theangelwithawand

[theangelwithawand]

The Bastile Summarized:

Aziraphale: I cannot speak French and I refuse to dress like someone that isn’t being actively guillotened right now. Also, I can’t perform miracles.

Aziraphale: Time for crepes, brioche, and a stint as damsel in distress.

Crowley, aka the one who turned Aziraphale into a hedonists: I have regrets.

Crowley: Are we going on a date or wot?

#good omens #aziraphale loves crowley #crowley loves aziraphale #crowley x aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley #good ineffable omens #ineffable idiots #ineffable spouses #ineffable partners #ineffable lovers #ineffable husbands #aziraphale and crowley #crowley and aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #ineffable fandom

[theangelwithawand]

this is from a real diary by a 13-year-old girl in 1870. teenage girls are awesome and they’ve always been that way.

[theangelwithawand]

you know what the amazing thing is about the multiverse? everyone’s otp can happen. so please stop hating on people who don’t ship the same couples as you and also please stop posting hate about ships in their tag just use ‘anti shipname’.

[theangelwithawand]

Church on Ruby Road

Vs

Okay… I liked that!

There were so many better, more organic ways to introduce Ruby’s search for answers about her bio family then that awkward time skip/ clip show. It could have just been two days. But that interview is just such a blatant excuse to dump her name, age, education level, the fact that she

Because here’s the thing…everything I liked about Ruby, I learned watching her go about her life. I liked watching her with her friends, be a real person. All of the other character work happened once she got to the house and I watched her with her mom and Cherry. We learn very naturally that she’s looking for her bio family, that she’s upset about not getting answers, but also is clearly happy with her family as it is. Her reaction throughout the entire kidnapping is weird, there’s not enough urgency on her behalf.

The gloves are cool? Like in theory, they’re cool, but I do think they get a bit marvel-ish at the end.n

The goblin ship design and interior set are cool, just doesn’t feel very Doctor Who. I like the explanation of how the goblins work though.

Doctor, I have seen you untie ropes with your sonic.

“I am learning the vocabulary of rope!”

The goblins are kinda unthreatening, they just let the Doctor and Ruby stand there. The goblins look good though, they did a good job combining practical and digital effects.

I wish that maybe Ruby felt guilty for being distracted that Lulubelle was kidnapped, (not that she should feel guilty, it would just give more emotional depth to her).

At first I didn’t like how rushed Ruby’s disappearance is, but I think it gives more disorientation to the episode. I love the lighting switch, how everything becomes desaturated. It’s very subtle and I didn’t notice it the first time. Carla’s sudden switch is horrifying.

The Doctor’s tears…I love how much compassion he has. This is the Doctor I love, that I’ve missed. I do wish that he and Ruby had gotten a quieter moment to bond, just to make this feel a little more desperate, and the reunion even sweeter.

The episode does feel like it has two climaxes, Lulubelle’s rescue and baby Ruby’s rescue. The rescue of Ruby does feel rushed and I still don’t understand the crack in the ceiling or why the ship just disappears.

Okay…Ruby Sunday. Millie Gibson is really fun. Her dramatic moments are also really well-acted. But…I was really hoping we’d be going back to the type of companion that’s just a person. Like Rory, Rose, Donna, Martha, and Bill. They all have extraordinary things happen to them yes, but they aren’t introduced as mysteries. That’s my least favorite type of companion, because their character is always secondary to the plot. And, I’m going to be honest, I don’t care who Ruby’s parents are. But…oh well.

I do love the scene of Ruby piecing together that the Doctor is a time traveller, and she just thinks that’s cool and wants to go see it, but like…most companions are like that to some degree. At least she has a family though, which is one of my favorite parts of companion stories.

Mrs. Flood could be a cool mystery.

Alright…Ncuti Gatwa is tied with my beloved Ninth doctor. He’s fun and flirty and heroic and empathetic. His theme music rocks. He can do angsty moments really well. I like how the Timeless child is being handled.

All in all, I’m excited for what’s coming.

#doctor who #15th doctor #ncuti gatwa #the church on ruby road #ruby sunday #fourteenth doctor

[theangelwithawand]

Like Giants

Humans, Gods, and the Timelord caught between them:

AKA the beautifully optimistic view of humanity by a Time Lord

Nine says he would make a very bad God. Ten says a Time Lord with too much power would become vengeful.

They’re both right.

Time Lords are alluded to as very uncaring, very aloof people. By the Time War, they are apparently just as bad as the Daleks. The Doctor runs from them for a reason.

