FIC thoughts about Substitute
23 Jul 2010 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
promethia_tenkSorry, no new writing today, just me working through some plot issues and character motivations. I'm not even sure to what extent any of this will show up explicitly in the finished product, but there were things that were bugging me and I think I've managed to settle them. I don't expect anyone to read this, really, but it helped to bash it out in words and I like the idea of having a record of how I put a piece of writing together. Of course your thoughts are always welcome.
(In case you haven't figured it out yet from what I've written so far, the Doctor and River are not actually Amy's parents. While she was trying to remember her parents in order to bring them back during the Big Bang, she blanked and ended up thinking of the two people who have shown her the most parental-type affection in her living memory. The universe then did its best to accommodate her.)
So, I had a sudden brainstorm about character motivation last night while watching “Amy’s Choice.” Specifically, why does the Doctor seem so basically content in this boring Leadworth existence when just a few months earlier in “Amy’s Choice” he can barely function for ten minutes together because it’s so dull? And why does he not notice there’s something fishy going on when Amy does? For that matter, why is Amy the only one who’s cottoning on and not anyone else? And it occurred to me it has to do with the mindset of each character while the universe is being reset:
As the Doctor tells Amy before he flies into the sun, he’s doing this for her. He’s ready to be wiped out of existence so that she can have a normal life again and has just finished that lovely scene where he tucks her into bed and tells her a story, so if the universe calls him back into a role as her father, so that she can have a normal life again, subconsciously he’s going to be more receptive to that than he would under normal circumstances. On top of that, he’s finally started to warm to the idea of River as his wife, so that’s going to be interesting to him, and obviously they’ve shaped a life together in Leadworth that’s not exactly what you’d think of as a normal, boring existence but is about as well suited to them as life in a sleepy village can be. And, finally, the John Smith-y, catching a taxi at 2am part of the Doctor is always lurking somewhere in the depths, looking for a little gratification.
River, for her part, has obviously been thinking about the Doctor, probably trying hard to remember him, possibly trying to resign herself to never having known him, so a big part of her is going to be pretty happy just to get him back. She also shows a certain motherly affection for Amy she can tap into in this strange life, and then there’s the simple idea that River is a very adaptable and low-maintenance kind of person--she would have to be, to lead the life she does. If she wakes up one day and big parts of her life aren’t making sense, well, that’s pretty much par for the course, and she’ll take note of it but essentially keep going and doing what she can with what she’s got in front of her today.
Amy, on the other hand, is primed to know something’s wrong. She’s just gotten the shocking news that she should actually have parents and hasn’t fully processed the idea. She’s been struggling to remember them, with little success. She must realize on some level she hasn’t gotten it right. Plus she’s already upset about the sacrifices the Doctor and River are making in order to reset the universe and is therefore going to be sensitive to the idea of them having to give up anything else (like the freedom to travel around), especially if these sacrifices are for her sake.
I’m not quite sure where Rory will fall with this. Certainly part of him is going to be happy just to be with Amy, back in the life he understands. But, on the other hand, Rory has grown so much as a character and had his consciousness so much expanded over the course of the season that I rather think he would be ready to accept the idea that something was wrong, if Amy pointed it out to him. I may have her go to him first with her concerns. Ironically, I think the Doctor is going to be the last one to admit that he doesn’t belong in Leadworth. I think he was . . . content enough by the time he walked into the cracks that he could go along with the pleasant fiction of their little family for quite awhile.
And while I'm at it, I'm thinking the title has got to go. I never give my titles much thought. Mostly I'm just all ready to post what I've written and realize, shoot, I need a title, so I think one up fast. Living with this one, however, I realize it is rubbish. It must go.
Oh, ok. If you cared enough to read this far you deserve a little shippy, spoilery bit of dialogue from way towards the end of the fic:
“So, are we married now, or are things back to where they were?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad that’s cleared up, then.”
It just popped into my head, so obviously it must happen.
(In case you haven't figured it out yet from what I've written so far, the Doctor and River are not actually Amy's parents. While she was trying to remember her parents in order to bring them back during the Big Bang, she blanked and ended up thinking of the two people who have shown her the most parental-type affection in her living memory. The universe then did its best to accommodate her.)
So, I had a sudden brainstorm about character motivation last night while watching “Amy’s Choice.” Specifically, why does the Doctor seem so basically content in this boring Leadworth existence when just a few months earlier in “Amy’s Choice” he can barely function for ten minutes together because it’s so dull? And why does he not notice there’s something fishy going on when Amy does? For that matter, why is Amy the only one who’s cottoning on and not anyone else? And it occurred to me it has to do with the mindset of each character while the universe is being reset:
As the Doctor tells Amy before he flies into the sun, he’s doing this for her. He’s ready to be wiped out of existence so that she can have a normal life again and has just finished that lovely scene where he tucks her into bed and tells her a story, so if the universe calls him back into a role as her father, so that she can have a normal life again, subconsciously he’s going to be more receptive to that than he would under normal circumstances. On top of that, he’s finally started to warm to the idea of River as his wife, so that’s going to be interesting to him, and obviously they’ve shaped a life together in Leadworth that’s not exactly what you’d think of as a normal, boring existence but is about as well suited to them as life in a sleepy village can be. And, finally, the John Smith-y, catching a taxi at 2am part of the Doctor is always lurking somewhere in the depths, looking for a little gratification.
