Fandom School (8th period): Catchphrases

It's time again for Fandom School! Today, we're going to talk about catchphrases.

What is a catchphrase? It's a phrase, line (or pattern thereof) that is repeated often enough that the audience associates it with a particular character or book/movie/TV show. I'd like to take this post to share a few of my favorite catchphrases.

Get Smart (TV show) [go to www.wouldyoubelieve.com for a complete list of catchphrases]

• "Would you believe..." - Maxwell Smart

Smart: At the moment, seven Coast Guard cutters are converging on us. Would you believe it?
Mr Big: I find that hard to believe.
Smart: Hmmm . . . Would you believe six?
Mr Big: I don't think so.
Smart: How about two cops in a rowboat?

• "Missed it by that much!" - Maxwell Smart
• "Zis is KAOS, we don't ________ here!" - Siegfried, usually to Shtarker

Shtarker: Let me let them have it. Dudududududu (making a machine gun noise).
Siegfried: Shtarker, zis is KAOS, we don't Dududu here.

Doctor Who (TV show)

• "Fantastic!" - Ninth Doctor
• "[insert things] are cool" - Eleventh Doctor
• bow ties, fezzes, stetsons, bunk beds... the list goes on
• "Allons-y!" - Tenth Doctor
• "Spoilers" - River Song
• "Hello, Sweetie" - River Song
• "It's bigger on the inside!" - (almost*) every companion, upon entering the TARDIS
• "Oi! Watch it, spaceman!" - Donna Noble to the Tenth Doctor

The Princess Bride (book/movie)

• "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." - Inigo Montoya
• "As you wish" - Westley
• "Inconceivable!" - Vizzini

Star Trek (TV show and several movies)

• "Live long and prosper" - Vulcan greeting/farewell, usually said by Spock
• "Highly illogical" - Spock
• "I'm a doctor, not a..." - Dr. Leonard McCoy
• bricklayer, psychiatrist, mechanic, coal miner, engineer, physicist... [see this website for a list of all occurrences]
• "He's dead, Jim" - Dr. Leonard McCoy

Star Wars (movie series)

• "May the Force be with you" - Jedi blessing/good luck, said by almost everyone on the good side
• "I got a bad feeling about this" - Han Solo is known for this phrase, but many other characters say variations of it as well

Harry Potter (books/movies)

• "My father will hear about this!" - Draco Malfoy
• "Bloody hell!" - Ronald Weasley
• "Wicked!" - Fred & George Weasley
• "I shouldn't have said that" - Hagrid

Sherlock (TV show)

• "Not my division!" - Greg Lestrade
• "I'm not gay!" - John Watson, said when anyone tries to ship him with Sherlock
• "I'm your landlady, not your housekeeper!" - Mrs. Hudson

I know I'm missing lots of fandoms and catchphrases, but I only included the fandoms I'm in that have multiple catchphrases. If you have any catchphrases you'd like to add, feel free to do so in the comments.

*Notable exceptions include Clara Oswald, who said "It's smaller on the outside!", and Rory Williams, who said nothing, prompting this exchange:

The Doctor [after entering the TARDIS]: It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside; what's that about? Let me explain...
Rory: It's another dimension.
The Doctor: It's basically another dimen — what?
Rory: After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes.
The Doctor: I like the bit when someone says "It's bigger on the inside!" I always look forward to that.

Yes, Of Course (Doctor Who fanfiction)

The message reached out through the universes, crossing all dimensions of time and space in its distress. River looked out at the night sky, hoping upon hope that all those he had cared for would have the love to respond, and knowing in her heart that they would.
***
"Incoming message," said Mr Smith.
"Who is it from?" Sarah Jane asked.
"Unknown."
"Where is it from?" Luke asked, walking into the room.
"Unknown."
"Well, what is known?" Sarah Jane asked in exasperation.
"Content reads: The Doctor is dying. Please, please help."
Sarah Jane was worried but also wary. Not that long ago she'd been told the Doctor was dead, and that had turned out to be a lie. "Is he in danger?"
"Affirmative," K9 piped in.
"I'll go help him," Luke insisted.
Sarah Jane shook her head. "It's too dangerous. I don't want to lose you."
"Maybe we can work together," Rani suggested. "Pool our resources."
"Count me in," said Clyde.
Sarah Jane sighed. "I'll never be able to stop you kids, will I?" She turned to the computer. "Mr Smith, can you give a message to the sender?"
Mr Smith was silent as calculations flashed across the screen. "Yes. What do you want me to say?"
"We're all in," said Clyde.
"We will do everything we can to help," said Luke.
"Just tell us what you need," said Rani.
"We love you," finished Sarah Jane. "Please don't die."
They stood in solemn silence for a moment. "Message sent."
***
Tentoo (called "John Noble" after his parents) gently nudged Rose.
"What is it?" she asked, sitting up groggily.
"A message. I think you should hear it."
"How can you..."
"I'm a Time Lord; I can hear distress signals in any language. This is in every language, though it seems to have originated in English."
"Alright, tell me the message." John put his hands on Rose's head, sending her the message via telepathic link. The Doctor is dying. Please, please help. "But what happened?"
"I don't know," John answered, equally confused.
"Whatever it is, I'll help him."
John sighed. "You still love him, don't you?"
Rose nodded. "But I love you, too. You're not the Doctor, but I do love you. And even if I can't have the Doctor, I want him to be happy. I want him to live."
"Of course. So do I. After all, it's his fault I even exist," John said with a wry chuckle. "Well, it's Donna's fault too. She'd hate me for leaving her out."
Rose laughed. "She'd slap you for sure." Her smile faded as she remembered what had started the conversation. "Tell the Doctor, or whoever it is, we'll be happy to help."
***
"Ianto, Gwen, come take a look at this," Jack said with a note of apprehension. Concerned by the distress in his voice, they came running.
"What is it?" Gwen asked.
"Some kind of distress signal. It says... 'The Doctor is dying. Please, please help.'"
The three of them stared at the screen for a moment until Ianto broke the silence. "Can we send a reply?"
"I think so," Jack said, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "Got it!" he said a few minutes later. "What do we want to say?"
"You know him best, you tell us," Gwen replied. Ianto nodded.
"'Of course we'll help. We owe you one. More than one, actually. And even if we didn't, we'd still help you. What can we do?'" Jack looked at Gwen and Ianto, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. They nodded. Jack hit 'enter'. "Please make it through," he whispered. "We need you."
***
"Martha Jones, something has happened that requires your attention. Please come to UNIT headquarters. Oh, and bring your husband, too."

When they reached the headquarters, a woman walked up to them. "Kate Lethbridge-Stewart," she said, extending her hand. "Welcome back to UNIT."
"I hope you're not trying to recruit me again. You know I work best alone." Mickey gave Martha a wounded look. "Well, mostly alone."
"No, we're not recruiting you," she assured them. "We've received a message, and we think you should hear it." Martha looked at her suspiciously. "Come, follow me."

"This is the message," Kate explained, pressing a few keys on the computer. The Doctor is dying. Please, please help.
"What does it mean?" Mickey asked.
"Exactly what it says. I thought I would share it with you before sending a reply."
"Thank you," Martha said. "Tell them... tell them we will do everything in our power to help."
"Of course, mam," Kate said, giving Martha a salute. Mickey's expression changed slightly. Martha caught the difference and glared at Kate until she got the point. "Sir," she said, giving Mickey a salute.
"Thank you," said Mickey. "And let us know if you get a response."
Kate nodded. "Of course."
***
Donna woke up with a pounding headache. It didn't feel like a normal headache, though. She felt as if something were tearing at the corners of her mind, trying to pry something out of it and burrow deep into her head.

