The Chaosverse Book Club: Week Two
Aug. 28th, 2011 02:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
earlgreytea68Things Continue to Progress
I admit this is another fic that isn't one of my favorites, although I'm not sure why, because there are bits of it I really like: the description of the Doctor's state of undress, which I find exta-sexy because of how dressed up he normally is; the first mention of the Doctor's propensity to keep count of their shags, which shows up in a few other fics and is finally resolved in "Whispers in Her Ear, from Across the Room"; the last line. I do also like their tone in this fic, I think they feel very much like two people who had just gotten together and were still in that honeymoon phase and couldn't believe their luck at finding each other. Not to say they ever completely take each other for granted but, even with no other cues, you can tell that this is an early story whereas a story like "Evasive Maneuvers" is a later story. At least, I think you can.
Questions for Discussion:
There should be a week-long ficathon where someone posts a fic each day about each of the shags the Doctor describes: One that was slow, one that was fast, the one with you on top, the one with the thing with your teeth and my hip, the one with the thing with my tongue and your belly button, the one where we fell off the bed, and the one just after I woke you up. This is another question for discussion that is not a question for discussion but a command.
I set up the Doctor associating cups of tea with less than respectable activities, but I never did do anything with that. Did you ever think back to this story at any of the many, many times my Doctor drinks a cup of tea?
What are your favorite bits of this paticular little fic?
A Supernatural Excursion
I love this story. It's strange, because I tend to forget about it, and I don't re-read it very often, but every time I do re-read it I'm struck by the fact that I think it is absolutely hilarious. I love the Doctor's insecurity and vulnerability in the fic when it comes to Rose, but I love the Doctor-y-ness of him, for lack of a better word, in the rest of the fic. I love the mocking salute he gives to the truck that almost runs him over, I love his no-nonsense competence when they encounter Sam and Dean outside the house and he's just like, "I don't have time for this, leave me alone," I love his mocking "Professional what?" at Dean after they kill the werewolf, which I find some kind of prediction of Sherlock being all "The police don't consult amateurs" a few years later, I love his "There's a Lord involved here, but not the Lord you're thinking." Really, I think the Doctor has some great lines in this fic. And I have to admit, this fic has one of my favorite lines of dialogue ever: "I’ve got a lupine-wavelength haemovariform who needs a tummy tuck" Hahahahaha! I have no idea why, because I'm sure I've written better lines of dialogue, but that line out of the Doctor cracks me up every time I read it. (I also like how Sam says "Doctor what?" instead of "Doctor who?" here. Just because I think an American would say it that way. I think.)
I also love this fic because it lets me engage in one of my favorite things: viewing the Doctor/Rose relationship from the vantage point of an outsider.
Questions for Discussion:
The Doctor mentions that Rose has something of the wolf about her, which is something that comes up in "Tooth & Claw" and then, frankly, seems to mostly be dropped from canon ("Bad Wolf" references aside, since those don't really have to do with the effect on Rose). Frankly, I drop the idea from the Chaosverse (other than, you know, the notable exception of "College," but I tie that to her heart's desire and not to her wolf-ness). What are your thoughts on the "something of the wolf about her"? What did the line mean in canon? What should it mean in fanfiction?
The Doctor has Rose carrying a gun in this fic. Thoughts on that? I admit I wrote it without really giving thought to the Doctor's aversion to guns. Did any of you find it noteworthy here in this fic?
Do you have any particular bits of this fic that you find hilarious the way I do?
Everywhere
Ah, a post-GitF fic. Such an infamous subgenre in the DW genre!
I admit that I think Rose could have gone either way in this fic. That this was the turning point in their fragile relationship. She forgives him--and we all know they end up happily ever after--but I think she could have walked away from him and I wouldn't have blamed her. So this was a tricky fic to write, because I had to have Rose forgive him, but I had to make sure that she didn't seem too forgiving, if that makes sense. I didn't want it to feel like she was sacrificing the strength of her character for him.
