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timepiececlockI've had some more thoughts recently on trends in post- "Journey's End" fanfics, particularly shipper fics and "fix-it" fics. These are kind of how they appear to me, and how I feel about the various possibilities. It's me trying to reason out the whole thing in my head, because it's really complicated in terms of fanon interpretation and I keep changing my mind about the whole subject. Especially settling on what "in-character" means in this crazy context.
I've seen 3 main types of fic:
1. Rose & 10.5 live out life to a normal time-span in Pete's World. Happy, sad, or both.
Good: I like these fics on the whole, and there's been a generous spread of characterization in them... some are quite fluffly, some quite bitter and angsty. Whatever flavor of ice cream you like best, it's out there. I've written one myself (light) and plan to write another (darker.) In some the Doctor has the TARDIS piece from that missing scene, or builds his own ship; in others he and Rose remain earth-bound.
Bad: Some are more in-character than others. My biggest pet-peeve is when people strip 10.5 of everything that makes him still The Doctor; extra senses, psychic abilities, oneness-with-the-universe, ability to feel the earth turn and the passing of Time, etc. I felt canon said quite clearly (in the show and in the Confidential), that 10.5 is exactly like 10 except for lifespan as a result of having one heart, and a bit of Donna's sass in personality. I can understand if you want to sacrifice some of his TL abilities, maybe the higher senses, or control over his own body/metabolism (as I read in one of the more interesting fics), but you've got to leave him SOMETHING. 10.5 is not a human. He's half alien, at the very least.
2. Rose & 10.5 live together in Pete's World, but due to Bad Wolf, Rose doesn't age, so after 10.5 dies she jumps back to hook up with 10.
Good: Several of these have been well-written, with a genuine sensitivity and romance, trying to combine the "best of both worlds" approach, to give 10.5 a "settled" life and to let Rose eventually go back to 10, who has pined without her. It showcases the fact that Rose, no matter what, will always return when the Doctor tries to send her away.
Bad: After reading several, I realized I am not really a fan of this concept. I get why people like it, no mistake, but it just sits wrong. If I'm going to embrace the whole whacked out Reteneration thing, which I've decided I can embrace, as the intention of the show with regard to characters, then I feel like this "fix-it" concept cheats both Rose and 10.5. If I'm going to accept than the Blue Suit Doctor is really a genuine regeneration (and that fits more than the "clone" label), then it's pretty sad to have the Doctor grow old while the love of his life never ages. Especially because the Doctor never *wanted* that life...he wants Rose, not domesticity. It undercuts the "happy" ending that the show tried very hard to give to solve the aging problem that is an inherent factor in Doctor/Rose romance, within the realistic context of the a show where the protagonist can NOT have a spouse. But even that is nothing to what it puts Rose through. I keep going back to her worlds in 4x13: "You'll grow old at the same time as me?" ...Rose was willing and eager to sacrifice that kind of life to live with Ten, but the way she said that line makes me think that she's not unaware of how valuable such an experience is. She doesn't want Time Babies or a mortgage, but she does like the idea of aging at the same time as her lover. The idea of having her not age--while it would have thrilled me two seasons ago after Doomsday--now seems a bit sour. I don't see that as a happy ending. It's too angsty, too broken, too much loss. So she lives decades or a hundred years and then eventually finds 10 again? What then? Would she still be Rose, if those ages weren't spent WITH the Doctor? I don't want Rose to be static as a character, but I don't think turning her into a pseudo-Time Lord just so she can meet up with 10 a hundred years later is something I want to see happen to her, either. It's just...not romantic, to me. It makes her too much like The Doctor and less like Rose Tyler. The character that seems to benefit from this scenario is 10, original Doctor. While I feel for his intense pain at choosing to leave Rose behind again, especially considering how estatic he was at the idea of having her back (really, David Tennant, you break my heart!), he was a bit of a dick on the beach and he did leave her behind. I think he'll be heartbroken about it for a long time (especially with the double-loss of Best Mate Donna), but I also think he'll love other companions in the future. Probably not romantically, but he's gone most of his life without romantic love with companions so that's okay too. He won't be lonely forever, whether Rose returns or not.
ETA: I also came across something else that made me realize one of the reasons this also doesn't work as well for me. Another fan said: "I do like that the man changes in this case to be with the woman, which is both unusual and unexpected and makes me kind of love it." We lose that change, if Rose is altered to be Bad Wolf forever. And although I would have liked it two seasons ago, now that I've seen the option where the male changes for the female character...I do like that more.
Also, the reverse-objectification of cloning the guy so the girl can "have" him? It may be crass, but that's just enough of a gender reversal to how most tv shows and movies would handle it, that I can't say I don't get SOME small satisfaction out the subversiveness.
3. Total AU fic wherein the Doctor is not "regenerated" from his hand, or Rose refuses to be left behind, or something else changes to deviate from 4x13's ending.
Good: I've a weakness for these. I kind of don't want to live in a world where the Doctor willfully leaves Rose in Pete's World. If there's a "fix-it" fic, this is how I like it.
