earlgreytea68 | The Chaosverse Book Club: Week Four

Chapter Two of Chaos Theory

This chapter is mainly about Jackie. I don't think I ever intended to spend as much time on Jackie as I've ended up doing in this 'verse, but I'm absolutely fascinated by her relationship with her daughter and the strange family her daughter chose.

You know, I forgot that there's an implication in this chapter that Rose's ability to have Time Lord children might be unusual. I have never reached the point, in my thinking about Brem, where he wants to have children, but I wonder if that's ever an issue for these future generations. Hmm.

Questions for Discussion:

I make lots of references to the Doctor and Jackie sharing terrible taste in television. What do you like to imagine they watch together?

Chapter Three of Chaos Theory

The TARDIS is nurturing. What's interesting about this is that, in "College," we learn that the around this time the Doctor must have taken some coral from the TARDIS to start growing Brem's TARDIS. I wonder if he's already done it here, and that the TARDIS is actually nurturing the baby TARDIS and it's manifesting this way. I like to think that's why.

It's always bothered me a little bit that the Doctor doesn't realize immediately that he can sense the baby. One has to imagine his head is pretty cavernous with all the Time Lords gone, and he feels a tickle in the back of his mind, and, by his own words, he doesn't pay attention to it. I find that stretches credulity a bit.

You know, I always write the TARDIS as being very fond of Rose, but I think in my head that's not because of Rose's Bad-Wolf-ness but because the TARDIS loves the Doctor and Rose makes the Doctor happy. I guess either explanation could work, though.

Rose worries that the baby will replace her, which clearly doesn't happen. But I find it interesting that the opposite almost comes to pass: The Doctor and Brem turn out to be so much alike that, rather than being able to read each other's thoughts, they are amazingly obtuse about each other.

Questions for Discussion:

2nd2ndalto, in a recent comment, said that there's always one line in a fic that sticks with her. What's your one line from this chapter?

Chapter Four of Chaos Theory

You know, I think the Doctor never fully gets the hang of living with a non-telepathic creature like Rose. In this chapter, Rose is determined to have it out, to discuss their feelings, and the Doctor is irritated. I think at least part of the Doctor's irritation stems from the fact that, as a telepathic being, he thinks she should just be able to sense how he feels, and he'll sense how she feels, and then they never have to have a messy discussion about it. I think Time Lords, on the whole, dislike messy emotional confrontation, for this reason.

Rose's doubt in this chapter about her utility as a mother to Gallifreyans rings true to me. But it's especially heartbreaking in light of the fact that we eventually get to see her children trying to make a life without their mother, and we know what a complete disaster it is without her.

Ah, the pendant. Sometimes I remember Rose's pendant, most of the time I forget about it completely. I'm the worst at continuity.

This is a sex scene I actually really like, because I think it's fun.

Questions for Discussion:

Ah, there's been much speculation. What are those thoughts the Doctor leaves out? What did you always imagine them to be?

Next Week: Chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Chaos Theory in Vortex Orbits in Relative Dimensions in Time and Space

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I love that the Doctor watches Star Wars, only to point out it’s flaws. I love Rose’s idea of having a Star Wars thesis tucked away somewhere that he’d been just itching to share with the general pop culture public. Brilliant.

I love that when the Doctor is displeased with Rose or someone he loves, he goes silent. I like that about this Doctor, because he usually can’t shut his gob, especially when he’s saving the world. But Rose says something that makes him upset, and he goes silent.

What I like most about the conversation he has with Rose about her being upset, and her need for him to ask her about it - my gosh, how many times have I had this exact conversation with my husband? Rose’s sigh of, “we’re so different” is such an understatement and you can just feel her loss as to what to do, and she knows better than to try and argue with him... I love that her simple acceptance of that makes him want to take the extra step to fix things between them and work all the harder. I always did wonder what went through his mind at that very moment - because he really does go from snapping at her in upset/anger to kissing her shoulder and apologizing. He just turns over rather quickly, and I wish I could see more into his POV at that moment.

And oh, how romantic is his speech to her here about how she captivates him. I’ve gone back and read this section over and over. Every woman needs to hear something to this effect at least once in her life. It is so incredibly romantic and just swipes me off of my feet. I ADORE this section of this chapter of ALL of the Chaosverse.

