Hopefully the next season starts big.

Planet of Giants: Huh. Guess it did. Just…literally.

Jokes aside, I am impressed with the set design in this serial. I can tell everyone worked so hard to set the scale, making you feel how small these characters are. Sure, you can tell exactly HOW it was done, but for the sixties this all must have been mind blowing work, especially for a TV show. As for the story, it’s…adequate. The characters are trying to prevent these two men from making an insecticide that could do more harm than good while also trying to find their way back to the TARDIS to reverse their size. It’s not the BIGGEST (ha) danger in the world and it’s something they could have stopped easily at normal size. If they focussed on growing again, they could have stopped the main evil prick within seconds, so the majority of the serial is just them messing around by trying to stop him while they’re an inch tall. And there’s also the fact that Barabara held the idiot ball throughout the serial, touching something in a lab when she shouldn’t have and keeping that information to herself for far too long. Like, WHY didn’t she tell the others she was infected with the insecticide? We never got an answer for that and it’s kind of frustrating as it adds unnecessary tension to a serial that doesn’t really need it. The characters trying to get big again is more than enough, we don’t need a nefarious plot about an insecticide gone wrong or one of the characters getting sick from it. But while the story definitely could use some improvements, the set design really does carry it, being an impressive visual display even if it’s for an inferior serial.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH, so THAT’S what happened to Susan…Anyways, the best way I could describe this serial is two steps forward and one step back. The cinematography is impressive, looking like a feature film at times with dynamic shots and cool ways that the camera follows the characters. BUT the direction seems to be all over the place. Most of the time, it’s fine, but then you get stuff like actors interrupting or talking over each other or moments where peripheral view is…not a thing. There’s even a part where a Dalek is looking RIGHT AT THE DOCTOR as it’s moving away…and it just continues moving onward as if nothing happened. It’s actually kind of hilarious at times. And speaking of the Daleks, this serial did a great job showcasing how threatening and evil they can really be. The twisted way they used humans as slaves to destroy a planet is sick and seeing how that broke the human mind and ruined their families proved that the Daleks are nothing to be messed with. The problem is that the serial shows how easily they can be messed with. Like, even if they doubt the intelligence of normal Earth people, it’s not a smart plan to have a way for them to escape their prison cell WITHIN THE CELL ITSELF! And how is it that they can blast away people no problem but struggle with the robot slaves they made? I don’t know how it’s possible, but this serial manages to make these tin salt shakers MORE and LESS terrifying. On the upside, our heroes are at least competent in this adventure. Much like the last encounter with the Daleks, everyone does something of value, only this time they’re all split up to accomplish their own task that actually helps the others in a way they wouldn’t expect. It DOES feel like some plot lines are a little aimless with some of our cast waffling about a little longer than they should, but it all leads to a great ending when they reunite once more.

And, of course, there’s the sad departure of Susan. It’s performed well and does a decent job of making me FEEL a little sad when The Doctor allows Susan to leave so she can live a life of her own without being forced to travel everywhere with him. I liked it…though I do have issues with how the reason that she wants to leave is because she fell in love with a man she’s known for a few days. It’s part of the writing of the sixties, I know that, but it doesn’t change how WEIRD it feels that Susan is willing to give up everything she knows for someone she recently met. So while I enjoyed the scene, it felt very flawed, which is the same for the whole serial. I enjoyed it a lot, but there were a few imperfections here and there that made “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” a messy, albeit fun, serial.

The Rescue: This was a blessedly short serial. The big twist was fairly easy to figure out after Part One, and if this serial was stretched out for more than two parts it would hurt it significantly. We don’t need four parts of the characters farting around, picking up little clues, and then solving the big crisis within minutes. So having the story last for about two episodes leaves for a brief adventure that works well on its own while also introducing the audience to Vicki. And I’ll admit…I’m not too sure about Vicki in this serial. She comes across as a less competent Susan who cries more and doesn’t have the same intrigue Susan did as being The Doctor’s granddaughter. It’s obvious that she’s there as a replacement for the “The Young One” in the group and it doesn’t work for me. What DOES work is how The Doctor is presented, as he acts much more like The Doctor I know now. He’s active towards figuring out what’s going on, caring towards Vicki and consoling her when she needs it, and is the one to confront Bennett in the climax of the serial. I do like how it’s sort of a slow burn with The First Doctor, showing him eventually grow from the bitter old man who couldn’t care less about anyone else to a more kind and proactive character due to the adventures he went on with his companions and the people that they meet. I still say it was off to name the show after the guy who didn’t do much, but The Doctor’s slowly earning his role as the leading man and I enjoyed that this is one of the earlier starts of them becoming the hero we know now. So while this is a standard serial, it does give us one of the better presentations of The First Doctor.

The Romans: *INSERT DATED ROMAN EMPIRE JOKE HERE*

Anywho, this one’s pretty entertaining. There’s basically two sides of this serial’s story: The Doctor and Vicki hanging out with Nero and his hysterical nonsense and Ian and Barbara being stuck in the slave trade…Yeah, probably sounds like the tones would heavily clash with this one, but it surprisingly flows well. You laugh at the hijinks of The Doctor acting as a close friend towards Nero while feeling empathy for Barbara and Ian as they’re forced into the worst possible position in Rome. There’s even equal attention to both plotlines, making them balance each other out fairly well that leads to the serial feeling fast but fun. The only thing that drags it down is how it begins and ends. The cut between the TARDIS falling and The Doctor and Ian chilling out in Roman attire felt jarring. Same goes for the reveal that they willingly stayed in Rome for a whole month instead of focussing all attention on fixing the TARDIS. I suppose it would come across as a pleasant holiday, but then they say they’ve been hanging out in someone else’s house while they were away and that’s…odd. It’s odd that it worked out like that for a whole month. Same goes with the ending, where The Doctor feels giddy at causing the fire of Rome. Even for the First Doctor, it doesn’t seem right that they would take joy in causing such destruction and mayhem. But aside from the problems in the beginning and the end, everything in the middle of the serial offered great entertainment for a pleasant viewing for me.

The Web Planet: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! MY EARS! For whatever bizarre reason or another, SOMEONE decided to give these giant ants the most ear-piercingly irritating sound for how they communicate. It was already grating by the first episode, yet they still thought it was a good idea to use the same sound, continuously, FOR SIX EPISODES! Halfway through the third, I genuinely considered skipping the rest of the serial entirely because I couldn’t STAND those f**king ants! Thankfully, I remembered that subtitles were a thing, so I just played the rest of the serial on mute and just read the subtitles. Trust me when I say that is the only way to make the damn thing watchable. And even then, it’s not that great of a serial anyways. It’s the characters helping these anthropomorphic bugs with slightly less annoying (but still pretty annoying) voices in a rebellion against the ants. I’m all about it, because screw those things, but it’s still a bog-standard adventure with some admittedly impressive costumes and effects for the time. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I couldn’t stand LISTENING to this episode, but I would have been completely fine if this was one of the few serials lost to time.