"Donna, what are you doing here?" Wilfred looked at his granddaughter in confusion.
"Couldn't sleep. I thought you might be up here stargazing." They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking up at the night sky. "Do you ever get the feeling you're forgetting something?"
Wilfred laughed. "I'm an old man, Donna. I get that feeling all the time."
"No, but like, something important. Really important." Wilfred said nothing. Donna sighed. "I've got another headache again." They continued on in relative silence, Wilfred occasionally showing Donna various constellations. All of a sudden, she remembered. "It's the Doctor. He's in trouble. I can feel it." Wilfred looked at Donna with concern. "Who is the Doctor? I'm pretty sure I know him." Wilfred said nothing. "It doesn't matter, I still want to help." She sighed. "Maybe if I think really hard, I can send a reply." She laughed. "I sound like a little kid, don't I?"
"Don't say that like it's shameful."
Donna smiled. "Alright, I'll try then." She frowned in concentration for a few seconds. "I think it worked. And my headache is gone, too!" A big smile split across Wilfred's face. "Now what were we doing again?"
***
Clara could feel it. The Doctor was in trouble. As the "impossible girl", she had some kind of sense for his well-being. This time, though, she heard a clear message. The Doctor is dying. Please, please help. She wondered what trouble he'd got himself into this time. She was about to go find him when she realized: she was always there when he was in danger. This time, it wasn't her place to help. But that didn't mean she couldn't show her support. With the help of a friend she'd sworn to secrecy, she located the signal and sent a reply. "Yes, of course we'll help. We will do everything we can for him."
***
The "solar flares" were increasing. Part of River was jealous that her husband had had so many companions, but a larger part of her was happy for him. Happy that the Doctor was loved by many, and by her most of all.

Alone With Myself (Doctor Who fanfiction)

I haven't written a blog post in ages! I'm really sorry. I've been super busy. Anyway, I forgot about this fanfic I wrote which I didn't put on the blog, so here it is!

"I am alone," the Doctor cried, sliding down the wall of the TARDIS.

"All my friends are gone," the Doctor sobbed, sinking into a corner of the TARDIS.

"My best friends are dead," the Doctor lamented, crumpling into a ball in the TARDIS.

"My people are gone," the Doctor wailed, slamming his fist onto the TARDIS.

Each Doctor thought he was alone; each regeneration felt doomed to live in sorrow. But the TARDIS had other plans. With a whirring noise, four worlds collided. Four different people, and yet the same.

The Ninth Doctor looked around at the other three. "You're not Rose." At the mention of the name 'Rose', the others cringed, and the Tenth Doctor looked like he was about to cry. In an attempt to divert himself, the Tenth Doctor looked around.

"If you're me," he said, looking at Nine, "does that mean..."
Eleven nodded. "I always knew you were a bright one! So tell us, grumpy pants," he said, turning to the Twelfth Doctor, "how's the future?"
Twelve shook his head. "You know I can't tell you anything. It's not like you'd remember anyway."
Nine sighed. "Is this what I grow up to be like?" Eleven nodded, as if this were a good thing.

"So, what brings us all here in the first place?" Twelve asked in far too serious a tone for such a casual question.
"Well obviously the TARDIS has created a spatio-temporal field that caused us all to occupy this space in the same time..."
"I mean," Twelve interrupted in a tone of frustration, "why were we brought together? What do we have in common?"
"Well, we're all the Doctor," the Eleventh Doctor pointed out unhelpfully.
"There's got to be more than that. Why do we all need each other?" Nine asked.
"Maybe we don't all need each other. Maybe we just need someone," Ten suggested.

Nine nodded. "I was all set to go, but Rose didn't want to come."
"Oh, she'll come," Ten said wistfully. "Just mention that it travels in time."
"How is she, by the way?" Nine asked, ignoring all the warning looks the others gave him.
"Gone, like the rest of my companions," Ten replied sadly. "She's got a life, but not with me. Not anymore."
"And you?" Nine asked, looking at Eleven.
"Oh, I'm alright," Eleven said with a smile that was far too thin.
"Rule one," Twelve announced, "the Doctor lies."
Eleven sighed. "You know me too well." He looked at Twelve. "It's Amy and Rory. And the angels." Twelve nodded knowingly. "And what about you?"
"Gallifrey." That simple word said it all. Though none of the others had been in the Twelfth Doctor's exact situation, they understood the sentiment. "I thought... I'd been told I could change things and... I was wrong."

"While we're here, anyone fancy some fish fingers and custard?" Eleven asked in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. Having nothing else to do, the Doctors agreed. Nobody else liked the culinary concoction, so Nine brought chips. When that was over, Twelve suggested they have tea, and so they had a tea party. Over Jammie Dodgers, scones, and Earl Grey tea, they reminisced about old times (or new times, depending on whose perspective you considered).

"Remember that time when you were with Rose and she kept trying to get Queen Victoria to say 'we are not amused'?" Eleven asked Ten.
"Remember that time I accidentally married Queen Elizabeth I?" Ten laughed.
"How do you accidentally marry a queen?" Nine asked.
"I thought she was a Zygon!" Eleven rolled his eyes. "Oh, like you'd be any better," Ten said with a mock scowl.
"You should have seen him after regenerating!" Twelve exclaimed. "He kept rejecting perfectly good food just because he had a new body!"
"No fair!" Eleven complained. "None of us have anything on you."
Twelve smiled mysteriously. "Then the world is as it should be." Eleven glared. "Well, I believe we must be going soon. We do have lives to get on with after all." Each of the Doctors sighed and said their farewells. And so the loneliness was banished once more.

Top 10 Fictional Characters Who Are Black

For those of you not aware, March 6 was declared to be #Blackoutday by someone on tumblr. We are only liking, posting, and reblogging posts of/about black people. In honor of that, I'm listing my top 10 fictional characters who are black. In no particular order, they are:

Martha Jones (Doctor Who)
Martha Jones is a character whose value is often disputed in the Whovian community. Some people don't appreciate her, but I am one of the people who thinks she's totally awesome. Yes, she had a crush on the Doctor, but so did most of his female companions. She has clear goals of what she wants (to become a doctor), and she works towards those goals, eventually achieving them. Like Donna, she makes the Doctor earn her respect. She saves the ENTIRE WORLD from the Master while the Doctor stands by helplessly. She knows when to move on from the Doctor and find someone else, and she does. Which brings us to the next person on the list.

Mickey Smith (Doctor Who)
I bet most of you are thinking that Mickey Smith is stupid and lame. I did at first, but not any more. See, there's a little thing called character development. Throughout series 1 and 2, Mickey grows and changes to be smarter and more independent, among other things. The one thing that doesn't change is that Mickey is fiercely loyal. He keeps waiting for Rose, even when she disappears with the Doctor. When she's gone for a year and he's a suspect in her murder, he says nothing because he wants to protect her (also because he knows he won't be believed). When he realizes that she will never love him and treat him the way he deserves, he moves on, but he still does everything he can to help her and the Doctor. He joins Torchwood and is totally awesome. He marries Martha, who has also been unappreciated by the people in her life, and they go freelance to fight aliens. Mickey goes from a cowardly, clingy "tin dog" to a brave, loyal, and strong man.

Danny Pink (Doctor Who)
I was really worried Danny was going to be a poorly written character, but it turned out that Moffat actually did a good job with Danny. He reminds me a little of Mickey and a little of Rory, but he's different from both of them. He's really accepting and supportive of Clara, even to the point that he allows her to continue traveling with the Doctor. And he has a fierce loyalty towards Clara, doing everything he can to help her. I wasn't sure about the whole soldier thing, but I like the way it feeds into his character, making him brave, smart, and strong. Also, the "bad day" he had as a soldier gives him a strong sense of guilt which serves to make him more real and the "bad day" also gives him a heightened sense of morality, which I think is very important.

Gwen (Merlin)
My mom pointed out that there would not have been black people in Europe during the time of King Arthur, but oh well. I'll happily take POC representation over historical accuracy (unless it's a documentary, of course). Gwen is sweet and sensitive and smart, but she can also be super tough when she needs to be. Like Merlin, she helps make Arthur a better man.

Sam Wilson aka Falcon (The Avengers)
The Avengers are awesome. Every member of the Avengers is awesome, including Falcon. Because he's a newer member of the group, he doesn't get as much attention as he deserves. He's smart, funny, and talented. Also, his suit is totally awesome! Another score for superheroes who have super technology instead of superpowers.

Captain Ray Holt (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
If you don't watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you should. It's awesome. Captain Ray Holt is one of the major characters (he's the captain of district 99 of the NYPD). Not only is he black, he's also gay. Representation for the win! He's strict and smart, but he can also be funny at times. And he's the only one with the willingness and ability to call Jake out on his antics.

