Sep 29, 2024
Which Doctor would you rather travel with?
9th
10th
Voting ended onOct 6, 2024
Click here for poll masterlist
( Polls will be tagged under: DWGDoctorTravels )
seen from Malaysia
seen from Sweden
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from Poland
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Russia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Singapore
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
Which Doctor would you rather travel with?
9th
10th
Click here for poll masterlist
( Polls will be tagged under: DWGDoctorTravels )
this photo shoot will never not be funny to me
i saw a post saying how jack always tells everyone he’s sorry, how he always put the blame on himself - and another post saying that nobody, NOBODY ever forgives him ever, not gray, or suzie, how he never hears those words back from anyone - and it broke me
Marinette: Adventure on the Tardis
…It had been an accident.
The Doctor would swear to his last breath that was an accident. And not a single person would believe him.
After all, How do you accident steal a child?
“I didn’t steal her,” The Doctor defended, looking rather putout at the thought. “Technically, I borrowed her. Though I didn’t even realize I had borrowed her.”
“Borrowing doesn’t sound too bad,” Jack shrugged.
“I don’t care what you call it!” Donna shouted. “Take her back!”
“I will!” The Doctor roared back. The other three in the room stared at him blankly. “What? Now? Oh I can’t take her back now!”
Donna glared, “And why not, you skinny little space man?”
“Well I don’t know,” The Doctor drawled. “Could it be because we’re 3,000 years in the future, on another planet, currently being shot at by an army of Daleks with only a 7 percent chance of survival? I’m a little busy here!”
Jack laughed, “You don’t remember where you took her from?”
“…Oh shut up!” The Doctor huffed. “And I didn’t take her.”
“Then how did she end up on the ship, hmm?” Donna asked.
Marinette looked helplessly between the three, “I just wanted to use the payphone.”
The three blinked at the fourteen-year-old.
“I lost my phone,” Marinette explained. “I wanted to tell my parents I was running late. I saw I decide to use the phone booth. Then suddenly I was on a spaceship.” Marinette had been stunned when she got inside and everything was so much bigger than it was on the outside. “You guys came rushing in. I guess space boy started ship. Now I’m on another planet? And, sorry, did you say 3,000 years in the future?”
Marinette was frequently late but this took the cake.
“Its alright, sweetie,” Donna assured the young girl. “We’re gonna drop you off within seconds of when you left.” She crossed her arms and glared at The Doctor. “And you! Smartest man in the universe, across time and bloody space, and you couldn’t remember to lock the door to your spaceship?”
The Doctor crossed his arms and sniffed, “In my defense, all my data shows that in the year 2020 phone booths are considered relics. No one uses them anymore. It would be absurd to think they would.”
“You forgot?” Donna rolled her eyes.
“Yes, yes, I did.” The Doctor admitted.
Marinette looked around, “Who are you people?” She asked. “And shouldn’t someone be a little more focused on the army trying to kill us?”
The Doctor held up a finger. “Excellent point!” He rushed back over to the controls. “This shouldn’t take too long. “Allons-Y, Alonso!”
Suddenly everything was spinning around fast. Marinette gripped her chair, and wondered what choice in her life led her to this moment.
The taller of the men laughed. “Captain,” He introduced. “Captain Jack Harkness, at your service, Blue.”
“Marinette,” She said. “My name is Marinette.”
Jack shrugged, “I prefer Blue.”
“Okay…”
Donna scoffed, “Nice to meet you Marinette. I’m Donna. Donna Nobel. I’m from earth too. England. The late 2000s. Probably before you were born actually.”
“Oh, really?” Marinette asked, trying not panic as she watched The Doctor cackle at the ship’s controls. “What is he doing? And should I be worried.”
“Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey...Stuff” The Doctor yelled. “I got it handled!”
“He’s fine,” Donna waved him off. “He’s not as insane as he looks.”
“That’s good!” Marinette smiled warily. “And you’re aware that’s a pretty high bar as it is.”
“Eh!!” The Doctor complained. “I’ll have you know that genius and insanity are separated by a very thin line. A line that has a habit of moving frequently.” Suddenly, the ship came to a screeching halt. “See, all good now. The danger’s passed.” He typed on his computer. “And look at that, we’re back on your side of the milky way, now only 1,723.32 years away from your time, on a planet Nazeaen. We’re a lot closer, no needed to worry. Not one bit.”
Marinette’s mouth dropped at she struggled to process the words, and why he made it sound like a good thing. “…Who are you?”
He smiled at her, “I’m the Doctor.”
Marinette sent him a questioning look, “Doctor Who?”
“Exactly,” He smiled. “So Marinette, lovely name by the way. There’s a superhero I know of named Marinette. You might’ve been named after her actually. Wonderful really. So Marinette, have you ever been to another planet?”
“No,” Marinette answered honestly, feeling a bit more calm now that her life wasn’t in mortal danger. “I’d love to explore one though.”
“That’s a spirit!” The Doctor grinned. “Now who’s up for an adventure!”
Beyond the Veil
Rated T
Warning: Major Character Death. Not a Fix-It.
Jack, on the other hand, saw something different. He saw someone he’d never seen before. Not one of his numerous ex lovers. Not a brother in arms tragically lost too soon. Not someone he longed for like the Doctor. Not even Grey. He saw a handsome young man in a suit.
Jack Harkness sees a man he doesn’t know during the ghost shifts. And then one day he meets his ghost in the flesh.
Fills: cybermen/daleks, paranormal powers, and future fic on my bingo card
Drabble prompt: Moses the cat + Jack (pre-Small Worlds or post-Small Worlds or both???)