The Crusade: Speaking of which, HALF of this serial is missing and not on Tubi either. So ONTO THE TRANSCRIPTS (Gosh dang it…)

I think the problem with this serial is made clear with how it begins. We have new characters talking about political nonsense as if we, the audience, should already know the context of what they’re saying. Then when we’re introduced to the core four, they’re thrown into the middle of a battle with no proper set-up that their conflict of Barbara getting kidnapped happened so fast that it barely registers. This slow pace of boring politics with characters we don’t know and fast paced attempts of Barbara trying to escape her kidnappers remains throughout this whole serial. MAYBE it was handled better visually, but the way the serial constantly introduces new characters to discuss politics while The Doctor and his companions are barely there makes the whole thing feel like its priorities are disjointed. There should be more focus on Barbara trying to escape while the others go out to save her, but there’s so much attention on the politics and trying so hard to be historically accurate or whatever and it…doesn’t keep my interest. Not to mention that the constant new characters to keep track of as they steal attention is not all that entertaining and causes the whole serial to seem like it forgets who the show’s really about. I just wanted it all to end, as I feel like this is one of those serials that aren’t better on paper nor through execution.

The Space Museum: This one starts off pretty confusing, first intentionally and then unintentionally. I’m just as lost as the characters are, wondering what happened to them and what’s to come of it. It effectively puts me in the mindset the serial wants me to have, but then they give this explanation that just makes my brain hurt when I try to think about it too long and hard. Thankfully, the premise that the serial tries to sell is simple enough to shrug off the nonsense of time and relative dimension or whatever the hell. Basically, The Doctor and his companions saw a vision of what COULD BE their future, and the whole serial is them trying to make sure that never comes to be. It’s a solid premise that’s effectively tense in a lot of scenes as the characters seemingly get closer to what could be an inevitable future. Added with some fun moments of The Doctor being a giggly old goof as he screws with his enemies and it’s a fun time. The only weak part is this subplot involving the most ineffective rebellion I’ve ever seen, where it’s a miracle that they survived this long until they received help from Vicki of all characters. Though, even then, the subplot does well to show how independent Vicki can be in a situation AND adds to the theme that a person’s future can be changed if they changed the lives of others. It’s a decent message that helps make the serial a surprisingly good time. And yeah, that ending sting made me excited for the next one. Speaking of…

The Chase: This was…not what I was expecting. In the last two encounters with The Daleks, it was a big, tense adventure with the characters struggling to find a way to beat them. Here, it’s more like “The Keys of Marinus,” a collection of small adventures as the characters are chased through space and time as they try to escape The Daleks. It’s less of an epic adventure and more of a mixed bag of fun escapades and…awkward distractions. For example, watching the characters get stuck in a haunted house or fighting a robotic Doctor can be entertaining, but them interacting with this weird, underground civilization or this man from Alabama just drag it to a halt. Thankfully, the worst of it is only in the first half, making it a serial that starts slow but picks up momentum as things go on. There’s also some decent money put into this, having some impressive sets that change each episode, some crazy special effects for the sixties (the part where there’s two Doctors still looks good), and some creative camera angles that give a more cinematic feel. I dare say that this would be an impressively put together serial that is mostly fun despite some awkwardness.

But the real meat of this is that “The Chase” ends with the departure of Ian and Barbara. I will admit, the pacing upon their exit felt a bit too fast, with their decision to leave coming out of nowhere and their return home not giving us enough time to appreciate them appreciating Earth. Although, as weird as the pacing is, The Doctor’s heartbreak to see them go is well-acted and believable. You can tell that he’s less upset about the risk that comes with using The Daleks’ time machine and more upset about the idea that they want to leave in the first place. It’s odd that he feels more upset over two humans than his granddaughter, but this is still a moment that introduces the tragedy of The Doctor. They’re a character that’s always on the move, going from one part of the universe to the next and having to say goodbye to every friend and companion they ever make. They WANT to keep company, but know that their companion’s departure is always inevitable. Yet it breaks their heart just the same. I FEEL that tragedy here way more than with Susan, where The Doctor seemed more than willing to let her live her life. But with Ian and Barbara, these two humans who left an impact on him, they’ll stick with The Doctor’s heart for a long time.

The Time Meddler: The premise of this one is great. A time-traveler disguised as a monk is screwing with time to make himself the most important person in the universe. And The Doctor, being the biggest defender of time and space, tries to stop him. It’s a perfect idea that fits perfectly with who The Doctor is while giving him a true foil that he won’t have again until meeting The Master. It’s actually a ton of fun watching what’s basically the Beta Master trying to mess with history just for the pure selfish reasons of self-importance. And I do say that the serial perfectly captures that idea…by Part Four. Yeah, the majority of the first three parts are about hinting at what The Monk has been doing and padding out the runtime with characters screwing around in the woods or the monastery. By the time we get to Part Four, it does work well with the premise, having The Doctor and The Monk try and outsmart each other for victory with The Doctor, of course, coming out on top. And I’ll admit that it was great seeing The Doctor take charge without someone else stealing the show as the leading man. What, do you think that the new guy STEVEN is going to take Ian’s place as the take-charge companion? Get the hell out of here…

But, yeah, while the first three parts DRAG, “The Time Meddler” at least ends on a high enough note where I say it was worth the watch. I’ll likely only return to that final episode instead of watching the whole thing, but what are you gonna do?

Galaxy 4: Unfortunately, this is another that’s been deleted from history. HOWEVER, it’s still on Tubi…Sort of. Because the audio logs are still intact, they had the whole serial reanimated by Digitoonz Media & Entertainment. And it’s…distracting. Not because the animation is bad. I mean, yeah, it’s not GREAT, but what’s distracting about it is that the animators tried their hardest to give this serial a cinematic feel, having grandiose backgrounds and doing things the actors and set designers wouldn’t be capable of doing. It’s entertaining to see, but leaves me questioning what the original episodes would have looked like. Because there is NO WAY this animation is an EXACT reenactment of what happens. But I’m not really complaining because there are some good stuff that comes from making this serial animated, like having all of Maaga’s forces exact copies of one another or actually seeing the destruction of the planet as Maaga is forced to watch it fall apart around her. I like a lot of this stuff, despite the distractions. As for the story, it feels blessedly quick, albeit simple. I saw the twist of Maaga and her weird ass clones being the real evil a mile away, but this WAS likely one of the first instances when a story presents the nice looking creatures as evil where the ugly looking ones are good. I can give it a little leeway for that, especially since “Galaxy 4” makes it clear that it’s MAAGA who’s the real villain whereas her clones are more or less drones following orders to appease their crooked master. There’s actually a bit of tragedy to the clones where they don’t get a chance to think on their own and do what their master says because it’s all they know. It effectively makes you feel bad for them as you also feel grateful that Maaga dies knowing it was all for nothing. And, again, it all goes by fairly quickly, making a serial that feels short and to the point. I couldn’t ask for better and I REALLY wish there were more lost episodes that were animated. Would have at least made for a more unique experience than reading transcripts to ones that are lost.

