This was a difficult one. The characters were in such strange mental states that putting realistic words into their mouths was painful. We'd just had a sex scene that was pretty much wordless, and it seemed about time we had some more of that Doctor/Master talk. The trouble was: what would the Master honestly say?
He's crazy
He's sadistic
He's confused
He's in love
....and about a billion other emotions which I couldn't even begin to describe.
I tried writing him as dominant and mocking. It didn't fit. He'd just saved the Doctor's mind, after all, even if it was in a very undignified way. Having him loving and tender would have sent shudders up my spine. If anything could be out of character, it would be that.
So where to go? How do you show that the Master actually cares, without turning him into something disgustingly un-Masterly?
Besides which, the Doctor had been too submissive for too long - doing as he was told. Okay, to a point, but it was time for a turnaround: he was back on his feet, back in a sane state of mind, ready to fight again. How to make him react to what he had just done?
I went for the middle ground.
The Master was dominating, but vulnerable. The Doctor got his speech, indicating a turnaround, and the confusion in the Master showed he actually gave a flying toss. The end of the chapter got re-written at least six times, purely to get the right expression and tone in the Master's face and voice. It went from sadness to mocking, and finally that ambivalent little flyaway comment: "We're going for a walk."
My rule of thumb with the Master and the Doctor is: if you can't imagine the words in their own voice, it's out of character. This applies to a lot of TV and film fanfiction. The intonation, the expression, everything has to be as if the actors playing it were there. (This doesn't generally apply to sex scenes, but even then I tend to imagine a bit too explicitly, sounds and all. I'm not sure Tennant and Simm would approve. Oh well.). Getting that last line right was a nightmare. Five little words took me about half an hour. Ugh.
I really hope I made the right decision. The next chapter is still ghosting around in my head. It's an extra that I never intended to write, but it seemed appropriate: the Doctor has been stuck in that room far too long. He needs a change of scenery, and the Master needs to get back into his beautifully twisted 'normal' state of mind.
If you've not read it and you'd like to, you can find it here: Lost Boys on Fanfiction.net
(Please be aware that there are scenes of graphic sex, homosexuality and violence. If that's not your thing, why are you even here?)
If you've followed a link from FF or AFF, then thanks for reading my anxious little rant. I hope reading this hasn't been too much of a waste of your time.
No comments:
Post a Comment