I've never really played around with the fact that the Doctor thought the relationship with Rose was a bad idea, even as he let himself get involved. I should really do something with that. Because he was clearly as wrong as he has ever been in that regard (at least, in my 'verse).
I love the way this fic ends, too. Where are they going? Everywhere. And they did. :-)
Questions for Discussion:
Do you love GitF? Do you hate GitF? Regardless of how you feel about it, how do you think this fic does dealing with GitF?
Do you buy Rose forgiving the Doctor here? Or do you think she gave in too easily?
Next Week: Like a Kid in a Candy Store, One If by Land, Two If by Sea, and Chapter 1 of Chaos Theory in Vortex Orbits in Relative Dimensions in Time and Space.
I admit this is another fic that isn't one of my favorites, although I'm not sure why, because there are bits of it I really like: the description of the Doctor's state of undress, which I find exta-sexy because of how dressed up he normally is; the first mention of the Doctor's propensity to keep count of their shags, which shows up in a few other fics and is finally resolved in "Whispers in Her Ear, from Across the Room"; the last line. I do also like their tone in this fic, I think they feel very much like two people who had just gotten together and were still in that honeymoon phase and couldn't believe their luck at finding each other. Not to say they ever completely take each other for granted but, even with no other cues, you can tell that this is an early story whereas a story like "Evasive Maneuvers" is a later story. At least, I think you can.
Questions for Discussion:
There should be a week-long ficathon where someone posts a fic each day about each of the shags the Doctor describes: One that was slow, one that was fast, the one with you on top, the one with the thing with your teeth and my hip, the one with the thing with my tongue and your belly button, the one where we fell off the bed, and the one just after I woke you up. This is another question for discussion that is not a question for discussion but a command.
I set up the Doctor associating cups of tea with less than respectable activities, but I never did do anything with that. Did you ever think back to this story at any of the many, many times my Doctor drinks a cup of tea?
What are your favorite bits of this paticular little fic?
A Supernatural Excursion
I love this story. It's strange, because I tend to forget about it, and I don't re-read it very often, but every time I do re-read it I'm struck by the fact that I think it is absolutely hilarious. I love the Doctor's insecurity and vulnerability in the fic when it comes to Rose, but I love the Doctor-y-ness of him, for lack of a better word, in the rest of the fic. I love the mocking salute he gives to the truck that almost runs him over, I love his no-nonsense competence when they encounter Sam and Dean outside the house and he's just like, "I don't have time for this, leave me alone," I love his mocking "Professional what?" at Dean after they kill the werewolf, which I find some kind of prediction of Sherlock being all "The police don't consult amateurs" a few years later, I love his "There's a Lord involved here, but not the Lord you're thinking." Really, I think the Doctor has some great lines in this fic. And I have to admit, this fic has one of my favorite lines of dialogue ever: "I’ve got a lupine-wavelength haemovariform who needs a tummy tuck" Hahahahaha! I have no idea why, because I'm sure I've written better lines of dialogue, but that line out of the Doctor cracks me up every time I read it. (I also like how Sam says "Doctor what?" instead of "Doctor who?" here. Just because I think an American would say it that way. I think.)
I also love this fic because it lets me engage in one of my favorite things: viewing the Doctor/Rose relationship from the vantage point of an outsider.
Questions for Discussion:
The Doctor mentions that Rose has something of the wolf about her, which is something that comes up in "Tooth & Claw" and then, frankly, seems to mostly be dropped from canon ("Bad Wolf" references aside, since those don't really have to do with the effect on Rose). Frankly, I drop the idea from the Chaosverse (other than, you know, the notable exception of "College," but I tie that to her heart's desire and not to her wolf-ness). What are your thoughts on the "something of the wolf about her"? What did the line mean in canon? What should it mean in fanfiction?
The Doctor has Rose carrying a gun in this fic. Thoughts on that? I admit I wrote it without really giving thought to the Doctor's aversion to guns. Did any of you find it noteworthy here in this fic?
