Interlude III

So finally, three days late, I get to write this blog post. Hooray.

This chapter was the first one I ever planned out in detail - the Doctor finally explaining why he and the Master have always had such a convoluted relationship. The End of Time (however many years ago it was) brought this backstory straight into my head, and for me there were enough hints in their dialogue through the years to make this completely within the canon. The Doctor was always considered a failure and an outcast by his own people, as was the Master. It would only be natural that they were drawn to each other, and that it would turn into something else.

It is such a relief to get this story out there at long last. It has been sat bubbling in my head for years.

The Master's canon has had a few continuity problems over the years, but I have to admit that my main fandom - as great as the old episodes were - was always with Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. I grew up watching them, and so I prefer to use the story that Russel T. Davies gave him. It also gives some substance to someone who could otherwise have just been considered 'evil', which in my opinion, he never ever was.

 This really is the crux of the story - a story that has been in the background of the Doctor's life since childhood. Like a mystery story, I've been dropping hints about the nature of this relationship right from the first chapter, but perhaps they will only start to become apparent now. If you decide to go back and read the previous chapters (which - if you don't - I wouldn't blame you), little things may start to jump out at you that seemed unimportant at the time, but actually were written with huge significance in mind. It was the only way I could think to frame the story I'm trying to tell. It also makes some of the interactions they have in the show a bit more telling. I always thought there were several layers to everything they said. Having known each other for nearly a millenium (from the Doctor's side), of course there would be more in everything they said than what it appeared to be. That phonecall becomes much more telling. While, of course, it retains the basic 'enemies trading banter' layer, there's more at work there than that. Look back at it (I believe there's a youtube version) after this interlude, and you'll see what I mean. It also explains why the Master has always had such a Doctor fixation, even pre-reboot.

Just bear in mind that there are always several (sometimes conflicting) reasons for the way they interact - both conscious and subconscious. You can't say that this relationship is clear-cut and simple to understand, because if it was... well... they wouldn't be the Doctor and the Master.

I wanted to keep the Doctor's description of their history fairly broad, since one of the appeals of Doctor Who in general, and Gallifrey in particular, is that it's mysterious. While we get a few glimpses of the Citadel, and the Doctor describes a little in Gridlock, nobody wants to get bogged down in the details. Hopefully the Doctor explained just enough to get Jack to understand, while leaving enough open for interpretation.

Yes, Mummy liked the Master. I didn't just dump that in for fun, by the way - there is a reason for it. Also, it gives a bit more substance to her decision to vote against the Council: she realised that not only was it putting her son in danger, but it would (or already had) ruin his and the Master's lives. That moment of realisation must have been heartbreaking.

Besides, in my experience mothers do tend to like bad boys, which - let's be honest - the Master probably was. How could he be anything else?

The naming thing... well, that comes back to the phonecall again. There's a lot of conflict in the canon about the naming of Timelords, but in the RTD era it was always implied that it was a rite of passage, just like staring into the Vortex was. It's just a personal opinion, but I like to think that the Master chose his name partly because he was already on the descent into madness, but partly because he wanted to irritate the hell out of the Council. 

We've had a lot of deep thought processes and dark moments recently. Being faithful to the style of the show, we needed a bit of comedy. That section about chips was really fun to write. There was a bit that had to be cut out, due to length, the dialogue of which went something like this:

"I like chips. Chips are good."

"What, they run out of bananas today?"

Jack: "Do you ever eat anything else? How are you not ridiculously fat?"

"Well I run."

"By choice?"

"Now that is a good question. If I ever find out the answer, I'll let you know."

It's a shame, but sometimes length is important (no pun intended) and this interlude was already rather long.

Also, let's just appreciate how sneaky the Doctor can be, and the fact that he actually cares about what Jack's been through lately. He didn't just go to Cardiff on a whim.

"What, did you marry him or something?"

I apologise for the teasing. Apparently writing the Master means that some of his psychosis has leaked out into my brain. I couldn't resist - and neither could the Doctor. Reading that little section back still makes me smile.

I also honestly believe that if it had been something as 'simple' as marriage, the Master would have killed him already. Does that make sense? Probably not, but then sometimes neither does the Master.

I didn't really want to have to write that section about the 'r' word, but in the end I suppose it needed clarifying. I've been quite vocal about the subject in the blog, but it was still lingering in the air around the fic, and I wanted that out of the way before we went any further.

Comparing the Master to Gray is something that leapt out at me quite recently, but they make an interesting parallel, and it allows us to put the Master's madness into context, rather than concentrating on him as simply 'the bad guy'. Taken out of semi-mythical Timelord status, who is he at heart? Why is he the way he is? And comparing Gray and the Master; Jack and the Doctor, who did the worse thing?

Obviously we're going into deep morality here, and there is no right or wrong, but it's an interesting idea to think about. Or maybe I've just spent too many hours doing literary research, and I'm thinking too deeply about it. In any case, hopefully to comparison to Gray will put the Master in a slightly different light for some readers.

 Link to the chapter is HERE

The burning of Japan, as a section, is now my favourite. We've moved out of the dark, and ours and Jack's understanding of everything is starting to come into the light. While the Master should still be considered dangerous, insane, violent and potentially murderous, we're starting to get into his motivations a little bit more - as confused and twisted as they can be. While attempting to rationalise everything he does would be ridiculous, we're getting a sense of his - as the Doctor said much earlier - 'essence' (because we already know it still exists, even if 'Valiant' Doctor isn't sure). There is still much left to be discovered though, so keep your eyes peeled, and what I consider the absolute key to his personality will only be revealed close to the very end.

While I can't estimate how many more words there will be in this story, plot-wise we've reached the half way stage. It seemed about time that the Doctor began to explain, so that we could make sense of what we've seen, and start to look a little more thoughtfully at what comes next.

 The next section will be taking us into familiar territory for the Doctor. He needs a chance to stretch his legs. This is - after all - still Doctor Who: as weak a position as he's being forced to operate from, the Doctor is still the Doctor, and the story needs to play out as much like an episode as possible (because in my head, what I'm writing is simply an unaired... um... slightly more adult-oriented episode). This means that there will be no sex scenes for a while; however we will get more of a glimpse into the Master's - and the Doctor's - minds, and the way they interact.

There's a few bits in the next section that I am looking forward to immensely in my own strange little way. Again, telling would constitute spoilers, but trust me - there is quite a bit more epic drama on the way, and the Doctor's motives in showing Jack this story are maybe not what they seem.

And music... the two songs that always remind me of this part of their story are:

How to Save a Life - The Fray
Somewhere only We Know - Keane

There's also a piece of music from the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack that makes me think of their history. It's called A Window to the Past, and was used rather a lot when I was planning this chapter. 

Music tastes matter in these things, so they may not be your cup of tea, but I'm fairly eclectic when it comes to music, and my inspiration comes from strange places.



AND AGAIN

Thank you so much for the support so far - today Lost Boys reached 15,000 views, not counting the views on AdultFanFiction. I'm not just saying this because I'm expected to, but - really, thank you. You really do have no idea how much it all means.


I am now back on hiatus until mid-January. Once more, essays need to be written. I really did want to get the Christmas Day (on the Valiant, that is) memories out of the way, but that section is important, and I don't want to rush it. Well... I suppose they're all important, really, but you know what I mean.

In the meantime, if you want to contact me I'm always available. You can PM me on fanfiction.net, leave me a review, or comment or email me here. I will always reply - it's great to talk to other people who love Doctor Who as much as me.

Until January then,

Turkaholic