Bad: Obviously, deviates from canon and by necessity changes the dynamics of Ten/Donna as well.
I've seen 3 main types of fic:
1. Rose & 10.5 live out life to a normal time-span in Pete's World. Happy, sad, or both.
Good: I like these fics on the whole, and there's been a generous spread of characterization in them... some are quite fluffly, some quite bitter and angsty. Whatever flavor of ice cream you like best, it's out there. I've written one myself (light) and plan to write another (darker.) In some the Doctor has the TARDIS piece from that missing scene, or builds his own ship; in others he and Rose remain earth-bound.
Bad: Some are more in-character than others. My biggest pet-peeve is when people strip 10.5 of everything that makes him still The Doctor; extra senses, psychic abilities, oneness-with-the-universe, ability to feel the earth turn and the passing of Time, etc. I felt canon said quite clearly (in the show and in the Confidential), that 10.5 is exactly like 10 except for lifespan as a result of having one heart, and a bit of Donna's sass in personality. I can understand if you want to sacrifice some of his TL abilities, maybe the higher senses, or control over his own body/metabolism (as I read in one of the more interesting fics), but you've got to leave him SOMETHING. 10.5 is not a human. He's half alien, at the very least.
2. Rose & 10.5 live together in Pete's World, but due to Bad Wolf, Rose doesn't age, so after 10.5 dies she jumps back to hook up with 10.
Good: Several of these have been well-written, with a genuine sensitivity and romance, trying to combine the "best of both worlds" approach, to give 10.5 a "settled" life and to let Rose eventually go back to 10, who has pined without her. It showcases the fact that Rose, no matter what, will always return when the Doctor tries to send her away.
Bad: After reading several, I realized I am not really a fan of this concept. I get why people like it, no mistake, but it just sits wrong. If I'm going to embrace the whole whacked out Reteneration thing, which I've decided I can embrace, as the intention of the show with regard to characters, then I feel like this "fix-it" concept cheats both Rose and 10.5. If I'm going to accept than the Blue Suit Doctor is really a genuine regeneration (and that fits more than the "clone" label), then it's pretty sad to have the Doctor grow old while the love of his life never ages. Especially because the Doctor never *wanted* that life...he wants Rose, not domesticity. It undercuts the "happy" ending that the show tried very hard to give to solve the aging problem that is an inherent factor in Doctor/Rose romance, within the realistic context of the a show where the protagonist can NOT have a spouse. But even that is nothing to what it puts Rose through. I keep going back to her worlds in 4x13: "You'll grow old at the same time as me?" ...Rose was willing and eager to sacrifice that kind of life to live with Ten, but the way she said that line makes me think that she's not unaware of how valuable such an experience is. She doesn't want Time Babies or a mortgage, but she does like the idea of aging at the same time as her lover. The idea of having her not age--while it would have thrilled me two seasons ago after Doomsday--now seems a bit sour. I don't see that as a happy ending. It's too angsty, too broken, too much loss. So she lives decades or a hundred years and then eventually finds 10 again? What then? Would she still be Rose, if those ages weren't spent WITH the Doctor? I don't want Rose to be static as a character, but I don't think turning her into a pseudo-Time Lord just so she can meet up with 10 a hundred years later is something I want to see happen to her, either. It's just...not romantic, to me. It makes her too much like The Doctor and less like Rose Tyler. The character that seems to benefit from this scenario is 10, original Doctor. While I feel for his intense pain at choosing to leave Rose behind again, especially considering how estatic he was at the idea of having her back (really, David Tennant, you break my heart!), he was a bit of a dick on the beach and he did leave her behind. I think he'll be heartbroken about it for a long time (especially with the double-loss of Best Mate Donna), but I also think he'll love other companions in the future. Probably not romantically, but he's gone most of his life without romantic love with companions so that's okay too. He won't be lonely forever, whether Rose returns or not.
ETA: I also came across something else that made me realize one of the reasons this also doesn't work as well for me. Another fan said: "I do like that the man changes in this case to be with the woman, which is both unusual and unexpected and makes me kind of love it." We lose that change, if Rose is altered to be Bad Wolf forever. And although I would have liked it two seasons ago, now that I've seen the option where the male changes for the female character...I do like that more.
Also, the reverse-objectification of cloning the guy so the girl can "have" him? It may be crass, but that's just enough of a gender reversal to how most tv shows and movies would handle it, that I can't say I don't get SOME small satisfaction out the subversiveness.
3. Total AU fic wherein the Doctor is not "regenerated" from his hand, or Rose refuses to be left behind, or something else changes to deviate from 4x13's ending.
Good: I've a weakness for these. I kind of don't want to live in a world where the Doctor willfully leaves Rose in Pete's World. If there's a "fix-it" fic, this is how I like it.
Bad: Obviously, deviates from canon and by necessity changes the dynamics of Ten/Donna as well.
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Date: 2008-08-05 08:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-05 09:01 am (UTC)Also, it appears I will never run out of things to talk about with this finale. I mean...!!!!! Honestly.