Because when they are Gods they are terrifying. But the Doctor’s terror always stems from too much emotion rather than too little. The end of Dalek is Nine’s darkest moment. He holds a gun on Rose while she is showing mercy because of the traumatic loss of Gallifrey.

Loss makes Ten in particular…frightening. After losing Rose he nearly commits genocide again in the Runaway Bride.

The moment of Godlike arrogance in “Christmas Invasion” where he changes the known future of Harriet Jones’ tenure has devastating consequences, allowing the Master to come to power. It’s a great reminder of what happens when the Doctor is given too much power.

The Time Lord Victorious is terrifying because it is the Doctor losing everything over and over after rebuilding himself twice.

For the first time, the Doctor feels like he is owed something.

But what is also terrifying is just how human the selfishness is.

—————

Of course there are moments when they are presented as Godlike that are purely heroic.

Ten’s in particular stand out against his almost unnerving humanity.

I love his “I’m the Doctor” speech in Voyage of the Damned. It’s clearly him doing the equivalent of psyching himself up before a game, because nothing he says is going to mean anything to the people he’s protecting. It’s a short, simple moment holding so much weight.

Nine has a wonderful way of pointing out the best of humanity to help Rose discover space to find empowerment, just as Ten does for Donna. Nine does it for the couple in Father’s day. There’s a wistful, non-malicious envy in his reaction to the magically mundane story of how they met.

Ten takes this wistfulness and runs with it. There’s something so beautiful and so deeply tragic that he is the Doctor who chooses shoes meant specifically for running.

There’s this sense with Ten that he not only loves humanity, but desires to be human. From embracing certain forms of domesticity, to the devastating way he processes grief.

Obviously, he knows when he is weird, he also just doesn’t care about social niceties. However, he might be a genius, but he doesn’t understand every intricate detail of human experience.

Although it’s usually called out for comedy, it’s best utilized for drama.

Nine has that beautiful “It was scared!” moment.

Sometimes it’s given less focus, and simply slipped into dialogue.

Nine calls humans stupid apes in high stress situations, and apparently he insults species when he’s upset. Even Ten, who is known to love humanity, also pretty regularly disparages them. In his first appearance he calls us monsters. He makes one-off comments disparaging humans in Rise of the Cyberman, Army of Ghosts, 42, Human Nature. and the Poison Sky.

Planet of the Ood is one of the rarer times that he goes out of his way to highlight human cruelty to Donna.

————

Series 3 has lot of interesting moments.

In “Smith and Jones” he has a long scene which he (intentionally) pretends to be human. He creates this domestic fantasy where he’s got a wife and a home where he brings people round for dinner. Even more interesting is that this is his suggestion to “help” the villain appear more human.

In Human Nature we see the Doctor literally become a human. He falls in love and allows himself to be a product of the times. His moments of heroism are supposed to be the Doctor leaking through, but are passed over off as “ordinary humans being capable of extraordinary things”. He also allows himself to be swept up by the environment as opposed to standing against it as the Doctor would. John Smith’s incredibly horrible treatment of Martha being the prime example.*

His stoic and remorseless punishment of the Family contrasts with his mostly sweet human persona. He tries to convince Joan that he’s capable of the same love and compassion but she disagrees. I agree with her, I think John Smith and The Doctor both want to be in love, John just didn’t have all the emotional inhibitions that the Doctor does.

She also points out the Doctor’s failure to account for possible casualties just so he doesn’t have to have more death on his conscious. Once again, I agree, this was a massive oversight on his part.

————

Midnight. This episode is genius for so many reasons. It is the Doctor’s most dire misunderstanding of humanity, as well as the Doctor’s most personal look at being on the receiving end of humanity’s worse impulses. He begins socializing like a normal, if enthusiastic person. But once the mystery begins…it is the best, most subtle example of the Doctor’s pathological need to understand things and his tendency to assume authority over others. Only this time he goes too far. His leadership turns to hubris. So many times, he goads people into risking their life to sate his curiosity. He knows humans are curious and takes advantage.

He keeps talking to the entity but declares no one else should. Part of it is that human bit, curious and wanting to help a possessed Skye who he bonded with earlier by talking about missing Rose. The rules keep changing though, and even he is scared. They call him out for his hubris, while growing increasingly paranoid, especially when discovering he’s not human. He gets frustrated at the descent into the worst of humanity and without thinking, he snaps “because I’m clever!”

He knows what he’s done so impulsively: thrown away the last bit of goodwill he had. He can’t talk his way out anymore.

And this is the most alone and most afraid the Doctor has ever been. It’s the most horrific near-death encounter for him: his inability to be enough like the humans he loves brings the absolute worst out of them.

