Doctor Who: Fic Recs (spoilers for 4x13 - "Journey's End")

[butterfly]

Because a happy ending doesn't happen all at once. Here are some recent stories that I've read dealing with the New Doctor/Rose situation as they figure out that whole 'day by day life' thing.

Moving On (by wendymr) where the New Doctor and Rose have something in common and the New Doctor makes his own tools.

The Real One (by thunderemerald) where the New Doctor burns both romantic dinners he tries to make for Rose and ends up ordering pizza instead and Rose realizes that Jackie and Alt!Pete didn't just make their new relationship work, they made it better.

All the Ways that Count (by dark_aegis) where the New Doctor knows damn well which of the two Doctors got the better deal.

Same Difference (by surrexi) where Rose has to remind herself that home doesn't sound like the TARDIS anymore and her body catches up before her mind does.

The Nature of Tea and Carpets (by rachelbeann) where the New Doctor still takes three sugars and thinks that Rose underestimates how important her happiness is to the original Tenth Doctor.

East of the Sun & West of the Moon (by ariafic) where Rose and the New Doctor... dance, he's still got bits of Donna in him, and he wishes he could give Rose the stars.

throw your arms over your eyes and greet this brand new day (by biggrstaffbunch) where Rose should have seen it coming, the universe doesn't give gifts, and the New Doctor has wire-framed glasses.

So, I love the Doctor, I really do, and my interest in reading original Tenth Doctor/Rose or any other fully Time Lord Doctor/Rose fic hasn't waned, but I'm just blown away by how much potential exists for Rose and her New Doctor in Pete's World. Will they dare to try domestic? Possibly. Will the Doctor build himself a new sonic screwdriver/time machine/space ship? Well, he does in my personal canon. I can't imagine either of them standing still for very long. Adrenaline junkies that they are.

Does he love everything about Rose, every single day, for the rest of their lives? Unquestioningly yes. Oh, yes.

How much of the Doctor is still Time Lord and how much is now human? That's something that I'm definitely willing to go with individual authors on. I mostly think of him as The Doctor with a human heart and human aging, but I adore the fics that throw a bit of Donna in there, too (and I agree with the people who think that part of the reason New Ten is so controlled on the beach is because he doesn't want to sound too much like Donna -- I notice that they make sure to have him say his special 'Rose Tyler' in that lovely way of his that I adore and I bet he was focusing carefully on the words to make certain that he sounded like himself).

I love the Doctor/Rose ship. I'll read any Doctor with Rose -- One through Ten, any future regenerations, and now this slightly more human/Donna-eske version as well (and I rather like the notion that DonnaDoctor lives on a bit in him). And while Rose loved traveling with the Doctor and she loved new experiences and new places and all the running... she also loves the man in him. She loves the things that make him a person instead of a god. "Stuck with you... that's not so bad," she says in "The Impossible Planet".

Does my heart break for our original Tenth, all by himself in our original universe? Of course. But the Doctor isn't allowed to stop. We saw what happens when he stops in "Turn Left". All he could offer Rose was exactly what they had in Series Two and... he wanted to give her more. He wanted to give her everything. And now, in a parallel world, a version of himself can. And that's... something.

(and as an additional plus, the way Doctor/Rose worked out here makes me buy Doctor/River in the future because he's in the right place emotionally... though the snapping fingers thing is still silly)

Comments

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I'm so on the same page with you right now. Journey's End was like a punch in the gut, and there's still a bit of hurt there, but I love the possibilities that the new Doctor in the alt!verse brings. And not because they can finally settle down and have Timebabies. I'm loving the fic that's already out there.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

There's already some great fic and we should get even more in the future. And my current thirst for New Doctor/Rose hasn't dimmed my interest in pre-"Journey's End" canon stories. There's still so much possibility out there.

[olga-keepout.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the recs, I've been working through them today. They really help me deal with it the way I'm used to with this show - together with the characters.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I wish that we could have had more time with the New Doctor and Rose in canon, but the fanfic that's come out so far has been really great.

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs (and thanks for reccing me!) -- these stories are all so, so fantastic.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

They really are! I love all the slightly different takes on how Rose and the New Doctor adjust to each other and the parallel world.