Mission to the Unknown: Speak of the devil! At least it’s only ONE episode…And a pretty decent one at that.

This is the first time where we don’t follow The Doctor or any of their companions, but instead some one-off characters. This would happen on occasion, with one of the most popular examples being the episode “Blink,” showing great tension as we watch these characters try to survive without a Doctor to save them. It’s no different here, as “Mission to the Unknown” features two men trying to warn the galaxy of a master plan of the Daleks, setting up a future serial while also standing well on its own for a quick adventure that ends in unfortunate death. It doesn’t give us enough time to really CARE about them, but that might have something to do with me reading it too fast. It’s still a solid episode that leaves one fearing for what’s to come later.

The Myth Makers: And another for the transcripts. Son of a bitch…

It’s not easy to tell strictly through text, but I think this is meant to be a more comedic adventure. In past serials like “Marco Polo” and “The Crusade,” they bore me by forcing in politics and dull characters, likely for the sake of “Historical accuracy.” Here, it’s The Doctor and his companions dealing with idiots on both sides of the Trojan War, with historical accuracy most definitely thrown out the window as people are more familiar with the version in Homer’s Odyssey. It is much more entertaining to see The Doctor try to appeal to the whims of a meathead like Odysseus and watching Priam and his family bicker about Cassandra and the legitimacy of her visions, rather than getting lost in the politics. It’s fun, but I’m curious if it’s meant to be. You have obvious comedic moments like Steven’s quickly failed rescue attempt and Menelaus wanting a drink after hearing The Doctor’s Trojan Horse plan, but the majority of the lines also don’t strike me as TOO humorous. That’s largely because the way an actor delivers a line versus how it’s written can give two different reactions, and it’s why READING the lines doesn’t leave as big of a comedic punch as hearing an actor say it in a funny way.

“Well, then listen to the audio versions.”

I’VE READ SO MANY TRANSCRIPTS AT THIS POINT! I’M IN TOO DEEP NOW!

But I will say that if the point WAS to make this adventure more comedic, then it makes the inevitable fall of Troy feel all the more tragic. I didn’t want the Trojans to die! They were FUNNY! And because they made me laugh a little, it hurt seeing them killed, even if I should have expected from the beginning.

One thing I didn’t expect, though, was that this was Vicki’s departure. Which I wouldn’t have minded if not for how it’s weirdly unceremoniously done. There’s no final goodbye and it feels like it breezes past The Doctor saying he’ll miss her. And her reasoning is just…dull. She leaves because she liked a boy, much like how SUSAN left. I guess there WAS a bit of foreshadowing given how Priam changes Vicki’s name to Cressida, a female character in retellings of the Trojan War who famously falls for Troilus. But even then, it still feels weak and even strange that Vicki would willingly choose to stay in a time she doesn’t live in for Troilus, a boy she knew for about two days. I know it’s something that just…happens back then in 60s fiction, but makes for an off addition to an already entertaining serial.

The Daleks’ Master Plan: SWEET MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, this is the LONGEST serial yet! Possibly the longest serial in the show’s history! And the weirdest part is that only three episodes of it still exist, which is crazy not only because of the length but also because it features The Daleks. Even back then, it’s pretty clear that The Daleks are the fan favorite villains of the series, with the writers inserting them in when they can. And you would think that major characters such as them would be more valuable to protect, but no. All we have are mostly audio logs…And transcripts for yours truly.

Which is a shame too, because…this is a frickin’ GOOD one! Quite possibly the best serial I’ve ever read yet! The plot is basically characters playing keep away from each other, chasing after this insanely impressive element that The Daleks want to use for another doomsday weapon. And I just loved that the second The Doctor saw The Daleks, he knew that they needed to be stopped. He wasn’t forced into it or was trying to survive The Daleks attacking first. After three whole adventures of dealing with them, The Doctor finally put two and two together to realize that The Daleks just existing is enough to know that nothing good can come from it. So he takes charge on an adventure that’s definitely a little too long but reads as incredibly grand. It’s sort of a repeat of “The Chase,” where The Doctor and company go from place to place, planet to planet, so they can avoid The Dalek’s capture, but there’s some things that make this serial stronger. For one, the stakes feel real this time, with characters who assist The Doctor and Steven on their journey getting killed unceremoniously or tragically. You’re given enough time with Bret, Katarina, and Sara that when they meet their end for the sake of saving the group, it makes you feel a little something. The whole serial comes to a close with this idea that while victory was met in the end, The Doctor and Steven still take a moment to reflect on the lives they lost to win. It really sets how grim and deadly this adventure was, showing characters could die whether they’re ones you care about or even enemies to The Doctor. Speaking of, this serial also works in giving more unique foes outside of STRICTLY The Daleks. You have Chen, an arrogant and egotistical dilweed who’s maniac drive to be ruler of the Universe and doing anything to get it makes you enjoy his untimely demise all the more. There’s even a surprise return of The Monk, who sets himself more as this pathetic failure of a villain as he stumbles constantly to one-up The Doctor only to be outsmarted every turn. Both mix things up well while also making it clear that The Daleks are the real threats as Chen and The Monk follow every command due to fearing for their safety. It helps make the serial feel like a more unique adventure compared to past ones with The Daleks, adding more life, energy, and intensity to it. The only time I was taken out of the whole thing was this random Christmas special that got inserted halfway through. It distracted from the plot way too long and was filled with jokes that were probably funny VISUALLY and maybe AUDIBLY, but not so much when you’re reading it…like I did. Still, that’s ONE episode in a twelve episode long serial. Being entertained with eleven out of twelve episodes is still a great feat that makes “The Daleks’ Master Plan” a masterclass serial. Now can we go back to actually WATCHING these episodes again?