River, for her part, has obviously been thinking about the Doctor, probably trying hard to remember him, possibly trying to resign herself to never having known him, so a big part of her is going to be pretty happy just to get him back. She also shows a certain motherly affection for Amy she can tap into in this strange life, and then there’s the simple idea that River is a very adaptable and low-maintenance kind of person--she would have to be, to lead the life she does. If she wakes up one day and big parts of her life aren’t making sense, well, that’s pretty much par for the course, and she’ll take note of it but essentially keep going and doing what she can with what she’s got in front of her today.
Amy, on the other hand, is primed to know something’s wrong. She’s just gotten the shocking news that she should actually have parents and hasn’t fully processed the idea. She’s been struggling to remember them, with little success. She must realize on some level she hasn’t gotten it right. Plus she’s already upset about the sacrifices the Doctor and River are making in order to reset the universe and is therefore going to be sensitive to the idea of them having to give up anything else (like the freedom to travel around), especially if these sacrifices are for her sake.
I’m not quite sure where Rory will fall with this. Certainly part of him is going to be happy just to be with Amy, back in the life he understands. But, on the other hand, Rory has grown so much as a character and had his consciousness so much expanded over the course of the season that I rather think he would be ready to accept the idea that something was wrong, if Amy pointed it out to him. I may have her go to him first with her concerns. Ironically, I think the Doctor is going to be the last one to admit that he doesn’t belong in Leadworth. I think he was . . . content enough by the time he walked into the cracks that he could go along with the pleasant fiction of their little family for quite awhile.
And while I'm at it, I'm thinking the title has got to go. I never give my titles much thought. Mostly I'm just all ready to post what I've written and realize, shoot, I need a title, so I think one up fast. Living with this one, however, I realize it is rubbish. It must go.
Oh, ok. If you cared enough to read this far you deserve a little shippy, spoilery bit of dialogue from way towards the end of the fic:
“So, are we married now, or are things back to where they were?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad that’s cleared up, then.”
It just popped into my head, so obviously it must happen.
(no subject)
Date: 24 Jul 2010 06:37 pm (UTC)Oh, you lovely person. Thanks for responding! Here: have some custard with that.
This makes perfect sense!
I suspected it did, but its good to get some confirmation. I think I get to drop the crackfic label now. Although I do dearly love me some crackfic, this ain't it.
esp. the John Smith parts
I suspect there is an awful lot of bad (and possibly some good) fic out there that uses this as a crutch, which is why I hesitate to bring it up. But as long as I've got other, more specific explanations too, no sense in denying the John Smith effect.
Also in 'Amy's Choice' he was an accidental visitor
Very true. Well, there was a lot factoring into his attitude there. Also his now-resolved antagonism with Rory. Damn, that episode was forever ago in terms of character development.
where here he's Amy's *father*, a role he has put himself into for most of the season, and one he is very comfortable with.
I love the bit in "Vampires of Venice" when he declares that they'll go to the school together and claim Amy is his daughter, perfectly natural . . . and Amy has to remind him that he looks "about nine."
*nods* Yes, I can see that.
I think too that acknowledging that Leadworth is not the life she would have chosen had she not had a daughter has to help too. Well, "help" in the sense of helping her to adapt, not in the sense of helping her see what's going on. Like saying "I'm not sick; I always have allergies this time of year."
She'll go with what her gut tells her, even if reality seems to say otherwise.
First thing we learned about her, wasn't it? She knew the crack was a problem. Admittedly, justifying why Amy would understand that something was wrong was never really the issue--of course she'd notice.
Also Rory has always been her confidante - even when he didn't believe her (see the Raggedy Doctor) he still went along with it to please her.
Good point. I've really got to make a bigger effort to dig into Rory's character. He's not really as complicated as the others, but I do want to do him justice.
*dies* I didn't think I could love them more, but then you wrote that! :)
:) Is Eleven actually as sarcastic as I write him? I can never decide.
(no subject)
Date: 24 Jul 2010 11:01 pm (UTC)Around River, I say yes
(no subject)
Date: 26 Jul 2010 03:43 pm (UTC)(I smile like a moron every time I see your new icon.)
(no subject)
Date: 26 Jul 2010 07:12 pm (UTC)I love your writings. Can I add you?
(no subject)
Date: 26 Jul 2010 07:37 pm (UTC)