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Notes for 'Between Canons: The Year That Never Was.' + FitB.
My notes have sub-headings. Really, that tells you everything... *headdesk* Anyway, here I ramble a lot. Feel free to skip, although I think you'll enjoy the ficlet at the end.
For non-Whovians.
What happened at the end? Bascially a year after the world ended the Master was defeated (long story - Martha saved the world!), the Paradox Machine broken, and time rewound to just after the President had been shot. The only ones to remember the Year That Never Was were the people on board the Valiant at the time... And Illyria. ‘Cause I figure she’s clever like that. :) Oh and the Master gets shot by his wife and dies because he refuses to regenerate, even though the Doctor begs him to. (Dying out of spite - I *love* it!)
Master/Illyria.
I think I’ve shipped these two almost since Simm!Master first showed up. I quoted her ‘Serve no master but your own ambition’ in my VERY long and rambly Doctor/Master essay that I wrote after S3, and added this:
It occurs to me that Illyria and The Master would be the most formidable partnership... there should be fic. Just imagine the possibilities...
Took me a while to get there, but as I had guessed they were absolutely perfect for each other. It was tricky trying to match up the timelines & ‘verses - especially since the shows are pretty vague about when stuff happened ‘back in the old days’ - but figured that it was not unfeasible for Illyria to have come across Gallifrey at the time of its empire, before the wars that made the Timelords retreat to their own planet and swear non-interference.
And of course the Master and Illyria share a certain outlook on the world, and what one should do with it. Interestingly, writing them I unwittingly shed light on one of those lines of Illyria’s that always seemed exceedingly odd:
Wesley: Does it sting you... my betrayal?
Illyria: Betrayal was a neutral word in my day, as unjudged a word as water or breeze. No. (looks away) Or perhaps... I am only bothered because I am bothered.
Wesley’s betrayal *does* bother her, whereas the Master’s doesn’t at all. And I realised that ever since they meet, they both know that one of them will end up killing the other. It’s fundamental to how they interact and as a matter of fact they wouldn’t expect anything less. Betrayal really is a neutral word.
Also I hope that you think Illyria’s characterisation rang true - she obviously gets attached to Angel & co. on the show, and I think this would continue, partly just because she hasn’t got anywhere else to go.
But if someone held out an empire that she could take, I think she’d go for it, definitely, no matter the cost. Furthermore I don’t think she’d think human emotions something to be proud of particularly, and would do her best to suppress them.
Magic.
Magic is dealt with very briefly in New Who - in ‘The Shakespeare Code’ some witches (actually Carrionites, from ‘the dawn of time’) use ‘magic’ in an attempt to destroy the world, and the Doctor talks about how it is perfectly possible to use words instead of maths. However, this does not explain where ‘earthly’ magic comes from.
But as it happens (and the serendipity of this is pretty amazing) the ONLY Old Who story I’ve ever seen is ‘Doctor Who and the Daemons’, which bascially gave me the information that I let the Master re-tell. And it was only as I was writing that it suddenly dawned on me that according to this, the Buffy-verse was right all along. These are the Doctor’s precise words:
"The emotions of a group of ordinary humans generate a tremendous charge of psyhokinetic energy."
See? Emotions = power!!!!!!!
Made my day, that did! :)
Willow.
Willow ought to have been on the banner, really, but I liked letting her be a surprise. :) Funnily enough the whole fic stemmed from her - originally the scene with her, Jack and the Master [and Illyria] was supposed to be a flashback (for Jack) in one of the stories in the sequel. But it just grew...
Now it struck me that Willow is the most powerful of all the Scoobies (and thus the greatest threat to the Master), and also the only one who’d be able to teleport away from danger - and so would be able to get herself out of the Council in the split-second when they realise that they’re going to be blown up. She probably managed to get in contact with some of the Slayers - and maybe even helped set up the resistance - but I think her grief (and guilt over being the only survivor) would propel her towards revenge.
I don’t know exactly what she did to the Master, but she waited until Illyria had left so he couldn’t count on any help - hence her (reluctant) going along with a lot of things.
Oh, and I like to think that her visit was timed to co-incide with Martha and Connor’s meeting - so even if she failed, the Master would be distracted and not notice what was going on down on Earth.
Connor (and Martha).
When I began thinking about what might have happened to all the various BtVS/AtS characters during the year, Connor’s role fell into place with absolute perfection. Out of all of them, he’s the one who would be perfectly suited to coping with a post-apocalyptic world, and also the Master wouldn’t know about him! And every resistance movement needs a leader... (Also Terminator-parallels ftw! *g*)
I will probably write about his meeting with Martha at some point, but it wouldn’t fit in this story at all.
Buffy.
Oh my poor Buffy. I hope I made it clear that she was deeply uncomfortable with Saxon (she was one of the people the Arcangel network didn’t work on, of course), and after he took over she blamed herself for not trusting her instincts more.
He, of course, uses Dawn to get to Buffy, a tactic that works entirely too well. Re. Illyria then Buffy thinks (hopes) that she’s on their side - and considering that she’s helped out for 3 years, this is not unreasonable. Going into the lion’s den isn’t quite so dangerous when you have a Hell God for backup...
It was tricky trying to work out what to do with them all though - there was certainly a temptation to write lots of wacky adventures, but I didn’t want to detract from Martha’s story. Also if Slayers exist in the Whoniverse, there is no way the Master would not have taken them into consideration when he was planning his take-over. (And killing everyone was... entirely to much fun.)