Do you think that you'll be writing more stories set in Pete's World?

*hopeful look*

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

I hope I will, yeah. Because I've gotten stuck on the idea that while new!Ten may not have a proper Gallifreyan TARDIS, or any means of getting one, they may still have a GALLIFREY. I mean, as far as we know, there is no Doctor in Pete's World. Does that mean no Time War? Does that mean Gallifrey's still around? And that there's a way to GET THERE?

Ooooh, thoughts. I has them.

[http://users.livejournal.com/oceana_/]

Thank you for the recs, they were just what I needed tonight.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I'm glad I could help.

from the_spdn

[fauxkaren.livejournal.com]

In my personal cannon, the Doctor does all the River Song nonsense in the two weeks following Journey's End. He just hops around in time to make the timelines match up. And his vulnerable emotional state is what makes him seem older. He needs someone to talk to and I think that River will fulfill that, for better or worse. I still don't buy that he falls in love with her.

Re: from the_spdn

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like this. Good thoughts.

Re: from the_spdn

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I still don't buy that he falls in love with her.

I don't really, either. The fact that River recognized Donna's name (I believe) does imply to me that he meets up with her soon after this, while the wound is still fairly fresh. And... River is so different from Rose and I think that the Doctor throws himself into that. I think that her being so different from what he knows is the love of his life is part of what put him off from her in SitL/FotD and then now he realizes that it's a blessing.

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

Your posts are keeping me sane. Journey's End really threw me through a loop emotionally, and I'm very glad for every word you've said about it. So thank you.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I'm glad that I can help. "Journey's End" was intense.

[kalleah.livejournal.com]

I am plotting a Blue!Ten and Rose story in my head and I just love how rich their stories are with potential. I'm with you. I ache for our original Doctor, because he is alone, but Blue!Ten is still the Doctor. Just different. And he loves Rose, no doubt about it.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Exactly. My heart breaks for our original Doctor, but Rose and the New Doctor have so much brightness waiting for them in their future once they get over this new "Christmas Invasion"-eske bump. As happy as Series Two, but with added kissing. It's hard to argue with added kissing.

[blackcat-1.livejournal.com]

Hello! Fancy bumping into you here!

I am plotting a Blue!Ten and Rose story in my head and I just love how rich their stories are with potential.

YAY!

[demeter918.livejournal.com]

The possibilities of the new!Doctor and Rose are so endless; I've been enjoying the fics myself and while I'm still a little uneasy about it, it's slowly working itself into my system. It does help that I ship Rose/any Doctor! And it actually helps that my favorite is Rose/Nine. New!Ten is apparently a mix of Nine and Ten, and as shallow as it sounds, I'm glad we got a bit of Nine back for Rose.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

It does help that I ship Rose/any Doctor!

Me, too. And I think it does help. I'd still ship them if he'd turned into Eleven and ended up having two heads. Because he would still be the Doctor and she would still be Rose.

[kitkatbyte.livejournal.com]

the way Doctor/Rose worked out here makes me buy Doctor/River in the future because he's in the right place emotionally... though the snapping fingers thing is still silly

YES on both counts!

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Because River is so different from Rose, which is part of what bugged me during the original airing of the episodes. But now that makes sense. I can see him just throwing himself into trying to give River a relationship that's worth the sacrifice that she made for him and the fact that she's so very much not Rose will actually be a good thing.

[blackcat-1.livejournal.com]

I mostly think of him as The Doctor with a human heart and human aging

Yes, this is how I think of him, too. Many people are calling him Human!Doctor, which, I suppose may be just a quick and easy way of differentiating from the original Doctor, but he really is only *part* human (single heart and lifespan) and also part Time Lord (which apppears to be overlooked at times).

[blackcat-1.livejournal.com]

Oh, could I also recommend Avoria's 'A Life Well Loved'? It's a WIP and is looking fantastic. It beautifully portrays the emotions of Rose and 'her' Doctor so well as they come to terms with their situation. It's not really angsty, because there is a feeling of hope throughout each chapter and you just know that they're going to find happiness. It's great.