Oh, I teared up a little. This is just so wonderful, I feel tongue-tied. I don't know how I'm going to put all the reactions going through my head as I was reading this down into a coherent review. Just wow. You took what was a very vague, a little unlikely prompt and turned it into something gorgeous.
I love that this started with the cat suit. I remember you and I discussing this in passing in one thread (meow) and so I was biting my finger to not giggle too loudly at this unseemly hour. I think you took what could have been a crack-ish concept and you made it seem plausible for her to be thinking about. I can totally see this being something someone (or in this case River) is thinking about while they're trying to psych themselves up to do something that they can't quite believe they're going to do. And I love that you have her not do it, not because she's too proud to be seen that way, but because in the end, she's realistic about the dangers of wearing something that could trip her up.
And then the part you wrote about her leaving the message on the Byzantium! That was so perfect. I'm always going to think of this piece when I see that scene now. In particular, I just absolutely and completely loved this: "Honey, the next time you use an ambiguous declension to imply I’m a family pet, I’m not coming to pick you up, and you’ll have to find some other way to cope with the hard vacuum of space . . . I kid, I kid--I won’t be complicit in the death of someone who can plot a temporal recursion slip like that."
The part about the diary! I could see her in my mind's eye doing this and I can see her need for it. She always touches that diary with so much reverence and I don't think it's completely just because of what's written inside or how it connects her to the Doctor. I think it's also what she sees about herself in it and how she uses it to keep control in her wild life, to make sense of her self. You captured that in a very poetic but realistic manner.
And then penance. That was so beautiful and so true that it could have easily served as its own separate little piece. There are some sentences you used that were absolute brilliance about why she needed to go back, why the doctor couldn't understand. And the bit about sometimes needing institutional help. That was so River. Funny. Clever. Biting. And very true.
Mantra. Short but it said so much.
Now, Superstition is probably my absolute favorite. It's such a great metaphor. You took this big concepts both about time and interdependency of all people and summed it up so concisely. And then having it applied to River and the Doctor. Ouch. Especially the bit about asking what happens when someone jumps off. That was a great question because it's totally one of those moments of, "Out of the mouth of babes." That has to be terrifying, to know someone has that much control over you and to know that you have so much control over them in return. And I particularly like the metaphor because its something people choose to do both as individual and together. It's also not something that in its nature is daunting. It's supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be sharing enjoyment in each other's presence.
And the last one. Oh, that was just so much fun to read as a River/Doctor shipper. And it was really good to have this story begin on a lighter note and end on one. I do prefer to read stories like that because it leaves me wanting to know more. It's also a good example of some less complicated times and explains why they don't just burn out on all that angst and deep-thinking. And I love the idea of River bringing him a present and him being giddy over it and then their beautiful banter about what ridiculous thing she had to have done for it. There's a lot to be seen even under their light comments. The fact that the Doctor is willing to believe (even in joking) that she'd sell an organ just to get him something. I love the Doctor being so worried for her because a whole bunch of this story involves how her life is impacted with the Doctor, and that outpouring of feeling from him shows that he's just as impacted by her.
This was just a joy to read. Thank you so much for writing it. You did a fantastic job with the prompt and I obviously love this story to the core.
no subject
I love that this started with the cat suit. I remember you and I discussing this in passing in one thread (meow) and so I was biting my finger to not giggle too loudly at this unseemly hour. I think you took what could have been a crack-ish concept and you made it seem plausible for her to be thinking about. I can totally see this being something someone (or in this case River) is thinking about while they're trying to psych themselves up to do something that they can't quite believe they're going to do. And I love that you have her not do it, not because she's too proud to be seen that way, but because in the end, she's realistic about the dangers of wearing something that could trip her up.
And then the part you wrote about her leaving the message on the Byzantium! That was so perfect. I'm always going to think of this piece when I see that scene now. In particular, I just absolutely and completely loved this: "Honey, the next time you use an ambiguous declension to imply I’m a family pet, I’m not coming to pick you up, and you’ll have to find some other way to cope with the hard vacuum of space . . . I kid, I kid--I won’t be complicit in the death of someone who can plot a temporal recursion slip like that."
The part about the diary! I could see her in my mind's eye doing this and I can see her need for it. She always touches that diary with so much reverence and I don't think it's completely just because of what's written inside or how it connects her to the Doctor. I think it's also what she sees about herself in it and how she uses it to keep control in her wild life, to make sense of her self. You captured that in a very poetic but realistic manner.
And then penance. That was so beautiful and so true that it could have easily served as its own separate little piece. There are some sentences you used that were absolute brilliance about why she needed to go back, why the doctor couldn't understand. And the bit about sometimes needing institutional help. That was so River. Funny. Clever. Biting. And very true.
Mantra. Short but it said so much.
Now, Superstition is probably my absolute favorite. It's such a great metaphor. You took this big concepts both about time and interdependency of all people and summed it up so concisely. And then having it applied to River and the Doctor. Ouch. Especially the bit about asking what happens when someone jumps off. That was a great question because it's totally one of those moments of, "Out of the mouth of babes." That has to be terrifying, to know someone has that much control over you and to know that you have so much control over them in return. And I particularly like the metaphor because its something people choose to do both as individual and together. It's also not something that in its nature is daunting. It's supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be sharing enjoyment in each other's presence.
And the last one. Oh, that was just so much fun to read as a River/Doctor shipper. And it was really good to have this story begin on a lighter note and end on one. I do prefer to read stories like that because it leaves me wanting to know more. It's also a good example of some less complicated times and explains why they don't just burn out on all that angst and deep-thinking. And I love the idea of River bringing him a present and him being giddy over it and then their beautiful banter about what ridiculous thing she had to have done for it. There's a lot to be seen even under their light comments. The fact that the Doctor is willing to believe (even in joking) that she'd sell an organ just to get him something. I love the Doctor being so worried for her because a whole bunch of this story involves how her life is impacted with the Doctor, and that outpouring of feeling from him shows that he's just as impacted by her.
This was just a joy to read. Thank you so much for writing it. You did a fantastic job with the prompt and I obviously love this story to the core.