—————

The Doctor says that it something human to believe two contradictory things at once.

The Doctor, ironically enough, believes two contradictory things about humans.

He believes, at least when disappointed in them or in his lowest points, that humans are monsters. (It’s the reason Fourteen gives that randomly cynical speech in The Giggle. It isn’t all humanity he believes this of. He’s talking to himself because he’s mid breakdown. He’s not 10, he’s softer and more splintered).

But he doesn’t believe that. Not really.

“I was made homeless…and there was the Earth.” - Voyage of the Damned

There’s a reason that the Doctor who has all of time and space always returns to Earth.

In the End of Time, Ten and Wilf have a scene where they sit and talk about their relationship and war and Time Lords.

And the Doctor tells Wilf he’d be proud to be his son.

It’s the Doctor’s most intensely vulnerable moment. He is so terrified that he agrees to carry a gun. (He also does this to make Wilf feel better. This is the last era that I feel understands how The Doctor feels about guns. It makes sense to the character and the arc he’s on at this point and this point only. He doesn’t even use it and ultimately won’t do anything against the enemies he’s facing).

This scene strips down the Doctor like no other scene. And it’s in this scene that the Doctor tells us the only thing you need to know in the end about how he sees humans. How for all he says otherwise, humans are the beings he sees as aspirational, the ones he, a Time Lord, looks up to.

Wilf says, “We must look like insects to you.”

Ten smiles tearful but genuine. He shakes his head slightly. And he says:

“I think you’re like giants.”

#doctor who meta #9th doctor #10th doctor #doctor who #donna noble #rose tyler

[theangelwithawand]

Absolutely (Not) the Same Man

Regeneration and Identity

I really l like way Christmas Invasion presents regeneration and how Rose and Ten in-universe seem to understand.

Harriet Jones says that Ten is “absolutely the same man”. Rose does not agree despite being in the scene.

She agrees that 10 is the Doctor, but…not the same. She still loves him and sees the fundamental values being retained but she sees them as different.

She unequivocally says “you’re so different”. She’s beaming when she says it, clearly not missing Nine but rather mystified by Ten. It’s so subtle, (and a lot comes from Billie’s delivery) but even after accepting it, there is something alien about the process lingering.

It’s why I don’t fault her for being upset by the potential regeneration in Journey’s End, it’s the same reason we all are sad to see a Doctor go.

Because the fundamental character traits that we love will be there (you know…hopefully) but everything else will change. Their personalities and the ways they interact with the universe and the way they see themselves all changes. All the quirks and eccentricities that make up the characterization specific to one incarnation of the Doctor as a character, which are what we latch onto change.

We may like who gets tagged, whoever is now ‘it’. But there’s still a friend we’ll miss.

This Doctor wears pinstripes and trainers, instead of leather and combat boots. He willingly wears a paper crown.

He is domestic in a way Nine would never be. He doesn’t tempt Rose from a family dinner, he joins her at one of his own volition, then relishes in it while wearing a paper crown.

I do think this works particularly well here, because it feels like a character arc. It helps Ten feel like an actual extension of Nine. I think this why that it works for them to have the same TARDIS and first companion. It makes the change easier.

Nine was reminded of the beauty of living through Rose and humanity, and reminded ordinary humans that there was no such thing. I love the moment he has with the couple in Father’s Day for this reason.

Ten, in concept and practice, takes this love for humanity and runs with it. (Sometimes way too far depending on the writer. But that’s another meta). He’s more open with his feelings while still being deeply, deeply repressed.

Arguably, I think there’s a moment he tries to learn from his mistakes with Rose. He tries to relay the happy memory of Christmas dinner to Donna before it becomes something else he’s lost. All of her other attempts at connection are shut down.

Later, he’s able to find some respite with Donna in series 4. He’s able to live with his grief and heal for a bit. And he gives Donna a chance to realize that there’s no such thing as an ordinary human.

Then he has to take it all away. All of the edges Donna had softened out, the self-confidence she built up so she didn’t need to scream at the world to feel heard. Gone.

His best friend, just like the love of his life. Gone. And this time it’s like never happened at all.

It’s the last important arc before Time Lord Victorious for a reason.

(it’s honestly more thematically satisfying to go straight to Waters of Mars after series 4)

It’s why he comes to see regeneration as dying.

It’s how we get from “All I did was change” in Born Again, to “It’s like dying.” in the of End of Time

He just watched the identity of his best friend be ripped from her. Plus he feels emotions with more humanity than any incarnation. He feels the fear of identity loss like a human fears mortality.

