The dialogue on Once upon a Time may not always be perfect, but there is this delightful line, spoken by Rumplestilstkin, that magic always comes with a price. It’s wonderfully catchy and universal, quite applicable to a lot of things, actually. Being the information junkie that I am, I would never have thought, though, that trying to keep up with the Brexit and its consequences would be one of those pricey things.

Some of you already know that I work in adult education, teaching everything from basic travel English to conversational English, and also British (sometimes Scottish) life and culture to a bunch of open-minded, interested and simply fantastic people, most of them in the 55+ age group, although the folks in the evening classes usually tend to be a bit on the younger side.

So spending the better part of last week discussing the various aspects of the Brexit, professionally but also with family and friends, was exactly what I had expected. What I hadn’t reckoned with, however, was how bloody exhausting these discussions would be, because I am emotionally involved.

In essence, the British Isles aren’t a foreign country to me but rather my holiday home in Europe. I’ve been travelling the UK ever since I was sixteen. Over the years, I’ve consumed more than my share of British culture, literature, history and media; I’ve formed friendships and regularly exchange Christmas cards.

Among my favourite TV people ever are David Attenborough, Simon Schama and Jim Al-Khalili. And if fellow Doctor Who fans inquire about my favourite Doctor, I’ll proudly say it’s the Fifth. (I only caught up with classic DW after the new series had started, and while I’ve seen every classic Doctor in action by now, Fivey is the one I really clicked with on every level, which is kind of sweet, because due to his early 1980s run, Peter Davison’s Doctor would have been the one I had imprinted on as a child if I had grown up in the UK.)

Despite the fact that I certainly think, feel, act and sound unmistakably German in everyday life, it is therefore no wonder that a large part of my personal identity is determined through what I love about the UK.

I would hate to see these ties substantially weakened, due to the bureaucratic complications that are likely to ensue now. Following media reports and political commentaries feels like a trip to some clownish, nonsensical and ugly bizzarro world.

The reports on the rising number of racist attacks on immigrants from other EU countries are leaving me shocked.

Well...

Two episodes which I profoundly enjoyed. ("Dinosaurs on a Spaceship",  "A Town Called Mercy")

One episode that almost made me quit watching, and not just this particular ep but the show as such. ("Asylum of the Daleks")

I figure that's not all that bad by DW standards ;-)

Fandom: Star Trek: TNG, Doctor Who
Title: Flight of the Polymers
Characters: Data, Rory Williams, Amy Pond
Summary: On Data and Rory, and being plastic. Some conversations are doomed from the start. Originally written in response to a Multiverse prompt by Ladymercury_10.
Rating: G
Author's Note: I would very much like to thank my beta, the wonderful kathyh, whose comments really hit the nail on the head! :)
Story on AO3: Here

( Flight of the Polymers )

cavendish and I got the following bit of insanity forwarded by our friend J...


Doctor Who - Curse of the Fatal Death


I wonder whether the icon I chose actually counts as a casting spoiler *g*

This entry was originally begun and intended as a reply to a wonderful, read- and squee-worthy Doctor Who post by astrogirl2, but at one point I realized that my thoughts had run off into a more universal and somewhat off topic direction. Probably , because the following remark by Astrogirl really hit a sensitive spot:

"I'm developing this psychological block against admitting to the fact that I love the show, and I love this season, and I love it all with a deep and joyful love. Because that makes me feel like I must be stupid and politically suspect or something, in the eyes of fans I genuinely respect."

In situations like this I usually opt for a decidedly anti-social approach by trusting my own interpretation of the source material more than I trust the findings of others.

Of course I keep reading the ongoing discussions, apply my own brain to the presented arguments and am certainly not above re-evaluating if I find that somebody else's points are actually more valid than mine.

But that doesn't stop me from being a bloody cultural relativist at core.

Due to my own daily surroundings, age, education, ethnicity, philosophical, literary and aesthetic convictions, I will always read things differently, access and understand things differently than someone who was raised in another cocoon of socio-cultural surroundings and whose individual background and daily experiences do not match my own.

If interpretations of source material and canon do vary, this doesn't necessarily mean that one of us is wrong, ignorant and possibly evil, I think. Quite often it is merely a sign that we are reading stuff through different cultural lenses and with our own respective cognitive bias.

Is it important to not t hide one's head in the sand? To actively inform oneself about other people's findings, to acknowledge, respect and - where necessary – also to adopt or vehemently question, depending on case? Yes. (In fact, one could easily make a point that this is not only important, but rather a self-evident necessity and obligation as a decent, intelligent human being.)

However, I think that the very same degree of curiosity, respect and acceptance we hold for the opinions of others should also apply to our own subjective opinions and findings.

As much as I wish to understand the dynamics at work behind my own judgements (and this wish to understand also includes the detection of any potential blind spots) I refuse to feel guilty about not seeing what I cannot possibly see from my own subjective perspective.

