Terry Balls

Flibbertygigget - mostly deep lore stuff

MrSandman - really great characterisation

penumbra - short fics with exceptionally vivid prose

fortunefavourstheyogurt -  great little Big Finish orientated stories

RobertSaysThis - best known for writing a great series where the Thirteenth Doctor has a child as a companion

dragonwings948 - extremely prolific writer - if you can think of it, they’ve probably written it!

bravest_person_in_wonderland - writes character-focused short stuff, predominantly about Eight and Charley or the Gallifrey crew.

this could go many ways, and all of them are delicious:

- one of them is the doctor, and the other is their new companion

- one of them is the doctor and one of them is the master, but from the decisions they made, you assumed that each was the other

What if they’re both the Doctor?

I don’t mean consecutive Doctors, I mean... what if the regeneration process split the Doctor in two? These are both equally valid versions of the Doctor with slightly different personalities.

Also... don’t stop at two!

Something also has to be said for the fact that doctor who is the only show of the three without a huge decade long queer baiting (ok the whole Clara thing is on thin ice I’ll be honest but they fixed that with bill in season 10) scandal that ends in blatant homophobia (note it’s not homophobic BECAUSE destiel or johnlock didn’t end up together, it’s homophobic because of the years of intentional queer baiting that predates the end of each program) when your fan base is predominantly queer this is not advisable.

And of course this doesnt take into account the massive change that happened after dashcon, doctor who had an established 50 year history by that point and solid writing so while it fell from its godlike position on tumblr it was still relatively popular after that cultural shift. Also- and this may be controversial - the writing in doctor who is better. I’m sorry but it is. Rewatching some of the 2010-2015 episodes I’m reminded that when doctor who is good, it’s GOOD. The oncoming storm speech. The 9th doctor and the dalek prisoner, “I would never” , a good man goes to war, “the laws of time obey me” , the fucking 50th war doctor speeches, the zygon inversion speech, “the one thing you never put in a trap… me”, all of hell bent, and of course the Van Gogh episode. Honestly on writing alone doctor who absolutely bodies Sherlock and supernatural which is shocking because moffat wrote for Sherlock as well but it never felt as powerful it always felt very clever but once you knew the answer to whatever mystery Sherlock was solving the intrigue just faded. Whereas the more you watch episodes like Vincent and the Doctor, the Day of the Doctor, or Hell Bent, the more you fall in love with the writing.

I could go on and on and on for ages about writing, character relatability , overarching themes and morals, the unique mechanic of regeneration, the doctor companion dynamic, and the question of “are humans inherently good or evil” and so many more nuanced reasons as to why doctor who stands the test of time (pun only slightly intended) but I will not that is too long and I am tired but know that I could if I wanted because the evidence is there

I mean, there are some pretty mean-spirited fan insert characters too - Larry Nightingale is not exactly an aspiration, and the Abzorbaloff is way worse than anything in Sherlock. Both of those were based on specific prominent fans (author Lawrence “Larry” Miles and former continuity consultant Ian Levine).

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3ggchh8

by TerryBalls

Rose Tyler need to get a GCSE in Maths, but her homework is too hard. Fortunately, a friendly stranger gives her help.

Words: 857, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Rose Tyler, Eleventh Doctor

Relationships: Eleventh Doctor & Rose Tyler

Additional Tags: Homework, One Shot

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3oqLimD

by TerryBalls

Laoise Sparrow is trying to balance university with a social life and adapting to life on Earth. The only person who’s interested in her is a boy who collects bones. One day Laoise has a strange encounter with a bus driver, and then her friend starts to disappear…

This series, featuring the Twelfth Doctor and Sally Sparrow, comes to a dramatic end that combines several fan-favourite concepts.