The Massacre: Guess not…

And this one’s one of the worst, if not THE worst. “The Massacre” has the same problems as “The Crusade.” So much of this serial is focussing on the politics of the historical event taking place, watching these characters you barely give a shit about with the main cast you love getting pushed to the sidelines. Except that while “The Crusade” had the charming cast of THE DOCTOR, Ian, Barbara, and even Vicki, “The Massacre” focuses on Steven. And I’ll get into the specifics in a moment, but I do NOT care for Steven. So to have four episodes focusing on boring historical politics and a character I do not like, it’s pretty easy to pick up why I dislike this serial the most out of all of them. I’m not kidding when I say that the best part about it is the moment where it seemed like Steven was leaving. Before you say anything, it’s not because it gave me hope that Steven was gone for good…Okay, it’s partially because of that, but it’s mostly because of this moment where The Doctor reflects on the people in his life and how he misses them. He even corrects HIMSELF when getting Ian’s last name wrong, showing us that he cares enough to get it right now because he misses his friend. It’s a bittersweet moment that proves how much The Doctor loves each companion they’ve made, even the first few people they’ve met in this first life. It was beautiful…and then it got undercut immediately to introduce Dodo and shove Steven back in as he changed his mind. The one thing I liked about this serial, and it’s ruined by itself. Yeah, this one’s definitely the worst, and I’m not missing it.

The Ark: FINALLY, something I don’t have to READ!

“The Ark” surprised me for a second. I knew going in that it was a four-part-long serial, but by the time Part Two met its end I was confused. It seemed like the story was wrapping up as The Doctor and company cured a ship of the common cold and went off to a new adventure. Only for the TARDIS to appear in the same exact spot many years later with a new problem caused by their actions in the past. Already, I love this premise. We almost never return to the same place twice with The Doctor, where after they save people from this great threat they always head off, assuming everything is fine. This is the first time we actually see what happened to the people that The Doctor saved, only to find out something worse happened to them. It’s a solid premise with good enough execution. I like that this whole thing started with an accident. Dodo just happened to have a cold and didn’t expect the consequences that could come to a species that never experienced it. It puts The Doctor and company in a situation where you don’t BLAME them for what happened but you understand that they have to clean up this mess they caused. I also find it brilliant that the first half of the serial has The Doctor and his companions dealing with rouge Guardians and the second is rouge Monoids, giving this message that both parties aren’t innocent creatures and that peace can only be made when they learn to live together instead of treating one species as slaves. It’s a bit muddled as we don’t really see much of the extent that the Guardians treat the Monoids and how disrespected they are. It gives the idea that the creepy-looking creatures who look different are more at fault, especially since the human Guardians are the ones who assist The Doctor in both halves. There’s never any assistance from the Monoids, which makes it feel like peace might not be the best option. I wouldn’t harp on it if not for the fact that several serials back in “Galaxy 4,” we had the same message of “The ugly ones aren’t evil” with decent results. Still, the idea and meaning is clear as no one’s really, wholly good. Just could have used some cleaning up on showing the good side of the Monoids, making “The Ark” having a strong story ARC.

HAHAHA–Kill me. Next one!

The Celestial Toymaker: All but the last part of this serial is missing, so…onto the transcripts.

I mean it, kill me.

(I don’t actually mean it. Just…been doing this for a while)

This serial introduces The Toymaker, a character that would only reappear once more…fifty-seven years later with the incomparable Niel Patrick Harris playing the role. And speaking as someone who got introduced to this character through NPH doing random accents and a random ass dance sequence to “Spice Up Your Life,” I wasn’t sure what to expect from the version in the sixties. Turns out, while he’s not as bombastic and jovial as Niel Patrick Harris, The Toymaker is still the most unique villain that The Doctor and others have come across so far. The Doctor isn’t kidding when he says that The Toymaker loves using people as his playthings, sending out dolls, board games, playing cards, and all sorts of other traps to entertain himself with The Doctor and his companions. And while Steven and Dodo aren’t the best duo in the world,, they’re at least paired up with despicable and hilariously incompetent antagonists as The Toymaker sends out his toys against them. You’re entertained by them, but at the same time you feel bad for them when they fail because they’re all trapped souls captured by The Toymaker. Or are they? The serial cleverly keeps you guessing whether or not these toys were once people, leaving it up to interpretation on if it’s all a part of a trick he’s playing. It adds a bit of tragedy to the goofs and gags, which I certainly appreciate. Then you have The Doctor’s game with The Toymaker that adds intensity, as he’s trying his best to stall to win the game until Steven and Dodo find the TARDIS. And, sure, I would have loved MORE to actually SEE The Doctor beat The Toymaker in a battle of wits as opposed to watching Steven and Dodo going through a goofy, silly adventure, I’m not complaining too much for the end result. “The Celestial Toymaker” is still an incredibly entertaining serial that has every character working well together to survive and being competent as they win their own game. Although, I do have to call nonsense towards Fourteen in “The Giggle.” Saying that cheating is the last thing The Toymaker would do when that’s all he does in this serial…Nonsense.

The Gunfighters: This serial finds the characters in a wild, wild west adventure, and this one’s definitely meant to be a more entertaining ride rather than an epic adventure with huge stakes. You’ve got fun stuff like Steven being forced to sing at gunpoint, an outlaw playing dentist as he rips out The Doctor’s tooth, Dodo fainting as she attempts to hold a man at gunpoint, and British people trying to do western accents. It’s definitely a good time, but it also feels like the writers leaned too hard into this being a western. All the tropes and cliches seem present and it’s definitely enjoyable, but it doesn’t feel like a Doctor Who story. The characters are pretty much in the background as we follow the narrative threads of these outlaws and a sheriff. Sure, they’re entertaining as well and don’t make the serial drag like “The Crusade” and “The Massacre” did, but at the cost of abandoning who we really follow this series for: The Doctor and his companions. What’s crazy is that ten (eleven?) regenerations later, The Doctor would go on another wild west adventure, facing down a space robot playing bounty hunter as The Doctor protects a town that’s inexperienced with this kind of threat. Not only does that episode have a concept that works perfectly for this show but it makes the story revolve around The Doctor and his companions trying to save this town. In “The Gunfighters,” The Doctor and company are pretty much absent for most of the story, either being dragged along by characters with more narrative importance, or stepping out of the entire climax. And yes, there are instances when the show follows random characters for the entirety of a story, but that’s still done in a way that it feels like it matches the show. Like how in “Mission of the Unknown,” where we follow characters trying desperately to stop The Daleks. Goofy or intense sci-fi nonsense and seeing The Doctor and co. reacting to history is what makes Doctor Who one of the most engaging science fiction shows ever made. While a western can be entertaining, something like “The Gunfighters” tends to make you forget what show you’re watching.

The Savages: Deleted. And a shame too, because this is another good one. The concept of this civilized society using living people as an energy source is already chilling, and the serial does well in showing how messed up it is for the supposed Savages. Though, if this was written in Modern Doctor Who, I feel like the results of this power draining would be MUCH darker. Especially if Steven Moffat wrote the episode (The sick bastard). As is, it’s still great with how they made the power draining as dark as it could be for the sixties, all while adding a classist message that still manages to work NOW with its themes of the high and mighty sucking the life of what they think is savage. I love it and I also adore how The Doctor quickly picked up on how sick this whole idea is, wanting to shut the whole thing down immediately. THAT’S The Doctor I know, and it’s pretty fun that what saved the day is their leader taking some of The Doctor’s essence. Even when temporarily beaten, The Doctor still wins.