Because the lenses are natural.

If we are being alert and smart enough, we can keep struggling to frequently sharpen and re-focus them. Attempt to paint them in different colours, so they might allow an alternate experience of the whole spectrum.

But one fact always remains. No matter how hard we try, in the end the frelling things are impossible to completely change or remove. This doesn't make anyone of us a better or lesser, more competent or incompetent fan person and reader.

There is no such thing as a privileged, universally true point of view. My own reading is counting as much as that of the person next door.

Having finished "Human Nature/Family of Blood" I think it's safe to add another item to the list of recurring structural patterns, motifs and themes that selenak and I came up with a couple of weeks ago.

• Early mid-season two parter: The one you can show your imaginary eight-year old with a clear conscience. Alien invasion, for the most part rather action-oriented. Superficial and silly, at least in my opinion.



• Late mid-season two parter: Dark, nightmarish stuff. Two hours of breathtaking television, but heavily charged and drawing from a whole pool of subconscious fears that may be either individual or collective.

I can see why half my f-list is in love with HN/FoB. Intriguing premise, touching and complex characterisations. Haunting, strangely beautiful imagery. And last but not least that awe-inducing taste of eternity brought across by the voice over. But still I think I liked "Impossible Planet/Satan Pit" that tiny bit better. Blame it on the beauty of cello music and dying stars, or on all the pacifist indoctrination I received at school. Up to this very day I question the idea of trenches and battlefields as the ultimate test of a person's bravery and true nobleness of character.

The body counts of both this year's and last year's serious mid-season two parter make the 9th Doctor's intial "Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody lives!" appear in a completely new light to me.

Oh, and one random question before I press the send button in the vague hope LJ will let me post this: Did anyone else think the balloon girl looked an awful lot like Jemmy, Princess of Chaos from Neil Gaiman's Sandman: Season of Mists?

The following story was written for the Rose Tyler (post Doomsday) Gen ficathon over at rose_lives, and mostly composed during the oddest in-between moments, during train rides to Düsseldorf, or in our kitchen while waiting for the Spaghetti water to boil.

Probably a small miracle the poor little thing ever got finished. When I signed up for the ficathon in mid August, I hadn't fully realized the ficathon's deadline excatly collided with my holiday trip to Stratford (btw: cavendish and I had an absolutely fantastic time, but this really deserves an entire LJ entry on its own ;-)). Nor had I any idea how much my creative writing muses were actually under the spell of Pirates of the Caribbean.

The two important lessons drawn from this: a) sometimes even the "unloved" stories come into being, though all odds are terribly against them and b)when your talent lies in quiet introspective character vignettes, being an old Highlander fangirl doesn't help you the slightest with straight action-oriented plots about ruthless swordplay in Paris. I ducked out. I wrote against the requested elements instead of writing with them.

I only hope my recipient wasn't too disappointed by this. Especially since the story I've received myself, aeshna_uk's Illuminated was so very lovely.




Title: Brave New Girl
Author: Bimo
Characters: Rose, several mentionings of Mickey, OCs
Summary: When betrayals are all about freedom...
Rating: G
Notes: Lots of thanks to livii. Without her I would never have gotten this one beta-read in time ;-)

This story was written for fightinghand, who asked for
(1) swordplay
(2) Paris
(3) ruthless

and did not want any flashbacks.



( Brave New Girl )

Title: The Fabric That God Weaves
Author: Bimo
Characters: Ten, Reinette
Summary: Human beings are time-blind

Lots of thanks to uktechgirl for beta-reading and kind words :-)

( The Fabric That God Weaves )

Watched New Earth, but didn't really enjoy the episode. Too rushed, too cliched, about five different plotlines hackneyed into one. David Tennant, however, appears to make a fine, interesting Doctor. I'm wondering whether the authors are going to use the Tenth Doctor's overly confident, self-assured behaviour for future story developments.

( Tenth doctor, coloured aquarelle pencils, charcoal, scanner ;-) )

Even from a few days' distance I'm  not really sure what amazed me most about the short trip to London. The fact that I indeed managed to see a certain well-known ex-Jedi live on stage, or the sheer multitude of great experiences cavendish and I tried to squeeze into what was probably a  too short period of time.

As a show Guys and Dolls is a definite winner. Charming plot, delightful tunes, breathtaking choreography, and above all an abolutely marvellous ensemble. Ham  House, the 17th century mansion we visited on our "day out" was equally impressive, though on a completely different level *g*

Oh, and let's not forget meeting up with vashtan . I only wish  the last day and our visit at the National Portrait Gallery had been less chaotic. Well, we can always try again, can't we? If you are reading this, just drop me line when you know more details about your stay in Essen. 

But now off to the brief Doctor Who story which has been mentioned in this posting's headline


( The 5th Doctor and Tegan, stranded... )