Agent J (Men In Black)
Have you seen Men In Black? No? Go watch it right now. Don't come back until you've read it. Okay. Now you agree that Agent J is awesome, right? Will Smith is the bomb, and he portrays this role really well (I also really like Will Smith as Alex Hitchins in "Hitch").

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)
I love Tiana. She's smart, funny, and most importantly, hardworking. I think she's a really great role model for people who want to fulfill their dreams. She's really good at being kind to and respectful of other people. Also, she doesn't put up with other people's bad behavior.

Sid (Galavant)
Okay, so he's basically the show's comic relief, but I still like him. He's funny and, as we learn in "Two Balls" (did they think through that title? Did they do that on purpose?), not nearly as bad as the average squire. He expresses resentment at being always ignored, and after the aforementioned episode, he does gain a little more respect from Galavant, who had to spend some time in Sid's shoes.

God (played by Morgan Freeman)*
Obviously nobody can know for sure exactly what God will be like until getting to heaven, but I always picture God as basically Morgan Freeman. I'm also really glad that they cast a black guy for God and not a white person. Jesus was middle-eastern (and Jewish), so I'm glad God was portrayed as POC as well.

*God is not a fictional character, but he is a character in the fictional movies Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty. I wanted to include him in the list. Don't judge.

Alright so that's all well and good, but I need to mention something important: I had a lot of trouble thinking of enough people to put on this list. If I were making a list of my favorite fictional characters ever, I would have trouble limiting it. I think it's disgusting that POC characters are portrayed by white actors. We need more POC representation! *raises fist for emphasis* That is all. Have a nice day!

Fandom School (7th period): How to Find Related Fandoms

So this was supposed to be written yesterday. Sorry. Let's just say that Fandom School had a snow day because my school didn't (but we do have one today). But enough about snow, let's talk about fandoms.

As a huge fangirl, I'm always looking for a new fandom to add to my life (more like become my life), and I'm sure many of you are the same. While you may like a wide variety of things, most people like fandoms in the same genre. But how do you find fandoms similar to the ones you're already in? This post will give you advice as well as a few fandom recommendations. (Note: if you want more detailed recommendations instead of an "if you like this, you might like that" approach, you should read this post.)

Step 1: Make a list of the fandoms you are in
What do you watch/read? What are you obsessed with? You have to figure this out first before you can find what else you might like.

Step 2: Find out what genre(s) you like
Now, look at your list. What categories do these fit into? I like several different genres, but most of my fandoms are sci-fi or fantasy. I also like musicals, mystery, and Disney. There are a few fandoms I'm in that don't fit in any of those categories (those are what we call outliers).

Step 3: Pick a few of your biggest fandoms
If you're like me, you have a LOT of fandoms (just take a look at my list on the right sidebar- and that's only the beginning!), so focus on the one's you're most obsessed with.

Step 4: The Google search
Search for similar shows/movies/books. For example...

Step 5: The "Recommended for you" section

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and most places you would get books/movies/TV shows will give you recommendations based on your watching/browsing history. Check out the shows it recommends.

Step 6: See what your friends are watching/reading

Ask your friends (this includes online friends) what fandoms they are in. Chances are, they watch something you might want to start watching.

Step 7: Look for crossovers

Fanfiction.net has a section specifically for crossovers. On other fanfiction websites, you can search the works in one fandom for other fandoms. See what fandom is often put in a crossover with your fandom. You might like it! 

Step 8: Investigate spin-offs

Many popular shows (and to a lesser extent, books and movies) have spin-offs. For example, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures are both crossovers of Doctor Who. Sometimes, spin-offs keep going even when the original is done.

Step 9: Look at various adaptations

If a book is popular enough, it will often be made into a movie or TV show. Arthur Conan Doyle's books about Sherlock Holmes have had many adaptations, including Sherlock and Elementary.

Step 10: See what else your favorite actors/writers are in

How many times have you watched a movie just because your favorite actor was in it? Yeah, probably a lot. For example, Broadchurch (which just started airing Season 2 on BBC America) has several actors from Doctor Who, including David Tennant, Arthur Darvill, and several other people who were minor characters in Doctor Who. You can also look at who writes your favorite shows and what else they write. Steven Moffat writes both Doctor Who and Sherlock (whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is for you to decide).

Finally, I provide you with some fandom recommendations.

If you like: Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk

You might like: The Avengers, Agent Carter

If you like: Doctor Who

You might like: Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Sherlock, Supernatural

If you like: Sherlock

You might like: Elementary, Agent Carter, Doctor Who, Supernatural

If you like: Star Wars

You might like: Star Trek, The Avengers, The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who

If you like: American Idol

You might like: Sing Your Face Off, The Voice, Pitch Perfect

If you like: musicals and/or fantasy

You might like: Galavant

If you like: The Hunger Games

You might like: Divergent [note: read the books; the movies aren't that great]

If you like: Harry Potter, fantasy, Arthurian legend

You might like: Merlin

If you like: The Lord of the Rings, How to Train Your Dragon

You might like: Eragon

Fandom School (6th period): Cosplay

So just what is cosplay? Cosplay is, simply put, dressing up as a fictional character. It is most commonly seen at comic-con. As I haven't had the wonderful experience of cosplay yet, I'd like to share with you some examples.

Deadpool cosplay is always really funny, so here are some examples:

Also, as many Whovians know, David Tennant had a wrap-up party for the end of his time as the Tenth Doctor in which the entire cast and crew danced (and lip-synched) to "500 Miles". Fans responded by creating their own video in which they dressed up like Doctor Who characters and danced to "500 Miles". If you haven't already, go watch both videos now. That is all.

Fandom School (4th period): Crossover Fanfiction

Hello and welcome again to Fandom School! We're back to fanfiction again, and now I'd like to talk about crossover fanfics.

First of all, what is a crossover? A crossover is a mash-up of two or more fandoms. You can combine just a few fandoms (Wholock, Superwholock, etc.), or you can go all out (for example, this fanfic). A crossover is not the same thing as an AU. For example, my fic The Once And Future Time Lord is a multi-fandom AU because while there are elements of Doctor Who, they are assumed to have always been there. A crossover takes the characters of one world and inserts them into another, while still retaining the memory of their original story (unless there's a memory loss trope or something). A multi-fandom AU takes one fandom and changes it so that it's part of another fandom. Fanfics where characters from one fandom are students at Hogwarts (like this fanfic) are a good example of this type of AU.

So now that you know what a crossover is, let's get to crossover fanfics. What should you keep in mind when writing them? Well besides the usual fanfiction tips, it's important to think about how your fandoms mesh. Wholock is a common crossover because the two fandoms are similar: eccentric genius outsmarts bad guys with the help of his friends. (They're also both set in the modern world.) However, if you wanted to combine the Avengers and My Little Pony, that would be a bit harder. (A quick google search reveals that fanfiction for this crossover does exist, and here's an example.)

There are a few other things to consider when writing crossover fanfics:

• How many fandoms are you including? Try to keep it to just a few fandoms, else you'll risk complicating your fanfic and seriously limiting your number of readers.
• How many characters are you including? Like fandoms, if you include too many your story will get cluttered.
• How do your characters meet? Are they old friends? Do they randomly happen to run into each other? Is there some sort of crisis that brings them together?
• How do the worlds connect? Have both universes co-exist, do the characters live in the same universe, or does something cause the universes to come together/the characters to be transported to each other?
• Are your characters interacting reasonably? Is any character monopolizing the story, or is any character just sort of... there (invisibility level: Mickey Smith)?
• How is canon affected? Is it canon divergence, or is canon altered to explain how the fandoms are connected?
• Make sure your characters stay in character. OOC characters are a common problem with crossovers. It is justifiable to change a character somewhat to make them fit in with the other fandom(s), but you need to make sure that the essence of his/her personality remains the same. You could intentionally make characters be OOC, but I wouldn't recommend it.