It’s all pretty great, but do you wanna know what’s better? STEVEN! IS! GONE!

Again, I’ll get to WHY later, but I am so glad to see Steven go. He wasn’t really the best companion out there and it is pretty nice that in his last adventure with The Doctor it’s all about Steven finally learning how to be useful. It’s to better sell that he’d be a capable leader to these people and…under his leadership, they’d probably die, but I can take it. Seeing Steven gone makes me willing to accept any nonsense of making him a leader and it’s nice that the show lets him leave with dignity. Even with the worst companions, it’s great the show at least treats them as people and lets ones like Steven leave happy enough instead of injecting him out the airlock or something. His departure is very welcomed and makes this serial stand out a little higher.

The War Machines: The final serial available on Tubi, and it’s…alright? Yeah, I honestly have no strong feelings one way or the other towards this one. The premise itself is what I love to see in Doctor Who, as this machine meant to help humanity ends up wanting to conquer it, with The Doctor being a key factor in securing the victory only to become the machine’s downfall. It’s all decent enough, with actors doing well at portraying these disturbingly obedient human puppets and there being some impressive puppetry on display with WANTON’s war machines. But as decent as it all is, none of it really WOWED me. The techno babble that The Doctor used to explain how he outsmarted and bested the war machines lost me due to how convoluted it was. Same goes for how WANTON was able to hypnotize human beings. I don’t even know if it was ever explained because of how much non-scientific science was thrown in this entire serial. It’s the central part of this entire premise, and it makes little sense how a computer was able to hypnotize anyone, even if it was supposedly advanced.

Another thing that bothers me about this serial is that this is supposed to be Dodo’s exit. She’s out for half the adventure and doesn’t even get to say goodbye in person. She just takes a nap, lets her replacements do most of the work, and then she’s gone for good. It feels cheap and gives her the weakest exit out of any companion in this run. Possibly the weakest exit ever. It’s another little aspect that makes the serial not BAD but not outstanding, either.

The Smugglers: Not much to say about this one. Just a fast romp as The Doctor and his companions fend off pirates in their hunt for a legendary treasure. It drags a little bit and there’s a lot of flip-flopping in terms of certain characters’ loyalty, but it has some fun moments, like The Doctor outsmarting opponents and Ben and Polly proving their worth as companions fairly quickly. Not a spectacular adventure, but entertaining enough.

The Tenth Planet: Here it is. The final serial in the First Doctor’s run…And it’s incomplete.

Yeah, the final adventure with William Hartnell’s Doctor, and you can’t see it in its entirety. You can watch the first three parts, but the fourth? Not a chance. It’s quite disappointing and, you know what? If I could cheat with his first adventure, I can cheat with his last. Let’s use “other means” than Tubi to watch those first three episodes and read what happens next.

And I’ll just say…it’s ALMOST perfect. It has a STRONG premise, introducing the Cybermen, a longtime enemy of The Doctor. It was so fascinating to see how humanlike these monsters began, moving and speaking like everyday men just with a slight robotic lean to it. It actually makes the more robotic, emotionless Cybermen more chilling in the modern age as it now becomes clear that the Cybermen perfected their goal to be more robot than human. The serial also cleverly makes it where the Cybermen aren’t the ONLY threat. I truly love that the bitter and impulsive General Cutler is just as much of an antagonist as the Cybermen are, with his desire to kill them before they kill Earth being potentially more damaging if he ever got away with his plans. It goes along with a recurring theme of this show in the modern age where those who try to be the victor in an unnecessary war tend to destroy themselves. Cutler dies because he attracted Cybermen attention with the warhead and the Cybermen die because their planet burned up when they could have asked for assistance with their problem instead of destroying the Earth for survival. It’s handled really well, with Polly and Ben still continuing to be useful additions to the cast as they do all they can to stop both Cutler and the Cybermen. Mainly because they have to with The Doctor checking out for when things get their most deadly.

Speaking of, the one thing that holds the serial back is The First Doctor’s exit. This was his final adventure, and he doesn’t do much aside from telling people what to do and taking a nap. By the time his regeneration begins, it all goes by so fast that it feels like he’s being rushed out the door. In a way…he kind of is. Due to age catching up with him, William Hartnell was forced to leave the show because his memory problems and exhaustion were getting difficult to film around. So now they had to get him out of the show for his own good, all while making one last serial as a final goodbye to this actor. However, it doesn’t change how…off his farewell feels. He’s not the triumphant hero who stopped The Cybermen and he didn’t get any final words to make his goodbye feel haunting or bittersweet. Future Doctors got this chance, even ones who decided to leave on their own accord like David Tennant or Matt Smith. It’s actually kind of sad that William Hartnel didn’t get the same treatment and that the writers would only learn their lesson for FUTURE generations. His flawed departure is the one thing that holds back what is admittedly a well-made serial.

And that’s it. That’s the last adventure with The First Doctor. But before I talk about my overall thoughts with this man, I should first discuss some other characters. Characters who are important to any Doctor no matter WHO (haha) they are…

THE COMPANIONS

Doctor Who would not be the show that it is without the companions. They’re frequently the audience surrogates, experiencing new adventures alongside The Doctor while assisting them across space and time. One thing that Chris Chibnall did correctly is point out that the companions are the true power of The Doctor and are worth talking about within the same breath. However, it DOES get a little tricky on who’s considered a companion or not. And trust me when I say it’ll get trickier as time goes on. So, for the sake of sanity, I’ll say that a companion is a recurring character who travels with The Doctor in the TARDIS and is there for more than one episode (Or serial, in this case). With those rules that I’ll probably break in the future out of the way, let’s begin with each companion as they left us.

Susan: I have…complicated feelings towards Susan. She had great chemistry within the group, did well as the wide-eyed, naive child who was excited for everything, and I was truly sad to see her go…But while my heart was sad, my ears were eternally grateful.

Yeah, as sweet a character as Susan is, she wouldn’t. Stop. F**KING. SCREAMING. Every time danger happened, she would always go, “AH! AH! GRANDFATHER! IAN! BARBARA! AH-AH!” Everytime. And when Susan was part of the group, having fun with them, being just as silly as the others, THAT’S when Susan worked. She was “The Young One,” acting as someone who the others would look after but still treat with respect as they knew Susan was capable of so much more than SCREAMING. As a member of the group, Susan worked great. As someone who could face danger…Let’s just say that my ears will be bleeding less now that she’s gone.