Do you have any particular bits of this fic that you find hilarious the way I do?
Everywhere
Ah, a post-GitF fic. Such an infamous subgenre in the DW genre!
I admit that I think Rose could have gone either way in this fic. That this was the turning point in their fragile relationship. She forgives him--and we all know they end up happily ever after--but I think she could have walked away from him and I wouldn't have blamed her. So this was a tricky fic to write, because I had to have Rose forgive him, but I had to make sure that she didn't seem too forgiving, if that makes sense. I didn't want it to feel like she was sacrificing the strength of her character for him.
I've never really played around with the fact that the Doctor thought the relationship with Rose was a bad idea, even as he let himself get involved. I should really do something with that. Because he was clearly as wrong as he has ever been in that regard (at least, in my 'verse).
I love the way this fic ends, too. Where are they going? Everywhere. And they did. :-)
Questions for Discussion:
Do you love GitF? Do you hate GitF? Regardless of how you feel about it, how do you think this fic does dealing with GitF?
Do you buy Rose forgiving the Doctor here? Or do you think she gave in too easily?
Next Week: Like a Kid in a Candy Store, One If by Land, Two If by Sea, and Chapter 1 of Chaos Theory in Vortex Orbits in Relative Dimensions in Time and Space.
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Everywhere
Date: 2011-08-31 05:52 pm (UTC)The actual episode was never really one of my favorites. The fics that center around it, on the other hand, are usually ones that I love reading, regardless of how they end. I think that point in the series is truly a turning point for the Doctor and Rose in their relationship, even in cannon. After that episode they seem much closer and the Doctor seems to, if not acknowledge their closeness, at least stop pulling away from her. I think you do a wonderful job reflecting that in your fic. “He did not let himself betray anything. At least, he hoped he didn’t. He kept fiddling. “Drive you away from where?” he asked.” I could see the 11th Doctor saying something like this to Amy. Trying to pretend ignorance to get out of an emotional confrontation. Too bad for him that Rose knows him just a bit better.
Do you buy Rose forgiving the Doctor here? Or do you think she gave in too easily?
I love how you write angry Rose, it's beautiful. The Oncoming Storm's got nothing on a Rose pissed at the Doctor. “I’m walking away,” she said, without looking back at him. And when she closed the door behind her, it was with a soft and gentle click. That, right there... it's just... perfect. It just made me want to stand up and applaud her.
I don't think she forgave him too quickly, I think it was just right. Rose is all heart, she always has been, and when you hear a line like “I am all alone. In the entire universe, I am all alone. All I have is you. Please. Don’t go.” I don't think anyone could resist that. It just screams of puppy-dog eyes and I have the overwhelming urge to hug something.
I really think that Rose and the Doctor needed something like GitF as a catalyst for the next step in their relationship. I think without a shove they would have floundered in the safety they had together without actually talking about the issues that each of them have. The Doctor and his fear of commitment, fear of watching Rose grow old, of losing her, of having to go on alone with that pain. Rose's feelings of inadequacy, of being less than worthy of being by his side, always afraid that one day he'd realize that she's not what he wants and send her home.
It's all so very them . Before they were best friends that shagged and loved each other, but never said it. They were in an unnamed kind of relationship. It makes sense that when they crossed into actually being a couple it would be with a bang. Like how their first time together was during an earthquake, this just fits their pattern.
Re: Everywhere
Date: 2011-09-04 09:46 pm (UTC)I admit that my favorite detail in this whole fic is that Rose doesn't slam the door. Rose has started to emotionally disengage from him, and that soft click drives it home to the Doctor.
Yeah, the Doctor is difficult to resist when he's got those weepy eyes. And he means it, he's not manipulating her, which I think she knows him well enough by now to recognize.
And yeah, sometimes you have to hurt each other to grow closer together, because it's the only way they were ever going to grow.
I love the idea of it fitting their pattern!