And now that I've given you advice, I'll share my own crossover fanfics:

Wholock (Doctor Who and Sherlock crossover)

• An Interesting Case
• This is my first Wholock story (and my first fanfiction). In this one, Sherlock is asked to interrogate a mysterious witness who proves to be just as interesting as the case itself, and they go on an adventure together.
• The Search For Father
• This is a story for all of you who were frustrated when we saw that Jenny (from "The Doctor's Daughter") was alive, only to never see her again. I mean seriously. She never even gets a spin-off show! So, I wrote a story in which she goes off looking for her dad and enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes.
• Call In The Expert
• "When the police are out of their depth, they consult me," Sherlock had said. But what about when Sherlock was out of his depth? What then? That's when it's time to ask an even greater genius for help. Sherlock must call in the expert.
• When Justice Is Treason
• The Master and Moriarty. A deadly duo. With the help of the Archangel network, they control all of England. So when the few people who know the truth try to stop them, it is treason. Will they succeed? Or will Prime Minister Harold Saxon and King Moriarty continue their reign of terror?
• You Matter
• Sometimes characters have things going pretty rough for them. And sometimes their friends and family can't console them. But what about if somebody totally different were to come in? This is how characters would take care of each other in a Wholock universe.
• On this blog: chapters 1 2 3

Other Crossovers

• Use The Force (or the Mind Palace)
• Remember the first time Luke used the Force? What did he actually see? What if he visited Sherlock's mind palace? Strange concept, I know, but the idea came into my head and wouldn't go away. (It's more of a series than a cohesive story.) Feel free to tell me what character you'd like to see next.
• On this blog: chapters 2 3
• You Are Not Alone: The Search For The Other Time Lords
• The Twelfth Doctor feels as though he is all alone, until his daughter Jenny comes to him, telling him that she has found a way to locate other Time Lords. She tells him that he is not the only one. Together, they go out to find the rest.
• Rating: G
• On this blog: chapters 1 2 3

And a few great crossover fanvids:

You Are Not Alone: The Search For The Other Time Lords (Doctor Who fanfiction) - Chapter 3

Chapters: 1 2 3

"Like I said," Jenny informed the Doctor, "I've no idea where we'll turn up."
"But you do know that there'll be a Time Lord," he pointed out.
"True."

After a slightly less turbulent flight, they reached their destination. Jenny stuck her head out the door, then turned back to look at the Doctor, surprised.
"What?"
"Well I could be wrong... but I think we're in the wizarding world!"
"The wizarding world?" the Doctor asked incredulously.
"Yeah, like from Harry Potter."
"I know what the wizarding world is," he said condescendingly.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is Diagon Alley," Jenny remarked as they stepped out of the TARDIS. The Doctor nodded.

Just then, a family of four walked by. The mother had bushy brown hair and was carrying a large stack of books. Jenny turned to the Doctor. "She's the one."
"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked somewhat nervously. Jenny nodded. They walked up to the mother. "You first," the Doctor hissed almost inaudibly.

"Hi, I'm Jenny and this is the Doctor... I mean Doctor Smith. He's my professor, and at his direction, I'm interviewing muggle-borns about the transition to the wizarding world. Are you a muggle-born, and would you be interested?" The Doctor tried to hide his look of impressed shock at Jenny's story.
The mother, too, seemed a little taken aback. "You know, you're the first person to ask me that. Are you going to write an article? I'm really glad this topic is being covered. Are you going to cover discrimination against muggle-borns? I think that's a really important issue. And what about..."
Her husband rolled his eyes. "You'll talk their ears off," he scolded her.
"Sorry, it's just a topic I'm really passionate about."
"No need to apologize," Jenny replied pleasantly. "So I take it that means you'd be interested?" The mother nodded vigorously. "Ron, can you help the kids get their school supplies? I'll join you again soon." Ron, her husband, nodded. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! Ron's a bad influence on me," she said, laughing. "I'm Hermione Granger." All of a sudden, Jenny realized she hadn't considered something. Thankfully, the Doctor had the same idea.

"Do you know any good places to conduct an interview? We don't know the area-"
"The university's in Scotland," Jenny explained.
"- right, and we were wondering if you had any good ideas? We also figured the people we interviewed would be more comfortable in a location of their own choosing."
Hermione nodded. "I know just the place."

They sat in a small room, discussing the contrast between muggle life and wizard life. After a while, the interview seemed to be almost over.
"Do you have any questions for us?" Jenny asked.
"Just one: why did you pick me? I mean, you weren't even sure I was a muggle-born."
Jenny looked at the Doctor, who looked right back at her. Jenny shook her head slightly and turned back to Hermione. "Well, you see, we have reason to believe you aren't just a muggle-born witch."
"Oh?" Hermione asked, feigning innocence.
"Have you ever time traveled?" Jenny asked.
"Well, I did use a time turner to take more classes at Hogwarts."
"We're looking for Time Lords," Jenny stated. Hermione stared at them in shock. "You do know what a Time Lord is?"
"Yes, but I thought they were just a legend. You're telling me they actually exist?" Jenny nodded. "And you think I'm one of them?" Jenny nodded again. "But... I can't be!" The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned Hermione.
"According to this, you are."
Hermione gasped in shock. "So what do you want with these Time Lords, then?"
"I just want to show him he's not alone," Jenny said.
"You're the Doctor!" Hermione exclaimed.
The Doctor simply nodded. "It seems like you're to busy to travel with me, but it's nice to have met you."
"Thank you for your time," Jenny said. "We really appreciate it."
"Excuse me, may I ask a question?"
"You just did," the Doctor pointed out.
"Doctor, be nice." Jenny turned to Hermione. "Go ahead."
"If it's not too much trouble, could you actually write that article?"
"No problem," Jenny answered, smiling.
"You can hand it to me when you're done; I know a few papers that might publish it."
"Great! We'll be back in a few minutes." Hermione gave them a quizzical look. "Time travel, remember?"

True to their word, Jenny and the Doctor were back 3 minutes later. Jenny handed the article over.
"Thank you," Hermione said.
"No, thank you."
***
"Got another crush?" the Doctor asked Jenny as they set their next destination.
"No." Jenny rolled her eyes. "I do think she's a lovely person, though. I wish we had a way to keep in touch."
"Oh, so you want her number?" the Doctor asked. "Or would you rather communicate via psychic paper?"
"That was one guy," Jenny said. She felt the psychic paper vibrate. She read the new message.

In another boring council meeting. Miss you already. -Merlin
Jenny laughed.
Do they know you're talking to me? -Jenny
Sh. What they don't know won't hurt them. -Merlin
You are such a troublemaker! -Jenny
I'd rather be that than boring. -Merlin
Good point. -Jenny
Haha! I win! -Merlin
Whatever. I gotta go. -Jenny

"You done texting that boy?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes, Dad," Jenny sighed.
"Good. We've got places to be."
"You bet we do."

You Are Not Alone: The Search For The Other Time Lords (Doctor Who fanfiction) - Chapter 2

Note: this chapter happens after my fic The Once And Future Time Lord, so you may want to read that if you haven't already (you don't have to read it to understand this chapter, but it does help).

Chapters: 1 2

"You're not the only one."
"Well, yeah, there's you and River..."
"No, I mean besides us."
The Doctor jumped up in shock. "What do you mean?!"
"I'm getting all sorts of readings, all over the universe," Jenny told him, pointing to her watch.
"Does that mean..." the Doctor hardly dared hope. "Does that mean we can find them?"
"We can certainly try," Jenny told him. "So," she said, smiling eagerly, "you ready?"
"You bet," said the Doctor, going to the console.
"Wait!" Jenny said, and the Doctor turned to face her. "Can I drive?"
"Do you even have a liscence?"
"Do you?"
The Doctor sighed. "Oh, all right, but if you get us lost or hurt or anything like that..."
"I won't," Jenny insisted, flipping switches.
"...it will be your fault."
"You don't need to worry about me, Daddy. I'm perfectly capable."

What ensued was a rather rough ride, but the Doctor restrained his chastisement, as they did reach their destination safely.
"So, where are we?" the Doctor asked, walking to the door.
"I don't know," Jenny admitted. "I just punched in the coordinates on the watch; I don't know what they mean. Why don't we find out?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and grinning.
"You first," the Doctor said.
***
Arthur honestly didn't know how he survived these council meetings. Oh, right - he had Merlin. They would always make faces at each other across the round table. In anyone else, such behavior would be frowned upon, but Arthur was the king, so nobody could stop him. And Merlin was the Court Warlock (Arthur had wanted to call him the Court Sorcerer, but Merlin had insisted on "Warlock" as it was the correct term), so he was an important person, too. Even with the incessant face-making, Arthur was getting bored out of his mind. But he didn't have to be. Not for long, anyway.