Ian: It’s weird that a college professor has more of a hero’s heart than the titular character of our show, but I’m not entirely complaining. Ian was a solid companion, willing to take charge for the sake of the group and having some great interactions with The Doctor. You could tell he wanted to strangle the old man, but also enjoyed The Doctor’s company as they shared a similar spirit. They both consider themselves leaders of the party and find conflict when one has an idea they believe is better than the other’s. After a while, they learn to work together and you feel that trust they have thanks to them realizing they’re basically the same kind of men who want the same kind of things. It DOES tend to feel that Ian steals the show at times, but it doesn’t change how much of an entertaining and perhaps even inspiring character Ian can be. He went through so much for The Doctor and the others, being the hero that they need and being charming as hell when doing it.

Barbara: Barbara’s sort of the character that has a well-defined relationship with everyone in the TARDIS. She’s a supportive, motherly figure to Susan and Vicki, treating them with respect while calming them down during intense times. With Ian, she’s a good friend and ONLY a friend. I’m actually glad that she was never forced into a love-interest role with him. There were so many moments where that could have been a possibility with how often those two are paired together, but it’s nice that they remained as close friends who can rely and help one another when the time comes. Not every man and woman needs to end up dating in the end. As for how Barbara is with The Doctor, where Ian and The Doctor are the same in a goal-driven level, The Doctor and Barbara are the same through an INTELLECTUAL one. They often share the same kind of thoughts and curiosity for each adventure they go on, and when they argue, you can tell it’s between two people who are of the same mind but with different opinions. It’s done well and I appreciate seeing these two interact the most. I also appreciate that Barbara stood strong in the face of danger, being just as valuable of a helping hand as the others are and not being a damsel in distress. Sure, she was like that SOMETIMES, but for the sixties this was likely the most independent a woman could get on television. Barbara was a strong character, and likely my favorite amongst the original companions.

Vicki: I was very worried that Vicki was going to turn out to be Susan 2.0, and in a lot of ways, she is. She was very much the young one who was commonly paired up with The Doctor or Barbara as she oozed with childish naivety. Even her exit was nearly identical to Susan’s, except that Susan’s was handled better because The Doctor at least said goodbye. Still, while very similar to Susan, there were some things that I did like a little more with Vicki. For one, she didn’t scream as much…thank FRICK! And two, she was a bit more proactive. Instead of screaming for Ian, Barabara, and The Doctor, Vicki found solutions herself and was frequently the one who helped save the day. I appreciate that, as it helps set her apart more from Susan and gives fans a different kind of naive character that’s endearing in her OWN way. I will say that it feels weird that The Doctor treats Vicki with more respect than his actual GRANDDAUGHTER at times, but this one isn’t screaming too often, so I don’t blame him. Vicki’s a little too much the same, but in some ways, I’d definitely say she’s a bit of an improvement, as mean as it is to admit.

Katarina: Does she count? She doesn’t really go past a single serial…Aw, screw it. She traveled in the TARDIS and helped the group for some time. I’ll say she counts.

And there’s not much to say about Katarina. She was along for the ride for such a short time, not really given a chance to stand out between the young characters like Susan or Vicki. There is this bit of naivety due to her seeing technology for the first time and mistaking The Doctor as a god, but there’s not enough time to develop that idea further and show her capabilities. I will say, though, that she gets the DARKEST exit of any companion I’ve seen. It’s sudden and unceremonious, dying because of some stupid maniac trying to escape his personal Hell. What’s worse is that it’s left to interpretation as to whether or not her death was an accident. Because she was from the distant past and had no knowledge of technology or buttons, it’s unknown if she sacrificed herself to stop the others from going back to The Daleks or because she didn’t know what button opened the door. A character that got to see the universe for the first time, thinking she was a part of something perfect, only to die in an unpredictable circumstance. She had a short amount of time, but I’m with The Doctor. I hope she found that perfection.

Steven: I. Do. NOT care for Steven. It feels like the writers were trying to make him Ian’s replacement as the heroic figure that was often at odds with The Doctor. Except that Steven is very much NOT that. He’s more like this bumbling buffoon who caused more problems as he constantly needed to be rescued by The Doctor and even Vicki at times. The very SECOND that proves how useless he could be was during his introduction when he ran to get back his teddy bear during a grueling escape from The Daleks. You COULD make the argument that the writers wanted to slowly develop Steven into a more heroic character, but there was barely any progression with him constantly being the butt of every joke. The only time he felt useful was during his last appearance, which I can appreciate. Again, they let him leave with some dignity intact and I’m grateful that he and The Doctor left on good terms. The two of them had a lot of one-on-one times with Steven having a great amount of trust towards The Doctor despite the constant jabs The Doctor gave. The Doctor admires every companion he lets tag along, and I love that it’s no different with Steven, even if I was more glad to see him gone.

Dodo: I…am incredibly indifferent towards Dodo. I don’t HATE her, I guess I could say that. She never really made my ears bleed like Susan did, but, at the same time, she wasn’t really the most useful companion. Dodo was either a damsel for The Doctor to save or someone that CAUSED a problem instead of leading to a solution. In a way, she’s more of what I expected Vicki to be: A downgrade rather than an upgrade who never really got a chance to shine as a worthy member of the group. Even Steven seemed more proactive than her, and that is a crime. And I’m pretty sure even the writers weren’t sure what to do with her either, given how they just…kicked Dodo out of the series without any proper exit. If Steven could get a proper ending, then so could Dodo. Regardless, I wouldn’t exactly say I’m going to miss her. Not too much, anyway. I didn’t mind her existence in the show, but I won’t lose sleep with her being gone. Sorry.

Ben and Polly: Yeah, might as well lump these two together. They weren’t on this run for long, and I assume they’ll be more dynamic characters when we talk about Number Two. For now, I’ll say that they’re fairly useful, saving the day with cunning and bravery. I wish Ben was a LITTLE less whiny and Polly a lot less of a damsel, but who knows? Maybe they’ll improve with The Second Doctor.

But that’s enough with the companions. Let’s finally talk about the man who started it all…

THE DOCTOR

The Doctor, no matter the iteration, is one of my favorite fictional characters. I ADORE a character who solves problems through wit, prefers not to use violence but will if pushed to their limits, and is the kindest being in the universe who will also destroy you if you hurt anyone they love. The Doctor is a being of many contradictions, who’s personality may fluctuate throughout the generations but still, at their core, is a caring being who won’t let ANYTHING stop them from doing what’s right.

…So to see The Doctor start off as this old fart who constantly complains while everyone does everything, causes problems for others, and sometimes cowardly bends to the will of enemies was a definite SHOCK to the system. The Doctor did NOT start out as the nobel hero I know them now as. It was actually kind of frustrating to see him stand off to the side while Ian took charge of everything. THIS would be the person who defeated countless enemies all over the universe? The person who sets out to save lives and regrets the ones they lost? That all started with someone who purposely trapped him and his companions on a distant planet just so they could explore? I couldn’t believe it, but thankfully the writers knew this neat little trick to storytelling: Character development.