(This was also before the Doctor had been given more regenerations, and post-war he was burning through them, and was over half through them, so there’s an added layer there)

I never for a second felt he was “throwing a tantrum” in Journey’s End.

I hate when people, including the in universe 11th doctor, say that Ten is vain.

I mean he is. Sometimes it’s done for laughs, but he is arrogant too. Usually it’s well-meaning. He does have more knowledge than anyone and wants to use that to help.

He might be a genius, but he doesn’t understand every intricate detail of human experience. And to be fair, 11 is talking about the metacrisis, but even before Donna’s fate, Ten has begun to project the human fear of death he’s adopted along with all the other emotions onto regeneration.

Journey’s End is the end of a vanity trip. He is stripped down and deeply, deeply scared. And he is allowed to be. And he can react in an intense, emotional way.

There is no hesitation between the knocks and the resignation falling across his face.

There is no doubt what he’s going to sacrifice for Wilf no matter how afraid he is.

Because as intensely as Ten feels fear, it is nothing to how much he loves.

#9th doctor #10th doctor #donna noble #doctor who meta #doctor who #rose tyler

[theangelwithawand]

Regeneration and Character Arcs:

It’s a popular fan theory that Ten is a regeneration made for Rose. I have mixed feelings about the idea that he’s ’incomplete’ without her.

There’s also something kind of sweet about Nine wanting to become the pretty boy he thinks she likes or (if allowing himself to be self-loathing) deserves. It’s only sweet because he literally has to change.

The Stone Rose novel confirms that Ten’s accent in-universe specifically came from Rose. It’s a less extreme version of him being made entirely for her. Plus, it’s a cool sci-fi exploration of how humans pick up accents after long, continuous exposure. A very alien way to retain a quirk of human nature.

There’s something nearly Shakespearean and so acutely human about Ten’s arc. He loves, loses, grieves, heals, and makes new connections. He moves from ‘I exist for Rose’ to ‘I miss Rose and wish I could exist with her but I’m also allowing myself to care about these other people.’ Then he loses them. It drives him to unthinkable darkness, and by the time he claws his way into the light, it is time for him to die.

Is that arc any more impactful if he’s literally created for someone?

I don’t know.

#9th doctor #10th doctor #doctor who meta #doctor who #timepetals #rose tyler

[theangelwithawand]

It Needs Saying:

How Regeneration informs character

Christmas Invasion is off for Rose because the man she loves, the only person she knows that thinks she’s fantastic explodes in front of her with a really vague explanation after she wakes up from passing out with her memories missing. She is scared at first because she reasonably assumes that this could be a threat. She’s encountered malevolent shapeshifters and dangerous teleportation rays fairly recently.

And now, there’s this younger, flirty, seemingly happier man promising that he remembers everything, that swears he’s same man. Except this too-good-to-be-true man whispers seductively as he grabs her hand, and smiles like Casanova, and gives her the impression that he definitely dances and wants to with her.

Nine wouldn’t do any of this even if she wished he would, but she knew he loved her, thought of her more highly than anyone she ever met. He loved her so much that a Dalek felt it.

She’s beginning to believe him but then he passes out.

“The proper Doctor would save us” is a weird thing to say about someone who woke up from a coma because you whispered help me. It’s not a weird thing to say about someone who less than twelve hours ago didn’t need to be asked to save people. (Obviously Rose still hasn’t been told what regeneration sickness is because Nine gives a really vague explanation as it’s happening and Ten does explain it but not how to help him because he has ADHD and can’t focus even to literally save his life)

This is also Rose learning the lesson that the Doctor is not a perfect hero in a practical way. She has by now learned about the Time War, about what he did, witnessed his dark rage in Dalek. But now she’s seeing him physically vulnerable, having to take him down off the pedestal in a different way.

He’s getting worse and aliens are invading and she doesn’t know how to help him. She tries running away and saving the people she cares most for (which still includes him) but that fails. She then tries to use what information she’s picked up even if it costs her life. There’s always been a hero in Rose. She risked life in Rose, Dalek, Parting of the Ways and World War III, she does the same now.

Then the Doctor returns and saves the world, with the same fierce protectiveness as Nine. And she doesn’t have a smidge of doubt.

It used to bother me that he yelled at her for giving up on him, but in all fairness “Can you change back?” Probably deeply hurt his feelings, even if it’s hilarious now in 2023.

But she’s leaving out an important part of the question.

She’s asking, “Can you turn back into the person who thinks I actually have worth? Who I know wants me?”

In the end of the Episode, she admits that her concern was that he wouldn’t want her anymore.