A whooshing sound got the attention of the council members. The man who had been speaking stopped midsentence. They all turned to find the source of the noise - and saw a strange blue box materialize.

"Sorcery!" a council member cried.
"You do remember that sorcery is legal now, I hope."
"Oh," the man said sheepishly. They could have gotten into an argument about the controversy of that decision (it was a rather frequent occurrence; Merlin wondered that Arthur didn't just fire all the magic-haters, but Arthur insisted that he couldn't just get rid of all who opposed him), but thankfully they were interrupted again.

Jenny stepped out tentatively, looking around. She gasped and her eyes went wide. All the things that she had meant to say disappeared with the realization that she was here with King Arthur, and Merlin!
"Greetings, fair maiden!" said Arthur, breaking the silence. "What brings you here, and how did you come? Camelot could make great use of such magic." Jenny opened her mouth, but was still too startled to speak. "Are you mute, milady? Can you perhaps write for us, that we may know what you desire to say?"
"Oh, she can speak just fine, she's just a little nervous," the Doctor said, stepping out of the TARDIS. After a few seconds, he realized who he was meeting, and wonder struck him.
"You seem surprised to see us. Have you not heard of Camelot?"
"Oh, give them a break, Arthur," Merlin broke in. Arthur glared at Merlin, but said nothing. "Sorry about him, he's still not used to visitors. I'm Merlin, by the way," he said, shaking the travelers' hands.

"But... you're so young!" Jenny said.
"Jenny, you've seen me; you can't honestly say..."
Jenny laughed. "Good point, Doctor." (she almost called him "Daddy", but thought better of it) Jenny shook Merlin's hand, then Arthur's. "I'm Jenny, and this is the Doctor. Sorry about uh... momentarily being unable to speak earlier. See, we have heard of Camelot... quite a lot, actually... and we were just surprised to actually get here." Jenny gave the Doctor a questioning look.
Picking up on the cue, the Doctor took over. "We are... travelers. We came from a long way. We are looking for someone, but we didn't know exactly who we were looking for, just that our... transportation would take us to them."
"What sort of person are you looking for?" asked Arthur suspiciously, gesturing for Gwaine and Percival to stand next to the "travelers" (just to be safe).
Jenny opened her mouth to speak, but the Doctor beat her to it. "I'm not sure you would know that of which we speak."
"Sorry, he's really condescending," Jenny whispered to Merlin.
"Trust me, I know the type," Merlin replied, looking at Arthur. Jenny giggled, until Arthur glared at the both of them.

"How can I know that of which you speak if you will not speak of it?" Arthur asked.
But before the Doctor could start with some lengthy circumlocution, Jenny spoke. "We're looking for a Time Lord." The room collectively gasped. "So you do know what a Time Lord is."
"Before we go any further," the Doctor interjected, "I should point out that we mean no harm. I am a Time Lord, and my daughter here is half-Time Lord, half-human." Jenny shot the Doctor a curious look.
"What do you want with this Time Lord?" Arthur asked, still suspicious."
"We are merely looking for our kin. Dad thought all his kind were gone, but I found otherwise. See, I got this sort of... locator thing... and it helps me find people with Time Lord DNA." She looked at their blank faces. "It helps me find other people like me and my dad." The confusion disappeared. The people of Camelot said nothing, unsure of what to do.

"Fine, I can do it this way, too," Jenny said, pressing a button on her watch. She walked around the room. She stopped when she reached Merlin. "Interesting reading, but not what we're looking for."
"I'm a warlock. I have magic," he said.
"Ah, that explains it," Jenny replied, smiling brightly.
"You... you don't hate me?" Merlin asked.
"Of course not! Why would I?" Jenny continued walking the room. She stopped again when she reached Arthur.
"Yes, it's me," Arthur acknowledged, standing up. "If you were looking for traveling companions, I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed."
Jenny shook her head. "That may be, but we are still delighted to have met you. Come, Daddy, we've got many more people to meet. He's not the only one giving off a signal, you know. We've got the whole universe!" She skipped towards the TARDIS, but she soon stopped. "Can I?" she asked the Doctor.
"Can you what?" Jenny leaned over and whispered in his ear. The Doctor's eyes widened and a smile crept onto his face. "Now why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you're all full of Time Lord pompousness with no human genius?"
"Careful, Jenny, I do believe they have stocks here, and I'm sure Arthur wouldn't mind if I wanted to put you in them for a little while," the Doctor said jokingly. Jenny just rolled her eyes and walked into the TARDIS.

"Isn't that a little small for the both of you?" Arthur asked.
"Oh, I'm sure they've got some sort of spell on it, Arthur," Merlin said. "It's probably bigger on the inside." The Doctor nodded, smiling.

Jenny returned a few minutes later with the psychic paper and a piece of parchment. She passed the parchment to Merlin. "Use this to communicate with us," she told him.
"What spell does it need?" he asked.
Jenny shook her head. "It's already got a magic on it. Just write on it, and it'll work. Try it now."
Merlin looked doubtful, but he dipped a quill in ink and wrote a message. Hello, Jenny. Nice to meet you. The ink disappeared from the parchment and the message appeared on the psychic paper. "And we can respond, too," Jenny said. "Nice to meet you, too, Merlin," she said, holding the psychic paper. (She said this only for effect; all she had to do was think it.) The message disappeared from the psychic paper and appeared on the parchment. "So if you ever need to get ahold of us - or just want to keep in touch - you know what to do." Merlin and Arthur nodded and smiled, and they waved as the Doctor and Jenny went into the TARDIS and disappeared.
***
"So, what do you think of Merlin?" Jenny asked.
The Doctor shrugged. "He seems like a decent man, I suppose. Why do you ask?" Jenny stared at him, as if the answer was obvious. "Oh! You're... you're in love with him?"
"Don't say that like it's shameful! Yes, I may possibly have a tiny bit of a crush. He's smart, gorgeous, magical (literally)..."
"Yes, I get the idea," the Doctor interrupted. "So who's next?"
"Isn't one love at a time enough?" Jenny asked. "Oh, you mean who's the next Time Lord?" She blushed.
"We're about to find out," Jenny said, turning dials.
"Can you try not to get us killed this time?" the Doctor asked.
"My driving was perfectly satisfactory," Jenny insisted.
"Yes, for a dead body!"
"Shut up!"
"Make me."
Jenny just rolled her eyes and kept working.

Fandom School (6th period): How To Create an OC

Hello, everyone! Today is Christmas Eve, but it is also a Wednesday, which means it is time for Fandom School. Today's subject is roleplaying, and the topic is how to create an OC.

First of all, what is an OC? It stands for "original character" and is a character you created yourself, as opposed to a character that already exists in canon. An OC is not the same thing as a self-insert, nor is it the same thing as expanding on a minor character. An OC is totally yours. OCs are used in both roleplay and fanfiction.

What do you need to keep in mind when making an OC? Well, first and foremost, you need to be careful. Avoid making a Mary Sue at all costs. You also need to make sure your OC is appropriate for the setting you are using him/her in. If you're in a Camelot (Merlin) roleplay and you create a modern OC, your OC had better be a time-traveler with a very good reason to be visiting that time period. You'd probably be better off creating someone who fits in. There are a few categories you need to cover when creating an OC: name, appearance, and personality. You may also want to include these categories: strengths and weaknesses, backstory, and relation to other characters.

Keep in mind that not every roleplay accepts OCs, and some people won't read fanfiction with OCs. But don't let that stop you. Go for it! Now that I've given a basic overview of how to create an OC, I'll show you the profiles for my OCs.

Google+'s Fandom Family
This is a roleplay community where we are all one big, happy family. Click the link to see my profile.

You. Are. Divergent.
A roleplay community based on the "Divergent" series. Click the link to see my profile.

Target Practice
In this short fanfic about why the stormtroopers are terrible shots, I created an unnamed male OC. He's the instructor of Stormtrooper 101, and he's really strict.