Slowly but surely, The First Doctor does become more and more like the character I now adore. He fought Daleks after knowing how dangerous they are, weeped for the friends he had to let go, and outsmarted enemies rather than overpower them. He even gained The Doctor’s silliness and sense of humor. Just look at his grin as he scared enemies off after pretending to be a Dalek. The man relished in the chaos he brought, and it was fun to see…Except when he got giddy for being the one who caused Rome to burn down to the ground. Still have no idea what that was about.

Now, things weren’t always perfect. The First Doctor, while improved over time, still never became the heroic badass I know him NOW as, relying on his companions to do most of the work while he’s off having his own fun. Still, that’s where him being the FIRST comes into play. I can absolutely buy that it would take a few regenerations before he became The Doctor I know and love. As is, I’ll say that The First Doctor is an interesting, albeit off-putting, look into what The Doctor USED to be. It wasn’t always good, but I had my fun and I’ll miss this goofy old man.

And with that, we close off The First Doctor’s run. Most of it was fun, a lot was more dull than I expected it to be, and there were both good and bad surprises given to me through this journey into The First Doctor's adventures. It was great to finally see how this show I love started out, and it’s only the beginning from here. Tune in next time when it’s out with the old and in with the…significantly less old as we talk about The Second Doctor’s run.

#doctor who #classic who #classic doctor who #the first doctor #the doctor #doctor who susan #ian chesterton #barbara wright #doctor who vicki #long post #it was nineteen pages on one google doc #sorry #what i thought about #doctor who reviews

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phantomram-b00 · 7 months

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*clap hand and sigh* Look I should not be up at this hour (I was up at 5 am writing this) or posting since I don’t want to accidentally get myself shadowbanned or whatnot (I do have another good omens post coming up regarding metatron so stay tone for that). But I saw like some post regarding how Aziraphale doesn’t love Crowley as much/Azirpahale never did anything for Crowley. And it been wracking my brain because, did we not watch the same show? (I would say book but I’m still reading it)

Look before i continue, I do think we all have opinions, that’s valid. I just want to say my two cent since I can’t find myself agree with those claims.

But imma give Crowley his flowers because this soft demonic husband deserve it, yes, he done stuff for Aziraphale. Some that can risk him getting destroyed by hell such as saving the literal angel of eastern gate. He’s take him out for lunch, help him whenever Aziraphale ask him too. If there was a way to describe the love language “act of service” that’s Crowley to the absolute T. So I don’t think we can deny that fact about him, but Crowley would absolutely disagree with the fact that Azirpahale has done nothing for him consider the fact that there evidence and implication that Aziraphale done stuff for him.

In episode 3 of season 1, during the Shakespearean era segment, it was said that they do each other blessing and temptations since as Crowley stated “they don’t care how it done as long as they can cross it off the list” so who know how many temptation/blessing Crowley and Aziraphale did for each other, (lowkey I would love to see how Aziraphale does temptation, i miss this part as I’m rewatching GO for the metatron post coming up I don’t know how I missed that part but now that I discover this, make me think). The point is, this is one of many indication that Aziraphale does help Crowley.

Same episode, Holy Water, now this is the prime indication that I think we can all agree (or not, I’m just a phantom writing this blog). Now, before, can we see just how Aziraphale didn’t say “oh I can’t give this to you because I’ll get in trouble” no he said “it will destroy you”; that show just how he cares about Crowley, he doesn’t care about his job or that he was breaking the rules no no his main concern was Crowley. Sure he did after words when mention “fraternizing” (which honestly Crowley, me too I would be mad too if fraternize was used. But I can understand why Aziraphale said that as well.) but Crowley put Aziraphale in a difficult position, because while sure maybe Aziraphale could give him holy water but that would be not only breaking protocol but also giving him worry because given this happen after Elspeth episode, of course his mind will be concern of this whole thing. Especially with him saying “if anything goes pear-shaped”. And you know in 1967, he does give it to him overall, regardless of what he said. Because at least imo, he learn that he has to trust him. Just like how Crowley trusted him in 1941 with the magic show (remember this.) he trusting him here.

Okay now this is mostly all of season 1/2 before I mention what he’ve done for Crowley in season 2. The fact that Aziraphale help Crowley try to stop armageddon. Now you might be saying one or two things “Phantom, he back out in episode 3” or even “um, but it was mutual?” And you know you’re right on both those points. He did back out and it was mutual, but it still an example of doing something for Crowley. Why? Because they both love earth, they would do anything to preserve earth. Not only that, they can’t bare the idea of having to fight each other in this celestial war let alone the idea of one of them getting hurt. So they would not have gone through with this end of the world stick if it mean that they lost everything, now Crowley did agree with armageddon on general terms as God said in episode 1, season 1. BUT, actually doing it and going through with it is a different playing field and Crowley nor Aziraphale don’t want to lose everything they love (especially each other). Now it did take a lot of convincing, most because Azirpahale want to stop it more than Crowley but there one thing that is holding him back or make him scared to go against them: Heaven.

It kinda like an analogy where, say, you’re getting bullied or say that you’re dealing with an toxic family member, boss, whoever. And you yourself know they’re toxic, and you have people who can tell you “stand up to them” or “don’t let them get to you, tell them off”. And you can agree and try to build courage. But actually doing it is as the famous saying goes “easier said then done”, and Aziraphale would rather just put a fake smile and try to make everything look good so that he doesn’t get reprimanded by heaven, he doesn’t have Crowley’s confidence which I have this feeling most people forget about. Sure, Aziraphale have all rights to tell them off after the shit we the audience see or hear them do to him, or what Aziraphale had to allow happen, such as the flood for example or witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ or even the fact that they almost killed him with hellfire, just because he wanted to save the universe. (Also the fact that it might have been implied that they drill into his head that if he ever does anything against God’s “plan”, he will fall like Lucifer or any of the other angels). But he can’t. Which is why he back out at first, because he was terrified that he would get in trouble or fall. (Which. Without saying much, I kinda would’ve done the same in fear.) and you can see it in his eyes, that he want more than anything to run away, yet, he still trying to push it down. Bottle it up if you will as his effort to try to back out. Now of course as we all saw how season one ended, he did ended up saving the world after all and I think Aziraphale and Crowley would do it again so they can be on their own side. So Aziraphale did hold his end of the bargain when it came to saving the world which is why I’m including this in my argument because yes this is mutual, Aziraphale still pull through with not just the help of Crowley but with Agnes Nutter’s book and Adam himself.

Now imma go with season 2, which is “season of love” as Rent would say.