I love the mood-ring pendant. I thought it was very sweet. I do wish more reference could have been made to it as the kids grew. I would have loved to see Brem and the girls try to figure out how Rose always seemed to know when they were upset. LOL. A small fic where she would walk in while one of them was feeling vulnerable or worried or upset, and make it all better. And she, of course, would know because of the pendant, and they wouldn’t have a clue as to how she knew. I like to imagine that’s partly why Brem knows his mom is brilliant. LOL. Or if Rose set it to be on the Doctor... somehow get past his shields or something, and could be able to tell what kind of mood he’s in at a certain time. It does open the door for a lot of emotional story lines. I love that.

Did you know what the missing thought numbers were before you wrote the fic on it?

I love the idea of him being a leisurely lover, while she was inclined to be impatient, which made sex normally a battle of strong wills... how hot is that? I love it.

I do love the sex scene here. It’s hot and lovely and I just love it.

It’s weird that I now compare Brem to the Doctor in bed. I honestly don’t mean to, but they are so completely different, it seems. Perhaps it’s because Brem is new to sex while the Doctor is old hat? But the Doctor is usually the lead, the dominant in his sex adventures with Rose, while Brem seems more content to let Kate take the lead. It just makes me wonder about the Doctor’s past and his experiences that led him to be the more “leading man” in bed compared to Brem. To me, I suppose I expected the Doctor with Rose to be more laid-back and let Rose take the lead. Thankfully, you wrote the Doctor as a sex GOD and I thank you for it. LOL. But I would have understood had you written him differently. I suppose I compare Brem’s actual love life to that of the Doctor in “the natural progression of things,” where he is just honestly clueless about what Rose wants and needs - and yet, by the time they finally get around to having sex, he just ups and takes her against a wall and it is HOT. Brem is obviously a quick learner - so I’m very interested in how his second relationship goes... now that he’s got his “first time” out of the way. I wonder if he’ll lead more in bed, and be more like the Doctor.

Are you planning to continue Brem’s story with Amy? Or are you planning to start something new and take the character elsewhere?

I’ve always been curious as to why the Doctor thanks Rose in the end, so gravely. I have a feeling it’s for more than the spectacular sex they’ve just had. Was he thanking her here, for giving him a child? A future with someone? I love the end, and I would love to know your thoughts for writing it like you did.

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy this sex scene!

I don't think much about the kids having sex. ;-) However, Brem does get to be much more of a leader when it comes to relationships. He grows into it. Kate is all brand new for him, the very idea of even having a relationship is new for him. He gets better at it, and, as he gets more comfortable with his life and who he is, he definitely starts to take the reins more.

You know, putting Amy into Fortuna's story means that I'd have to go back and edit her story with Brem, it no longer makes much sense in the context of Fortuna's story. But I don't know. I don't know if Amy is the one for Brem anymore or if I'd take him in a different direction. I feel like Brem is a lot like the Doctor, in that it might take him years to find someone who means as much to him as his mother means to his father.

At the end, he's thanking her for everything: the sex, the baby, being with him, staying with him, being *her,* for the life she's given him and continues to give him and is about to give him, for how she made him happy and hopeful and excited in a way I don't think he ever thought he'd be again. He's thanking her for absolutely everything there. And I think she gets that.

You make a very good point: You know the Doctor is angry when he goes quiet. That's his Oncoming Storm-ness there.

Yeah, I stay in Rose's POV there, but I think the Doctor is thinking that he can see that she's feeling hopeless, and he doesn't *get* it, and he doesn't want to fight with her, he wants her not to feel hopeless, he wants her to be happy so he can be happy, so he gives in first. The Doctor always gives in first, he actually thinks as much in the very first paragraph.

What makes the Doctor's speech extra-romantic, to me, is that he's just telling the truth as he sees it. He's not trying to be romantic, he's just telling her what he's feeling.

Ha! I think the kids do eventually figure it out, but I've never given much thought as to how. And then, of course, as they get older they start shielding themselves. I think the Doctor, once the kids leave the TARDIS, falls into the habit of not shielding himself as much around Rose, so that her Time Lord pendant keeps picking things up.

And nope, I had no idea what the missing thoughts were. I frequently do that. I like the mystery of leaving things out. Even to me. ;-)

The Chaosverse Book Club: Week Four

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