When Justice Is Treason
This Wholock fanfic in which the Master and Moriarty team up also features three OCs: Melinda Raven, Kaitlin Raven, and Violet Verner. Melinda is a dangerous, black-haired, criminal computer hacker who helps the Master and Moriarty. She carries a purple laser screwdriver and a gun. Unlike her sister, Kaitlin has a conscience. A redhead, she's good with technology, and she helps the Doctor and his friends. Violet, the sisters' brown-haired cousin, is in the morally grey area. She's an expert spy, and she tells the Doctor and his friends that she's the best source of information, but she warns them that "any information you give can and will be held against you or sold to the highest bidder".

Fandom School (5th period): Why Is My Show On Hiatus?!

I'f you've read How To Survive Hiatus and this post showcasing hiatus-induced madness (or if you're in, say, the Sherlock fandom), you know that hiatus is awful. It drives people insane, makes them lose interest in the show, and generally causes chaos. So why do it?

Here are a few reasons why producers choose to put a show on hiatus:

• Natural between-seasons break: name one show that films continuously and never takes a break. Did you come up with any? I thought not. (If you did, let me know in the comments; I'm curious.) All shows take a break in between seasons. This break can last from weeks to months- any longer than a few months, and it's a proper hiatus.
• Demand for actors/actresses: take Benedict Cumberbatch. Everyone wants him. And I'm not just talking about the Cumbercollective; he's being cast in all sorts of amazing movies and TV shows. He can't film two things at once, so he has to take a break for other things.
• Time required to write: episodes can take a long time to write, especially in the case of Sherlock. 90-minute episodes require a lot of thought, effort, and time. After all, you wouldn't want them to hurry and give you a bad product, would you?
• Time required to film: a typical episode takes longer than a week to write, so you can't air a new episode every week with no breaks. That's simple math.
• Complications: take Doctor Who for example. Every time an old Doctor leaves, a new actor has to be found to be the next Doctor. There was a break between the end of series 4 and series 5 (with a few specials, but not a regular stream of episodes), and I suspect it was because BBC was looking for someone to be the Eleventh Doctor. (I don't know if that's the reason. Does anyone know?)
• Lack of interest: if a show becomes unpopular, it may go on hiatus or even be cancelled.

That's all I got. What do you think? Did I miss anything? Justified or not, hiatus still stinks. It'll be worth the wait, though.

The Real Father Christmas (Doctor Who fanfiction): Chapter 3

Chapters: 1 2 3

Dear Santa,

I'm probably too old for this, but what the heck, it's not like anyone's gonna stop me. That got the Doctor's attention. He didn't get many adults writing letters to Santa, and he usually tossed them away, but this time, for whatever reason, he decided to keep reading. It's hard to say exactly what I want for Christmas. Then why was this person writing? I'm known as the king of flirting, and I've had lots of relationships, but they never quite seem to work out. I mean, I have fun and all, but it always feels like something's missing. No. The Doctor didn't do relationship advice. His significant others always ended up dying or disappearing or something, so he didn't feel qualified to give advice. He almost threw the letter away, but something compelled him to keep going. All I really want is someone to dance to Glenn Miller with. Wait, Glenn Miller? That sounded familiar. And maybe some mistletoe, too. I know you probably can't help me, but I figured I'd ask just in case. I'm really lonely. Even if you can't get me a date or anything, you could at least find me someone to spend Christmas with. I don't want to be alone.

Jack Harkness

The Doctor did a double take. Jack? No, it couldn't be. Maybe there was another Jack Harkness. The Doctor shook his head. Not likely. Well then, he would just have to give the man what he'd asked for. 

***

Jack Harkness was sitting at the bar, when Glenn Miller's "String of Pearls" began to play. A person waltzed over to say hello. 

"Hey there, doll." Jack turned around to see the Doctor and blushed. "Um, I mean hi, Doctor."

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you blush," the Doctor commented with a smile. 

Jack shrugged. "So what brings you here?"

"What, I can't just come to see you?" Jack raised his eyebrow. "Fine, I'm here to dance." Jack looked at him quizzically. "With you?"

Jack looked even more confused. "Why in the universe would you do that?"

The Doctor smiled. "You wrote a letter to Santa, did you not?"

Jack blushed again, opening his mouth in shock. "You intercepted Santa's mail? That'll put you on the naughty list for years!" The Doctor laughed uproariously. "What's so funny?"

"I can't be on the naughty list; I write the naughty list! And it's my job to read Santa's mail; I am Santa!"

"You're kidding me!"

"Nope!" the Doctor said with a cheerful smile. "Now then, how about that dance?"

They danced to that song and many others, all by Glenn Miller. "How did you get all those on the playlist?"

The Doctor shrugged. "The DJ owes me a favor." When the songs were over, the Doctor gave Jack a mischievous look. "Now then, I believe you requested mistletoe?"

"You don't have to..."

"Ah, but I know you want me to. Don't think I don't notice. I can't say I reciprocate; I love Rose. All the same, I figure you deserve a kiss under the mistletoe."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Just this once," the Doctor said sternly. He pulled a sprig of mistletoe out from his jacket, and they kissed. It wasn't particularly long or passionate, but Jack loved it all the same. It was sad he knew he never had a chance, but at least he got this. 

"So, I understand you're free this Christmas?" Jack nodded. "Well then, I know just the place to take you to."

After eating Christmas dinner at a wonderful restaurant Jack had never been to, they went to a live Glenn Miller concert. "That's the beauty of a time machine: you can experience the past."

"Is that how you do it all in one night?" The Doctor nodded. 

"Oh, I almost forgot," he said before he dropped Jack off. He pulled out a neatly wrapped present. 

"But the dance was my present!"

"Well, you get another. Go on, open it!"

Jack ripped open the present with all the eagerness of a child, but he grew confused when he saw what was inside. "But I already have a vortex manipulator."

"Not one like this, you don't. I enhanced it with Time Lord technology. Makes for a smoother ride. It's also more accurate about getting you where it's supposed to. Though I modeled it on the TARDIS, so I'm actually not sure about that last one." They laughed. "Anyway, enjoy the gift. And have a merry Christmas!"

"You, too," Jack said, smiling as he walked away. Some days, Santa really loved his job. 

The Real Father Christmas (Doctor Who fanfiction): Chapter 2

Chapters: 1 2 3

Dear Santa,

I am twelve years old. I would like a red bicycle, please. Red is my favorite color. I want a bicycle because I want to travel. I want to see the world. Mum says I can't travel very far with a bicycle, but I don't know how to drive and I'm too young anyway. So a bicycle it is. Thanks!

Rose Tyler

The Doctor read the letter and smiled. Rose seemed like a sweet little girl. He wanted to take her to see the world, the universe even, but not just yet. Maybe when she was older? He did a quick search to see what she'd been up to this year to be sure she made the list.

As he'd suspected, she was a sweet little girl, albeit rather stubborn. All the same, she was definitely on the nice list. The Doctor ordered the elves to make the best bicycle they possibly could ("It has to be absolutely fantastic!"), and that they did. He placed it under the tree with a special note. 

You've been a very good girl, Rose. Of course you can have your bicycle! I told my elves to make a really good one for you. I hope you like it. And I sure hope you get to travel the world. Maybe I can take you for a ride in my sleigh some time- but only if you're really good. See you next year!

Santa Claus

***

The next day, a little girl jumped for joy and rode her bicycle all around the neighborhood. It wasn't quite a worldwide travel, but it was a good start. 

9 Reasons Not To Skip Nine

Hello, Whovians! As you all (hopefully) know, it's a solemn rule not to skip Nine. I must confess, I actually started with Ten, and it wasn't until the middle of Season 5 when I went back to see Nine. I have not regretted that decision. Some people think Nine isn't as good as the other Doctors, but I think he's fantastic! If you skip him, you're really missing out. To make sure I covered everything, I rewatched all of Season 1, basking in Nine's greatness. Here's what you're missing out on:

1. His cheeky, sarcastic personality 
    
2. His ridiculousness 
    
    
   
   
   
   
3. His smile 
    
    
    
    
    
   
4. "Fantastic!" 
    