Now, we love it, we cried about it, or we want to rip metatron a new asshole (which imma just say, I have never seen a fandom have this much togetherness of hating a character since GOT with Joffrey. But I’m all in, I hate him in season 1, season 2 just made me hate him more. But I will say, Derek Jacobi is doing a phenomenal as him and I can’t wait to see what season 3 will have with Metatron.) but I digress, let continue this rant.

Episode 2, season 2, is the episode that solidified many things for me. But let get to the point, Aziraphale could’ve stop Crowley from “killing everything job worked hard for” but he was gonna let him do it because Heaven said “oh yeah we decided to make this poor man lose everything because we wanted to win a bet with Satan.” But seeing how Crowley didn’t actually kill the goats, made Aziraphale happy, and in a sense began trusting Crowley’s process here. Even when Crowley set the house on fire and turn the kids into gecko, he still trusted him. And sure enough, everything work out at the end as Aziraphale help him through this plan on giving Job back his kids (even though heaven was gonna make job’s wife give birth to seven more kids. Which my crotch hurts from hearing that-). Sure Azirpahale had doubts and had a breakdown, but given as I mention earlier and how he’s the only angel (maybe besides Muriel) that have a conscience and broke a rule by giving away the sword, he have conflicting views but also is trying not to have a conscience to fit in with the angels and follow their lead despite he was never seen as an equal. But this still is example never the less as if Aziraphale didn’t do something thing would’ve ended different.

Now imma get to the one that is probably another prime example of Aziraphale doing something for Crowley, is the magic show (or at last the minisode in episode 4). After Crowley saved Aziraphale, he had to go to deliver something for the black market, and seeing his item was destroyed (most likely from the bomb), he got reprimanded by Mrs Henderson. And on Crowley’s behalf, Aziraphale decided to volunteer as a magician. He even bought the gun to do a show stopping trick so that it can impress her and not reprimand Crowley any longer (but of course just an excuse to do magic, which me too. I love magic). Now Crowley did have his concerns especially with the gun and also that Aziraphale never done this in front of many people. But this episode, they both have to trust each other, Crowley with the magic trick and Aziraphale trusting Crowley with not just the gun but he trust that he would never hurt him.

Now I’m sure I’m forgetting more with season two (mostly because i still rewatching it starting from season 1, so let me know if you think there were other example of Azirpahale doing stuff for Crowley. Whether it was from season 1/2.)

But I think also the other thing is that, they actively protect each other from their side, they keep their friendship a secret. They swap bodies to not get burn by holy water/hellfire. And much more, so I dislike it when people think Aziraphale done nothing for Crowley when he ultimately have. Sure it seem Crowley does stuff more for aziraphale, but we can’t pretend like he didn’t do anything at all and I’m pretty sure he would done more for him if it wasn’t for heaven constantly being in the way.

As for the love point, imma say this, people show love differently. Why do you think we have so many ship dynamic and it usually two with either similar/opposite contrasting with the other love interest. Aziraphale show love in a different way, now I’ve seen people say that aziraphale love language would be physical touch, which, I think make sense considering he did held Crowley’s hand and we’ve all seen the amount of time he touched Crowley. However what if I told you his love language was Quality time? Because, Aziraphale usually talk about “oh why not have a picnic” or whenever Crowley offers lunch, he lights up. Or of course when Aziraphale tries to convince Crowley to use the Bentley he said “just like how that bookshop is technically mine but we get quite a use of it.” Or perhaps, whenever they’re with each other; Aziraphale have a smile. (Even when sometimes he tries to hide it, I love smiles). He can’t go a day without Crowley despite that they always been separate from each decade but I have my feelings that whenever they separate, Aziraphale feel a bit lost without him, not to say he doesn’t have other things but we all miss your best friend/crush/soulmate/etc, and Crowley most definitely does too. (Also who want to bet that most of the diary entry involve Crowley if not just an entire entry is like “dear diary, did you know Crowley’s yellow eyes are my favorite aspect and that’s why I love the color yellow-“ but I’m detailing here my bad.)

But another thing is that, I feel people who say that, don’t understand what it like having to hide yourself but have someone or something drilling to your head and is constantly reminding you that “you can’t love them because xyz” or most noteworthy, don’t know how toxic environment expect an individual. Because Aziraphale does love him he would do anything to be with Crowley, but heaven is not only what is ultimately holding him back, it him himself. He got this promotion and he toke it, (with the mention that he didn’t want to go until Crowley was brought into the picture) and now he knows that the second coming is well. Coming. And now he has to try to save earth, just without Crowley this time. Now why I’m bringing this up? Well, because you can see him once again pushing away any part of him that is telling him to go to Crowley or be by his side, it the same thing as episode 3 when he did tried to back out because of heaven, it the same thing here only heaven really got to him, heaven showed an inch (and I mean an little inch) of kindness and a promising deal and he was on board. But that cause him to “lose” Crowley (and I’m saying lose in quotation because I don’t think he really lose or that this is a divorce, I just more or less think Crowley just can’t trust Aziraphale this time with this plan and pull his support of the table). So now he have to revert back to his old ways to try to make sure the world won’t end again for not just humanity but for Crowley as well, and this is probably another example of Aziraphale doing something for Crowley and show that he love him, even if this decision caused him Crowley ultimately. I’m sure he wishes whenever he read a Jane Austen or any love stories (with happy endings.) that that can be Crowley and him; no worries, no heaven and hell, nothing. Just them basking in their love and have no worries. But he know that might not be achievable. (Oh how cruel Cupid/God can be.)

I going to reiterate this again, everyone have their own valid opinion regarding this. I just needed to get my two cent since I hate when people think they’re toxic when they’re not. Both and yes I do mean Aziraphale and Crowley, do have their flaws that need mending but no way they’re toxic by any means. Truly if they were this toxic, why would Michael sheen be liking ineffable husband fanart, why would Neil Gaiman say it a love story between them, or better yet, why would these two be friends if they were toxic? Do they have flaws that need working on? yes of course no relationship is 100% perfect. Will Crowley forgive him so easily? No, I wouldn’t think so, I’m not saying Aziraphale is wrong with what he choose but the fact that he didn’t take him or the bookshop into consideration that gonna take some time to heal. (I promise I’ll make a Crowley post, I do love Crowley too, it just Azirpahale my all time favorite and I kin this character. But I promise someday I will give best boy his time to shine I just need to find a topic for him.)

Okay, i think that’s the post for today, OH! And also happy spooky season! It about to be Halloween! I love halloween! So I hope you all have a good October, and don’t worry more post will come I’m just trying to make sure I don’t accidentally shadowban myself or be annoying with my post lmao. But tell me what you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know ^^ all your options,questions, and statements are valid ❤️

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands #good omens 2 #good omens fandom #i’m rambling because i say so #aziracrow #this show is my bread and butter and i eat it up everytime #I love this show 😭

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