It isn’t until he gives explicit verbal confirmation that he still wants her to travel with him (something he hadn’t done before) that she relaxes. (Ironically this is how the love confessions go for them too).

#doctor who #doctor who meta #10th doctor #9th doctor #christmas invasion #rose tyler #tenrose #timepetals

[theangelwithawand]

Because of Good Omens brain rot, I’ve been doing a Ninth/Tenth Doctor rewatch. And I was reminded of something I started to notice when I did my first ever rewatch.

The jokey attitude Rose has in the face of danger is a trait she shares with the Doctor, but it’s not something she picks up from him.

In Aliens of London/ World War III, Harriet chides her for making jokingly says something to the effect of how the Slitheen’s compression field works as a kind of weight loss program. This is the first time it’s ever been called out, but it’s not actually the first time she’s done it.

In the first episode, while the Doctor is explaining the living plastic she makes a wry comment about all of the breast implants coming to life. She’s only known the Doctor for a few hours at this point. It goes completely unremarked on, but it’s there.

She does it in the Empty Child when Jack catches her in his transmat beam. Her voice is literally shaking in this one, both from physical exertion and terror.

The thing is, I think it’s a coping mechanism. I think Rose has learned to bury her fear behind snarky remarks and jokes, one she probably picked up to deal with her life on the estates, to deal with being belittled, to deal with her abusive ex.

The first time I really came to this conclusion was while watching Tooth and Claw for the second time.

During the episode, Ten and Rose have this little bet running to see if she can get Queen Victoria to say her “we are not amused” line. Every time Rose does it, she is giggling.

Until she says it after the werewolf (this is a really strange episode even for DW…) attacks.

After taking a second to be relieved at being alive, her face kind of drops, her eyes widen and glaze over a little bit. The line “I bet you’re not amused” is rushed out of her mouth and significantly quieter than she was a minute ago. The delivery is uncharacteristically monotone until the little emphasis she puts on the end.

She does this weird almost-smile like she’s going to laugh even though she is patently not smiling. She does this small little head shake, her arms are tense.

It’s a really unsettling moment, and it was this performance by Billie Piper is what made me start thinking about this.

Queen Victoria yells at her, and Rose immediately apologizes, won’t even make eye contact with anyone. She curls in and turns away a bit.

This moment always bothered me and it took me a few watches to really articulate why.

Rose is scared.

I didn’t see it immediately because Rose displays fear in so many ways.

When she fears someone she cares about is going to leave her, (usually it’s the Doctor), Rose will lash out. This happens in Father’s Day, School Reunion, and Girl in the Fireplace. (The last one is so justified. She’s way more compassionate than I would’ve been at the end of that episode). She also does this Fear Her (when Nina Sosanya’s character continually refuses to watch her possessed daughter)

Other times, she’s able to turn her fear into action. She does this in her very first episode, the series 1 finale, the Cyberman two-parter, the Satan Pit two-parter, and earlier in Tooth and Claw.

Sometimes, she runs. In Christmas Invasion, she is facing a world-ending threat without the Doctor for the first time. She can’t do the heart of the Tardis trick again without ripping a hole in the universe.

Many times she’ll turn to the Doctor or her mother (who does her best but doesn’t always say the right thing)

But sometimes she makes a snarky comment or tells a joke to convince herself and maybe others that it will be okay.

She uses jokes for this specific reason to cheer up the Doctor in the Satan Pit.

Because Rose is compassionate. To Raffalo, to Gwenyth, to the Empty Child, to Jack. To Cassandra and Flora and Elton. She even tries to comfort Reinette, who is condescending towards her and who the Doctor repeatedly abandons her for because she regrets antagonizing Sarah Jane last episode. (I mean Sarah Jane was kind of mean too despite being a grown woman and Rose only being in her early twenties).

It’s the final confirmation the Doctor needs to realize she’s possessed on New Earth.

She will allow the Doctor to sacrifice her without question to save people and shows compassion to a Dalek both before she knows what it is and after it proves to be capable of changing.

She will drop everything for her mother despite whatever disagreements they have, will bend the universe to keep her father from dying alone.

She will literally sacrifice herself and stare into raw time to save the Doctor.

A lot of people think that Rose’s character in s2 is not as interesting. While that’s true, I think it’s more to do with the lack of interactions between her and Ten that aren’t about their romance. Nine and Rose have interactions that challenge each other’s morality. (Dalek, End of the World, Fathers Day, Unquiet Dead). On the rare occasions that Ten and Rose clash, it’s over jealousy brought on by Rose’s fear of being forgotten and Ten’s fear of committing, or feels like it’s in the shadow of his behavior with Reinette. Ironically, it’s their debate in Fear Her (a not great episode) that is one of the more interesting exchange of views that they have.