   
5. His anger 
   
6. His determination 
   
7. His MacGyver-type solutions 
    
   
8. His way of empowering people 
   
9. His dancing 
    
   

So, that shows you why the Ninth Doctor is absolutely fantastic. I really hope you take the time to watch (or rewatch) Season 1 so that you can see his awesomeness. I really miss him, and I wish he could have got another season or two.

What are your thoughts? Did you watch Nine, or did you skip him? Do you like him? I certainly do, and I hope you can all appreciate him, too.

Fandom School (Supper): How I Entered The Fandom World

Normally, I do lunch after 2nd period in Fandom School, but I forgot, so here it is. Today, I'd like to discuss how I became a fangirl (or fanwarrior, whatever you want to call it).

As it was for many other people, Harry Potter was my gateway fandom (i.e., the fandom that introduced me to the world of fandoms). My Mom read the books to me (and my younger brother and older sister) when I was a little kid. I have since reread the books many times and seen all the movies. I still love Harry Potter, not only for its own merits, but also for the fact that it introduced me to the world of fandoms. 

My first fandom that I really got into was Doctor Who. Ironically enough, it wasn't until after I moved from England (I was there when Doctor Who was just starting up again) that I came to watch it. I fell in love instantly. I watched every episode and soon wanted to find a way to communicate with other fans. 

My Google+ account (which had mostly been dormant) became a place to share my thoughts about fandoms. I also started reading fanfiction. 

The next step in my journey through the fan verse was when I began writing fanfiction. By this point, I was in a number of fandoms, mainly Doctor Who and Sherlock. At first, I shared my fanfiction on Google+. Then, I got an account on fanfiction.net. (I also have an AO3 account.)

Then, my Mom suggested I make a blog to share my fanfiction. And thus, The Vortex of Deduction was born. Now, my thoughts about fandoms are shown in an organized way for everyone to see. 

Another notable event was when I got a tumblr (vortexofdeduction.tumblr.com). As any of you who are on tumblr (or have seen screenshots of legendary posts) know, tumblr is full of fandoms. It's also a little bit crazy. But, it's a whole lot of fun. 

Shoutouts to fandoms:

Harry Potter, for being my first fandom

Doctor Who, for being my first major fandom

Sherlock, for being my favorite fandom

Supernatural, for the awesome gifs

SuperWhoLock, for the ridiculous posts that show up on my dash

Disney, for coming up with great movies

The Giver, for making a movie that's actually faithful to the book

Nerdfighters, for decreasing WorldSuck and being awesome

The Fault In Our Stars, for showing me that sad stuff happens and it's not always okay

The Princess Bride, for giving me a satisfying happy ending (spoliers!)

Any other thoughts about fandoms? What was your gateway fandom?

Lightsaber vs. Sonic Screwdriver: The Use of Weapons/Tools In Fandoms

In every good fandom, there comes a time where there is a need for a weapon or a tool. But which one to use? This post examines various fictional and real weapons and tools used in fandoms.

1. Lightsabers (Star Wars): like a sword, but with light. The "light" is formed of plasma. The lightsaber is dangerous and difficult to wield, but in the hands of a Jedi, it's a formidable weapon. See this post for more information about lightsabers. Coolness rating: 10/10. Dangerousness rating: 10/10. Usefulness rating: 8/10.
2. Sonic Screwdriver (Doctor Who): like a screwdriver, but a bit more sonic. When the button is pressed, it emits a light and a buzzing sound. It can't wound, maim, or kill, but it is a useful tool. It can unlock doors, intercept signals, operating machinery and computers, and many other things (as listed on the TARDIS wiki). However, it doesn't do wood. See this post on what I would do if I had a sonic screwdriver. Coolness rating: 9/10. Dangerousness rating: 5/10. Usefulness rating: 10/10.
3. Gandalf's Staff (The Lord of the Rings): a staff used by Gandalf for casting spells. "You shall not pass!" Coolness rating: 8/10. Dangerousness rating: 9/10. Usefulness rating: 9/10.
4. Andúril (The Lord of the Rings): the sword used by Aragorn. It was broken into 6 parts, but then it was reforged. Coolness rating: 7/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 7/10.
5. Sting (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings): Bilbo finds this sword that glows blue when Orcs are near. (We discover later that it's actually more of a letter-opener because it's so small.) He puts it to good use, then gives it to his son, Frodo. Coolness rating: 6/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 8/10.
6. Mjölnir (Thor): Thor's hammer. Very good at smashing things. Can only be held by those who are worthy. Coolness rating: 8/10. Dangerousness rating: 9/10. Usefulness rating: 9/10.
7. Phaser (Star Trek): like a stun gun, but more powerful. Can stun, heat, kill, or disintegrate living creatures. It can also damage shields and cut through walls. Coolness rating: 6/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 10/10.
8. The Neuralizer (Men In Black): slightly larger than a pen, this device wipes a person's memory for as long an amount of time as the user chooses with just a flash of light. Afterwards, the people who were affected are highly susceptible to suggestion. Coolness rating: 9/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 9/10.
9. The Point-of-View Gun (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy): when fired, this weapon forces anyone in its path to understand and reveal the shooter's thoughts. Coolness rating: 8/10. Dangerousness rating: 4/10. Usefulness rating: 8/10.
10. Blue Shell (Mario Kart): a bomb that explodes on whoever is in first place, taking out them and anyone else in the vicinity. This slows them down enough that you have a chance of getting ahead. Coolness rating: 5/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 8/10.

Use The Force (or the Mind Palace): Chapter 4

Chapters: 2 3 4

(Note: this chapter, like the other chapters in the story, can be read as a standalone. It's more of a collection than a series.)

Oswin Oswald was sitting in her room, waiting for her soufflé to rise, when there was a knock on the door. There was no way she was opening it; not for one of those bloody Daleks.
"Hello?" A man's voice, hesitant. Not a Dalek, then. Clara sighed and opened the door, closing it quickly once the man was inside. She studied him, wondering how he had made it past the Daleks. By all rights, he should be dead by now. He was tall, with curly black hair and sharp cheekbones. He took a moment to look around. "This isn't my mind palace."
"It most certainly is not."
The man looked at Oswin. "Fascinating; I'm in another person's mind palace." Oswin shook her head, but the man was unfazed. "Mind if I have a look around?" Oswin thought for a moment, eyeing this strange man with suspicion.
"You could tell me your name first."
"Sherlock Holmes," the man said, shaking Oswin's hand.
"Oswin Oswald."

Sherlock nodded approvingly, and began looking around the room. "You've been here for, let me guess... a year?"
"Yes."
He nodded. "I figured as much from the way you've made yourself at home." He kept exploring and found the oven.
"No, that's..." He opened the door. "...another ruined soufflé. Thanks." Sherlock bowed his head in apology, then perked up in interest.
"Wait a minute. A soufflé?"
Oswin nodded. "Not that I'm any good," she sighed. "I keep burning them. I dropped one once, when the Daleks came."
"Daleks?"
"Yeah, big metal things that yell 'EXTERMINATE' and try to kill you?"
Sherlock shook his head. "Where do you get the milk and eggs?"
"Hm?" Oswin turned around from another soufflé that she had started to make.
"Milk and eggs are quite perishable. You can't be using the same supply you started with, and you'd have long since run out, anyway. So, you're getting a fresh supply of milk and eggs. Where?"
Oswin frowned. "I'm actually not sure." Sherlock frowned, clearly unhappy with this explanation.

"Say, Oswin, how did you survive the Daleks?"
"I ran to this room and locked myself in."
Sherlock raised his eyebrow in disbelief. "I didn't see any sort of security on that door. Well, besides a simple lock that I'm sure the Daleks could blast open easily."
"Oh," Oswin said, confused, as if she hadn't considered this before.

"And this mind palace?" Sherlock asked, gesturing to the room.
"I don't know what a mind palace is, but this certainly isn't it."
"I know a mind palace when I see it," Sherlock muttered under his breath.
"This is my home."
Sherlock paused for a moment as if considering something. "Oswin, would you like to come with me?"
"You're a complete stranger and I'm a total screaming genius. Are you out of your mind? Why should I trust you?"