Words: 2065, Chapters: 1/10, Language: English

Series: Part 5 of What I Did In My Midlife Crisis by Sally Sparrow

Fandoms: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Iris Wildthyme (Big Finish Audio), Faction Paradox - Various Authors

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Twelfth Doctor, The Doctor (Doctor Who), Sally Sparrow, Nardole (Doctor Who), John Who, Gillian Who, Original Female Character(s), Iris Wildthyme, Panda (Iris Wildthyme), Doctor Who - Character, Original Doctor (Doctor Who), MIAOW (Iris Wildthyme)

Relationships: John and Gillian Who, Doctor Who and John and Gillian Who, Sally Sparrow/Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: Memory Loss, Memory Alteration, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Time Travel, psychiatry, Police, Science Fiction, 1980s, 2090s

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/391e2f9

by TerryBalls

It’s the 27th Century. Species from across the Solar System have terraformed Callisto, a moon of Jupiter. Many different species are living in harmony.

Libby is one of the only people who notices the Daleks. The Daleks are denying that they are Daleks at all. The Daleks gaslight entire societies. And, scariest of all, the Daleks are running for office.

Fortunately, there is one many who makes the Daleks run in fear, and he’s coming to get them.

A Doctor Who parody of the modern alt-right.

Words: 1238, Chapters: 1/11, Language: English

Series: Part 4 of What I Did In My Midlife Crisis by Sally Sparrow

Fandoms: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Gen

Characters: Twelfth Doctor, Sally Sparrow, Nardole (Doctor Who), Dalek(s) (Doctor Who), Zygon(s) (Doctor Who), Silurian(s) (Doctor Who), Sea Devil(s) (Doctor Who), Ice Warrior(s) (Doctor Who), Vogan(s) (Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen), Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s) of Color, Original Male Human Character(s), The Eminence (Doctor Who), Dalek Time Controller (Doctor Who)

Relationships: Twelfth Doctor & Nardole, Twelfth Doctor & Sally Sparrow, Sally Sparrow/Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character/Original Male Character

Additional Tags: Science Fiction, Disabled Character, Disabled Character of Color, Politics, Satire, Far Future, Post-Episode: 2015 Xmas The Husbands of River Song, Post-Episode: 2016 Xmas The Return of Doctor Mysterio, Plot, Classic Doctor Who References, Audio: Dark Eyes (Doctor Who), Multicultural Society, Refugees, Antisemitism

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2PpWOkI

by TerryBalls

Sally Sparrow wants some romance. Fortunately, the TARDIS takes her to a cute wannabe astrophysicist who shows her a new side of life. But can there ever be hanky-panky in the TARDIS? (Yes)

Words: 2484, Chapters: 2/11, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of What I Did In My Midlife Crisis by Sally Sparrow

Fandoms: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (1963)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, Gen

Characters: Twelfth Doctor, Sally Sparrow, Original Female Human Character(s), Zygon(s) (Doctor Who)

Relationships: Sally Sparrow/Original Female Human Character

Additional Tags: Fluff, No Smut, atths, a LOT of atths, Near Future, Moon, Romance, Lesbian Character, no villain

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/39Yx86o

by TerryBalls

The story continues from where “What I Did In My Midlife Crisis” left off.

The Twelfth Doctor (between “Hell Bent” and “The Husbands of River Song”) takes Sally Sparrow (14 years on from “Blink”) on the world’s safest adventure - a bibliotherapy retreat at a wonderful library where nothing ever goes wrong. Then the Doctor starts behaving erratically, old foes surface, and fictional characters spring to life. Can Sally trust the Doctor - and more importantly, can she trust herself?

Words: 1387, Chapters: 1/8, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of What I Did In My Midlife Crisis by Sally Sparrow

Fandoms: Doctor Who, Discworld - Terry Pratchett, The Tiffany Aching Series - Terry Pratchett, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (1963)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Gen

Characters: Twelfth Doctor, Sally Sparrow, Esmerelda “Granny” Weatherwax, Nac Mac Feegle, Rob Anybody, Daft Wullie, The Silence (Doctor Who), The Librarian (Discworld)

Relationships: The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Sally Sparrow, Twelfth Doctor/Esmerelda Weatherwax

Additional Tags: zero hanky-panky, Some scary shit, cw: torture, Big Finish References, Classic Who references, Discworld References, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genderfluid Doctor (Doctor Who), Douglas Adams, Iris Wildthyme references, Bulgakov references, Erimem reference, Sylvia Plath References, starts off very cosy, gets progressively less cosy, References to Illness, Dementia, Post-Episode: s09e12 Hell Bent, scots, BAMF Women, BAMF Sally Sparrow