I wouldn’t completely agree that Rose loses her compassion in the second season. I think some of her more toxic pre-existing traits are just brought to the surface. And her protectiveness does become selfish.

But series 2 dumps a lot on Rose’s shoulders.

Ten’s weird hot and cold demeanor is probably emotionally taxing too. She has a lot of inferiority issues, probably because of how she’s been treated by her mother and others in her life. She frequently reiterates that she doesn’t matter. You can see how much it means to her when Nine earnestly admits she saved his life in response to her nervous teasing and posturing. And you can see how crushed she is when he calls her stupid in a moment of anger in Father’s day. (An event that is partially his fault because he didn’t explain the rules to Rose until afterwards) He immediately apologizes. (He does have that weird flirtation with Lynda but that is dropped just as abruptly as it starts).

The Tenth Doctor has this deeply frustrating set of episodes in series two where he is utterly awful to watch, and it’s after this that the relationship becomes the shallow, unhealthy, codependent one people remember. (I will expand on this in another post)

But it’s not even necessarily because of the Doctor that it’s hard for her. She says in Parting of the Ways that it wasn’t even the adventures she loved, it was him showing her a better way of life.

The adventures, the death, those are what wear her down the same way they wear down Ten.

She is, at one point, told by literal Satan that she is going to die imminently.

No matter how cheerful an episode begins, the loss always brings something melancholic out of Rose, but also someone desperate to hold onto the person she loves and carve out some sort of hope for a future. Impossible Planet does this really well with the little exchange about getting a mortgage. You can tell both of them find the idea appealing, or would if the Tardis was on call for the occasional weekend trip and weekly visit to Jackie. Because Ten likes Jackie, likes having a family.

Because deep down what these two want is each other and to rest. Not stop, they never could do that entirely. That’s why, I think TenToo works well in Empire of the Wolf (I don’t think it’s handled well in the actual show). Because they are still having new adventures with their daughter, just smaller ones.

So while Rose does have her flaws (selfishness, jealousy, a coping mechanism that is not always in the best taste). But she’s 19, she’s human. She’s allowed to and -as a character in a piece of media- should have flaws. I think they are what make a fundamentally brave and compassionate character feel like a real person. They make her more compelling.

(I want to do a later meta on Mickey, because Rose could’ve handled that better, but I also have issues with early Mickey. And it ties into some other stuff…so later meta.)

#doctor who #rose tyler #10th doctor #9th doctor #tenrose #timepetals #meta #doctor who meta

[theangelwithawand]

I will forever choose to believe that the metacrisis lets Donna and Rose Noble stay immortal with Fourteen forever.

This has no impact on anything. They still have family dinners and forever take low-key trips through time and space.

No more angst. Just family and magic and happiness and the Doctor in the Tardis with his best friend and his niece.

#14th doctor #doctor who #donna noble

[theangelwithawand]

Something I have realized the last few years that has made it so much easier to have fun consuming media:

I can choose whatever bits of a series/franchise I like and disregard the things I don’t. I am not obligated to acknowledge what is officially canon when engaging in media recreationally

The creator of a piece of media is not owed my unwavering support for every aspect of a story.

I can pick out the things I like, ignore anything I don’t then go make a Headcanon or write a fanfic that gives me what I personally want out of a character or property.

The canon content is still there for those who enjoyment and this doesn’t take away anything from the original author/creator. In fact, it just means that someone loves some part of their work enough to want to think about it and play in the world they made.

That isn’t to say I don’t critique media, it’s something I enjoy. I can still debate and disagree with other fans (as long as I do so respectfully). Other opinions and interpretations are valid and wonderful.

But I can engage with story or media however I want, in a way that makes me happy.

#star wars #fandom #headcanon #doctor who

[theangelwithawand]

Ncuti Gatwa has my favorite Doctor intro. No sadness of a fan favorite departing hanging over him.

There’s something new, something other than the Doctor being sick or erratic. (It worked for especially well for Ten because of the story and because it gives his eventual reveal so much weight, and it gives him 15 minutes uninterrupted to showcase the full-range of his character), but that doesn’t have to be the formula forever.

This time we get so much time with a genuinely kind, energetic, supportive Doctor who said, “it’s okay to take a break. And while you do that, get the one thing you never let yourself have, I’m going to go be amazing. He straight up says “sit down, I’ve got this”

For the first time since I originally watched Born Again, I felt like I made a friend.