Sherlock sighed. "Your name is Oswin Oswald. You traveled here as a junior entertainment officer on the starship..." he looked around, "Alaska. You have been making soufflés for a year, while the rest of your crew has gone missing, likely taken by the Daleks. You're incredibly intelligent, and you're also good with technology. You're either an extremely talented hacker, or you have some sort of back door for the technology all around you. You survived the Daleks, you have access to technology, and you make soufflés. None of it adds up.  Something is definitely wrong here, and I don't think you'll like my theory. Keeping that in mind, I suggest you come with me so that I can help you. Any questions?"
"So you're a total screaming genius, too?"
"Obviously. Now come on; we haven't got all day."

They arrived in a mansion at the top of a spiral staircase. "Now listen," Sherlock said warningly, "don't ask what happened and why things were 'wrong'. The point is, I saved you from it. Now, you are here in my mind palace, and I intend for you to work. You said you were a genius?"
"Absolutely," Oswin assured him.
"Good. I am a consulting detective, which means that I help the police  solve crimes. This mind palace is where I go to think. Usually, I need to be alone to think, but sometimes two minds are better than one. Should I require your assistance, I will visit here and call for you. You should be able to hear me."
Oswin nodded. "And my soufflés?"
"You certainly like baking soufflés. What are you, soufflé girl?"
"I've always wanted to be called that," she admitted.
"Yes, I'll get a kitchen set up so you can bake soufflés to your heart's content."
"Is that all, Mr. Holmes?"
"Please, call me Sherlock."
"Okay, Sherlock."
"To answer your question, yes, that is all. I expect to see you again."
"You, too. Thank you, Sherlock."

How To Choose Your Fandom

If you're reading this blog, you're probably in at least one fandom, but maybe you want more. If that's the case, read on to figure out which fandom may be best for you. First of all, consider the genre. Here are my fandoms, organized by genre, with a brief summary of each.

Fantasy
Merlin
Media form: TV
Key features: Arthurian legend, magic, destiny, sarcasm and cheek
Synopsis: (based off of Arthurian legend) Merlin, a young warlock (i.e., born with magic), travels to Camelot, where king Uther Pendragon has banned magic. Merlin becomes prince Arthur's manservant and discovers that it is his destiny to protect Arthur. He saves Arthur's life countless times, all the while hiding his magic.

Harry Potter
Media form: books, movies
Key features: magic, evil wizards and witches, good wizards and witches, fun and shenanigans but also serious stuff
Synopsis: Harry Potter, called "The Boy Who Lived" because the dark lord Voldemort was unable to kill him, finds out that he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts, a school for wizards and witches. Voldemort keeps trying to regain power, and Harry, together with his friends Ron and Hermione, tries to stop him.

The Lord of the Rings
Media form: books, movies
Key features: adventure, battle, rings, dark lord, magic, danger, seriously lots of danger
Synopsis: Frodo Baggins takes the one ring of power (which is really evil) and goes on a quest to throw it into Mordor, so that it will be destroyed and the dark lord Sauron will be destroyed as well. Frodo travels with 3 other hobbits, 2 men, 1 dwarf, and 1 elf. They get into lots of trouble on the way, and it's quite the adventure.

Sci-Fi
Star Wars
Media form: movies
Key features: evil guy, not so evil guys, adventure, danger, battle, lightsabers, rebellion
Synopsis: Darth Vader is really evil and he's basically trying to take over the universe. He controls the empire (well technically, the emperor controls the empire, but we don't see much of the emperor), but there is a group of rebels who are determined to defeat him. Luke Skywalker is a major part of this rebellion.

Star Trek
Media form: TV, movies
Key features: lots of technology, exploration, adventure, warp speed, aliens
Synopsis: Captain Kirk is in charge of the Enterprise, a spaceship that can go warp speed (i.e., really fast). He and his crew travel around the universe and explore. They get into trouble and have adventures. It's fun.

Doctor Who
Media form: TV
Key features: wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, time travel, technology, aliens, exploration, adventure, danger, genius, saving the universe
Synopsis: The Doctor, a Time Lord, travels through time and space in his TARDIS. He typically travels with a companion (usually female), and together they have adventures. Except, it's not all fun and games; evil aliens inevitably show up, and then the Doctor has to do awesome genius stuff and save the universe.

The Avengers/Marvel/DC
Media form: comic books, movies
Key features: danger, fighting, superheroes, justice
Synopsis: (sorry for lumping them all in together, btw) superheroes (or awesome people with a technological advantage) fight against evil.

Dystopia
The Hunger Games
Media type: books, movies
Key features: revolution, fighting, oppression, social/political inequality, poverty, hunger
Synopsis: Every year, the Capitol shows its dominance over the 12 Districts by hosting the Hunger Games, where a boy and a girl are taken from each district to fight to the death, with only one survivor. Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to take the place of her sister Prim in the Games, is intent on changing things and starts a rebellion.

Divergent
Media type: books, movies
Key features: revolution, fighting, oppression, division based on aptitude, being different, fear, hiding
Synopsis: (similar to The Hunger Games) Tris Prior takes the test to find out which faction (district, social class, group of people) she belongs in (Amity, for friendliness; Candor, for truthfulness; Dauntless, for bravery; Abnegation, for selflessness; or Erudite, for knowledge), and finds out that she belongs in both Dauntless and Abnegation, meaning that she is Divergent. Divergents are hunted and killed because they are unknown and therefore feared. Tris decides to start a revolution.

Modern (i.e., set in the modern-day world)
Sherlock
Media type: books, movies, TV
Key features: mysteries, solving crimes, genius, murder, "not our division"
Synopsis: (there are books and movies, but this focuses on BBC Sherlock) Sherlock Holmes is the world's only consulting detective. "When the police are out of their depth, they consult me." He solves crimes with the help of his trusty blogger, Doctor John Watson. In John's words, "We solve crimes. I blog about it. He forgets his pants."

The Big Bang Theory
Media type: TV
Key features: science, annoying characters, awkward social situations
Synopsis: Four young scientists - Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Rajesh - are friends and get into shenanigans. Penny, Leonard and Sheldon's next-door neighbor, doesn't know anything about science, but still interacts with the group in an amusing, clueless sort of way.

The Fault In Our Stars
Media type: book, movie
Key features: sadness, romance, cancer, enjoy life while you can
Synopsis: Two teenagers, Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace Lancaster, fall in love with each other. However, they both have cancer, so they know they won't live much longer. They determine to make the most of their lives while they can.

Other
Les Misérables
Media type: book, musical, movie
Key features: France, revolution, historical fiction, sadness, lots of sadness
Synopsis: Short version - the French government is terrible, and bad things happen to people because of it, so a revolution is started. Long version - *insert several pages of synopsis* (sorry, it's really long what can I say)

The Princess Bride
Media type: book, movie
Key features: true love, high adventure, kidnapping, swordfighting
Synopsis: Buttercup works on a farm and falls in love with the farm-boy, Westley. Westley goes to America to seek his fortune and is murdered by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Buttercup is devastated vows never to love again. Prince Humperdinck thinks differently and orders her to marry him. Before this can happen, however, she is kidnapped by a criminal band consisting of Vizzini, Fezzik, and Inigo. They are defeated by a man in black, and then the story takes an interesting turn (sorry, not giving any more because I don't want to share any spoilers).

Disney
Media type: movies
Key features: fairy tales, old-fashioned, happily ever after
Synopsis: Disney makes lots of different movies. They are generally fairy tales with happy endings (usually the original fairy tales have rather gruesome endings).

Next, consider that you may want to choose a fandom by what the fandom is like.

Fandoms that are very active: Doctor Who, Sherlock, Merlin, Harry Potter

Fandoms that are not continuing (the book/movie/series/show is over): Merlin, The Fault In Our Stars, The Princess Bride

Fandoms that have long hiatuses: Sherlock, Doctor Who (sort of)

Fandoms that are popular on this blog: Sherlock, Doctor Who, Merlin, Harry Potter

Fandoms that are British: Sherlock, Doctor Who, Merlin, Harry Potter

Fandoms in which Steven Moffat writes the episodes: Sherlock, Doctor Who

And finally, consider fan names. Would you be happy calling yourself any of these terms?
Merlin - Merlinian (not commonly used)
Harry Potter - Potterhead
Star Trek - Trekkie
Doctor Who - Whovian
Sherlock - Sherlockian