A New Home
The small cat meows as he weaves his way through Jack’s legs. Jack, face a splotchy red mess of tears, lifts his gaze from the expensive bottle of whisky he was never going to drink. He drags a gentle hand through Moses’s thick, soft fur, and Moses continues with his pitiful, sad meows. He sits against Jack’s boots.
“I know, buddy,” rasps Jack, still sniffling. “I know. I miss Estelle too.”
He still remembers her, light-haired and sharp-eyed, giggling as he swung her around on the pier. He’d bought her ice cream and kissed her sweetly at the end of the night.
She’s been one of the ones Jack thought he could have married. Instead, he was forced to leave her behind, fake his death at war.
Moses butts his head against Jack’s ankle. Jack strokes down his neck, scratching behind his ears. “What am I going to do with you?” he asks. He can’t keep a cat; he can’t set up a life like that with creatures and humans dependent on him. It’s bad enough he has...what he has with Ianto, a man he’s grown soft on. He doesn’t know how they’ll react when the Doctor finally arrives and takes him, when Jack will be forced to leave them behind. “I can’t keep you.”
Jack wonders if anyone on the team will be willing to take Moses in. Gwen is currently not speaking to him, although no one on the team really is. Ianto, the only responsive one, is still patching himself back together. He can barely take care of himself, let alone a pet. Owen...he doesn’t think Owen is feeling particularly forgiving and generous right now.
“Guess I will be keeping you, buddy,” he whispers to Moses. His voice is resigned. “At least you won’t be able to ignore me.”
Several weeks later, Jack’s temporary duty as Moses’s owner comes to an end as he knocks calmly on the front door, which is finally opened by a red-eyed Tosh.
“What do you need, Jack?” she asks, clad in large sweats that drown her tiny frame, still sniffling. Her bewildered gaze travels between Jack and the white cat carrier by his side.
Jack grins softly. “I’m here with a friend for you.”
Caught up yesterday. Here‘s the Doctor, the Doctor and Jack whenever he meets a version of the Doctor. 😎
The Importance of Fanservice
written by @the-galaxy-collector
While fanservice probably sounds a bit dirty, and we are called The Citrus Scale, we swear it’s not. Fanservice is when a creator inserts a scene or quote into the source material as a nod to fans. It’s a way to say that they’re paying attention to the message boards, Tumblr posts, and fan theories. It used to be, and sometimes still is, a term that identified when a woman was being sexually fetishized for male fans. That’s not the popular usage anymore, nor are we in favor of this interpretation or practice at all.
The subtle acknowledgement that the creators have noticed and care about their fans is hugely important. So often, fans don’t get what they want because it’s impossible to please everyone, but a little fanservice goes a long way in making them feel seen and appreciated. Everyone’s OTP isn’t going to be canon, especially when it’s the creator’s NOTP, but one little quip toward the right character will have fans squealing for years to come.
Great examples of fanservice reach across genres, but some of our favorites include shows like Timeless. There were multiple references to fan terminology and movements. Even the moniker fans use for themselves, Clockblockers, is heard being used in the second season’s premiere. But fanservice can take a retrospective approach too, like when Tom Holland confirmed that the young boy in the Iron Man mask in Iron Man 2 was, in fact, little Peter Parker. While this detail isn’t necessarily important to the overall story of the MCU, it was a fan theory for a while, and having it confirmed was icing on the cake.
Another favorite here at The Citrus Scale was when Brienne was knighted during the last season of Game of Thrones. Every fan knew that was all she ever wanted, and that she had been told no because she was a woman. Even though she was well aware she was enough by the end of her character’s journey without that happening, it never fails to put a smile on our faces when we see it on screen.
Now, that doesn’t mean that the actors themselves can’t be the leaders of these fan theories and rallying cries, because sometimes that’s exactly what happens. For example, when we finally see Jack Harkness’ butt in the last season of Torchwood, it was John Barrowman, the actor who played him, that was always ready to go to war for this scene. Did we all know he was naked when he was encased in and then rescued from the cement? Yep. Did his team bring a jacket to cover up his naughty bits? Also yes. Did he wear it? Not even a little bit. Was it necessary to the story? Hahahahaha!
But can fanservice go too far? The short answer is yes, but what does it mean to the story and has it ever really happened? This is actually where fanservice gets a bad reputation. Some fans argue that the creators who offer this up do so at the expense of the story. However, exactly what the expense is depends on the individual fan. Again, you can’t make everyone happy. Lately, a lot of the complaints about fanservice have dealt with Avengers: Endgame and the scene where all the women showed up to save the day. And this is where we feel the need to clarify that representation and fanservice are not the same thing. Representation is about equality. Fanservice is about fun.
None of the examples we listed here affected the story in a negative way, though. This is largely because none of them took up a lot of screen time. A line here, a moment there, and you’re done. That’s all it takes, but we get the overall argument. If a story becomes only about fanservice, and unless there’s a meta point to be made, it can damage the overall product, and that’s not good either.
Thankfully, there aren’t a lot of big examples of this happening to date. Most that are cited every now and then are seen as bad because they didn’t make any storyline sense. Season Two of Stranger Things has Nancy and Steve try to get some sort of closure for Barb and her family. Those that believe that this is fanservice only see it that way because they think Barb is a throwaway character. They seem to conveniently forget that her demise is incredibly important for Nancy’s character development. In other words, she was fridged. Do we like it? No. Was it necessary? Maybe, but it doesn’t make her throwaway and it certainly isn’t fanservice.
Our point is that fanservice and stories can live in perfect harmony. Sure, you don’t want to go overboard, but a little bit isn’t going to hurt anyone. In fact, it usually gives fanfic writers just enough to play with, which we’ll never complain about.