I don’t want this incarnation to actually be some weird limbo version of the Doctor that’s going to eventually regenerate into 15, because that means you’re taking away the beautiful, wonderful positivity and kindness that Fifteen innately possesses. Gatwa’s doctor is just an incarnation that is born ready to finally let go of angst and sadness that has defined the last two decades of the show.

Someone he loves (his past self) is going to take care of themselves and heal, and that’s what makes him okay. He’s not ‘fixing’ anyone, he’s not ONLY there to help. He wants to head back out into the stars immediately (well, evidently the club) and he does. As he should.

Fifteen is absolutely the Doctor. The Doctor who is kind and beautiful and fun from the word go. I can’t wait to watch his adventures.

Fourteen, for me, will forever be the Doctor in a garden telling stories and basking in the love of his family that he always wanted and finally has and can sneak his family off for low-stakes, but no less magical adventures. No future regenerations, no merging with Fifteen later down the line, no becoming the Valeyard.

If that’s not what the intent was…honestly I don’t care. If that’s what is revealed later… honestly I will probably ignore it.

Fourteen is explicitly told to just sit down for awhile, so I don’t feel like he’s hanging over 15. But if David comes back, I’ll still be in for a phenomenal performance of a wonderful incarnation of a character I adore, by an extremely talented actor who loves the show as much as any fan because he is one, and one who is getting the chance to continually fulfill his greatest childhood dream.

The specials are not perfect, but I can connect with them in a way I haven’t been able to connect to the show in a long time. There was a real focus on character again, something I personally enjoy in storytelling.

If that isn’t what you like, that’s fine. My opinions are just that, and by definition can’t be right or wrong.

Doctor Who is science FICTION. It is an endless web of retcons and contradictory lore. It is a show where an alien ship that fits an entire dimension inside of it, that can travel anywhere in all of time and space, looks like a police box and requires a key.

Sometimes I don’t need it to make perfect sense. Sometimes I just want to watch a character I love get something nice after being saved emotionally by his awesome queerplatonic bestie and his happy, supportive mitosis brother!

Sometimes the real world is hard, and I just want a happy ending in my escapism.

#doctor who #14th doctor #15th doctor

[theangelwithawand]

Good Omens S2 Incorrect Quotes 2

Nina: I am not an early bird or a night owl. I am some form of permanently exhausted pigeon.

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Nina: I'm not funny, I'm just really mean and people think I'm joking.

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Crowley: So jellyshish-

Nina, laughing: JELLYSHISH!?

Crowley: You know what I meant!

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Maggie: Made you all playlists!

Maggie: Nina, yours has only heavy metal, and is dark like your soul.

Maggie: Crowley, yours has sad songs and blues to pair with your crippling depression.

Maggie: And Muriel has the ABBA Gold album.

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Crowley: I have met some of the most insufferable people. But they also met me.

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Crowley: Name a more iconic duo than my crippling fear of abandonment and my anxiety. I’ll wait.

Nina: You and me!

Crowley: *tearing up* Ok.

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Crowley: Nina likes to say ‘you can be part of the problem or part of the solution,’ but I happen to believe you can be both.

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Maggie: Today, Muriel said a swear word, so Nina said that they were going to wash Muriel's mouth out with soap. Muriel replied, “It’s okay, I like the taste of soap”. Turns out, they’ve been putting soap on their lips to blow bubbles.

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Crowley: *raises eyebrows*

Nina: Put those back down!

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Nina: Don’t be sad!

Crowley: Why not?

Nina:

Nina: I don’t have a good answer.

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Crowley, to Muriel: Please, picking locks is my specialty.

Crowley: *throws a brick through the window*

Crowley: Okay, let’s go.

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Crowley: While I'm gone, you're in charge Muriel.

Muriel: Yes!

Crowley, whispering to Maggie: You're secretly in charge, but I don't want them to feel bad.

Maggie: Obviously.

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Nina: Do you need help getting up?

Crowley: Nah, I'm cool down here on the floor.

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Crowley: My crush isn’t picking up on my hints.

Nina: What hints have you given them?

Crowley: Well, I think about them a lot.

Crowley: And sometimes I even think about talking to them.

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Nina: How would you like your coffee?

Crowley: As dark as my soul.

Nina: Got it, one cup of milk coming right up!

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Maggie: You know what your problem is?

Crowley: I only have one?

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale and crowley #crowley and aziraphale #aziraphale loves crowley #crowley loves aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley #crowley x aziraphale #azicrow #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #ineffable spouses #ineffable lovers #ineffable wives #ineffable idiots #ineffable fandom #good ineffable omens #good omens incorrect quotes

[theangelwithawand]

Good Omens S2 Incorrect Quotes 1

Police: You’re under arrest for trying to carry three people on a single motorcycle.

Nina, with Muriel and Maggie behind them: Wait, what do you mean THREE?!

Police: Yes…three.

Nina: Oh, my God— What the fuck!?

Police: Wha-

Nina: Crowley FUCKING FELL OFF!

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Crowley: *coughs blood*

Nina: Don't die, Crowley!

Crowley: Don't tell me what to do!

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Aziraphale: We have to plan, we have to figure something out.

Crowley: Aziraphale, when have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose.

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Crowley: I’m a masochist, not a loser.

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Muriel: Hello, I'm Muriel. I work at a shop now. Here to help. Look, they gave me a badge with my name on it in case I forget it. Very helpful, as that does happen.

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Jim: Do we have any orange juice left?

Crowley: *pours the remaining juice into their cup*

Crowley: Sorry, we’re all out.

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Aziraphale: Okay, but what if we went to dinner not as friends this time?

Crowley: AS ENEMIES?!

Aziraphale:

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Maggie: One time I went to hand Nina a bowl of soup. I wanted to say “Careful, it’s hot!”, and “Here’s your soup!”, so instead I blurted out “Careful it’s soup.”

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Crowley: I’m gonna mix a can of Red Bull with seventeen shots of espresso in a fishbowl and then chug it while Kids by MGMT plays in the background so I can perceive twenty-three spatial dimensions and fight my own soul.

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Aziraphale: That sounds like a terrible plan.

Crowley: Oh, we've had worse.

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Muriel: Where are you going?

Crowley: To either get ice cream or commit a felony. I'll decide on the way.

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Nina: Are you drinking enough water?

Crowley: Sometimes my tears get in my mouth.

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Maggie: Why are you drinking?

Crowley: I drink when I'm depressed.

Maggie: But you're always drinking?

Crowley: *smug grin*

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Crowley: I’m not mad, I just need to know why you two had a fake ID.

Muriel: *Incoherent mumbling*

Crowley: Huh?

Muriel: …You need to be 18 to hold the puppies at PetCo.

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Crowley: My gender is in a constant state of flux.

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale and crowley #crowley and aziraphale #crowley loves aziraphale #aziraphale loves crowley #aziraphale x crowley #crowley x aziraphale #azicrow #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #ineffable wives #ineffable partners #ineffable lovers #ineffable spouses #ineffable idiots #good omens incorrect quotes #incorrect quotes #good ineffable omens #ineffable fandom

[theangelwithawand]

@iswear-imnot-12 did some gorgeous fan art for a fic of mine over on Ao3. It is gorgeous, and I wanted to say thank you!

I just read this amazing good omens fic by @theangelwithawand and had to make a fanart!

This is a 1926 flapper Crowley;

Here are some of my favorite parts:

And my references:

If u liked, please go read it!

#good omens #good omens s2 #fanart #good omens fanart #fanfic #good omens fanfiction #aziraphale #crowley #crowley and aziraphale #aziraphale and crowley #aziraphale loves crowley #crowley loves aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley #crowley x aziraphale #aziracrow #good ineffable omens #ineffable lovers #ineffable spouses #ineffable wives #ineffable husbands #ineffable idiots #ineffable partners #ineffable fandom

[theangelwithawand]

I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why “Every Breath You Take” is on Crowley’s playlist. Other than it provides the “E” to spell out ‘tempting’. But there’s plenty of other songs they could’ve chosen. So why pick the stalker song?

Then it occurred to me that it’s not about Aziraphale. It’s how Crowley feels Heaven and Hell watch him.

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale and crowley #crowley and aziraphale #aziraphale loves crowley #crowley loves aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley #crowly x aziraphale #azicrow #aziracrow #ineffable spouses #ineffable lovers #ineffable idiots #ineffable partners #ineffable husbands #good ineffable omens #ineffable fandom

[theangelwithawand]

Thoughts on Aziraphale

Spoilers below:

I think its such a big step for Aziraphale to admit out loud that Gabriel (who enforced Heaven’s will) used be awful.

The reason he’s so flirty after the church scene is because he realized he’s in love with Crowley. But once Crowley leaves, and he has time to think over everything…he gets scared.

#good omens #ineffable fandom #good ineffable omens #aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale and crowley #crowley and aziraphale #aziraphale loves crowley #crowley loves aziraphale #crowley x aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley #aziracrow #azicrow #ineffable spouses #ineffable lovers #ineffable idiots #ineffable partners #ineffable husbands #good omens series 2 #good omens analysis #good omens meta #go s2