Oh and I loved having Buffy and Jack mirrored on the banner, both chained up. They're both the heroes of their own shows, but this time they were victims.
Doctor/Master
My beautiful ‘ship... Not much to say about them, since the Doctor doesn’t appear much, although I loved making him jump straight in as soon as Willow appeared - ever the opportunist.
His words are supposed to call back to ‘The Satan Pit’:
The Doctor (to the devil): Except that implies - in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils - that she [Rose] is just a victim. But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods - out of all that - out of that whole pantheon - if I believe in one thing... just one thing... I believe in HER.
And of course it ties in with CoE ('finest species in the universe' etc).
Also I need to give you the lyrics of You Always Hurt The One You Love, an old pop standard. Here it is performed by the Mills Brothers. I’m sure you can see why the Master thinks it both fitting and amusing (the last two lines especially):
You always hurt the one you love
The one you shouldn't hurt at all
You always take the sweetest rose
And crush it till the petals fall
You always break the kindest heart
With a hasty word you can't recall
So If I broke your heart last night
It's because I love you most of all
Oh, and in ‘Doctor Who and the Daemons’ the Doctor was almost killed by Morris dancers (the Master’s minions), in case that line confused you...
And re. old skool references, then 'The cosmos without the Doctor is unthinkable' is a slight paraphrasing of one of the Master's old sayings: 'The cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about. I love continuity. :)
The Doctor is of course the hero of the piece, but even so I couldn’t help sneaking in an obscure reference to how the two of them are in so many ways similar...
This line of the Master’s: ’Human brains really are so very small - how do you get around in those things’ is lifted pretty straight from this conversation in ‘The Doctor Dances’ (1.10):
The Doctor: Can you sense it?
Jack: Sense what?
The Doctor: Coming out of the walls, can you feel it?
The child: Mummy?
The Doctor stops to look around at Rose and Jack.
The Doctor: Funny little human brains, how do you get around in those things?
Rose (to Jack): When he's stressed, he likes to insult species.
They - the Doctor, the Master and Illyria - are all three very much above humans, their actions determining the fate of the world. The difference lies in their motivations, in how and what they love, not in their nature.
Speaking of love, then the Doctor is devastated by the Master’s death - I loved to have Illyria mirror that grief. Two god-like cratures, as different as can be, yet in this one instant united in their feelings.
And finally...
You get an extra little scene that wouldn’t fit in the fic. Set after Illyria’s murder it adresses the Master’s feelings.
Coping With Deicide.
“You’ve heard the news, right?”
He must have dozed off, because Jack didn’t notice the Master’s arrival. He’s standing right in front of him, eyes hot and unhinged.
“I killed God today!”
He takes a step back, laughing triumphantly, and Jack tries to get the fog out of his brain. The Master looks dishevelled - the shirt is unbuttoned at the top, and stubble is beginning to show. In one hand he holds a near-empty whisky bottle, and in the other his screwdriver.
Jack can feel his spirit sink through the floor. He is again reminded of the fact that the Master is completely and utterly insane... Not just dangerous, or evil, but entirely unpredictable, and tonight he’s obviously even more unhinged than usual. Why is he here?
“How many people can say that, hm?”
The Master lifts the bottle to his lips and empties it, eyes sliding past Jack into something unknown.
“She was so... beautiful... so perfect, so dignified, even in death...”
Gritting his teeth Jack ponders the endless unfairness of this life. Every execution is beamed across the world, yet this one - that he’d have been happy to have on repeat for days - the Master decided to perform in private. He knows he should keep his mouth shut, but he just can’t help himself.
“Well the dead woman she was wearing was certainly easy on the eyes.”
The next second the bottle hits his face, smashing against his cheek with such force that he almost blacks out. By biting his cheek he manages to stay silent, even though the last dregs of alcohol are burning in the open wounds.
“‘Easy on the eyes?’ All you saw was a shell... it’s like a deaf man saying that he likes music because he thinks the instruments are pretty...”
The Master slumps down on the floor, looking lost and forlorn, and Jack wishes there was some way of stopping the blood from dripping into his eyes.
“You couldn’t see her - any of you. Your little heads would probably have broken if you did. She was so much greater than you could fathom... She shaped the world, Jack - she shone brighter than the sun, and you should have worshipped her, kissed the ground she walked on...”
He takes a shaky breath.
“She was the only one who understood me, and now she’s gone...”
On the last word the Master chokes up, and Jack swallows hard, his mind filled with all the people he’s lost - their names a litany that burns him with grief every waking second. And the Master is crying over a Hell God - a creature who betrayed everyone she ever met.
Anger and hatred overwhelming both pain and whatever shred of self-preservation he still has, he speaks without thinking.
“Good riddance if you ask me.”
He only catches the briefest flare of undiluted fury before the laser sears through his chest and blackness engulfs him.
When he comes to the Master is still on the floor, carefully tapping out a rhythm with his fingers, quietly humming to himself.
Jack’s face is blissfully pain-free now, and he keeps as still as possible so as not to unleash any more violence - although the Master’s anger seems to have passed.
The peace is shattered as the Master’s mobile starts bleeping, and he answers immediately.
“Already? All the rituals performed properly? Excellent.”
He switches it off and looks up at Jack. “And she’s back where she belongs.”
Jack doesn’t reply, but the Master still elaborates.
“The Deeper Well - it’s where all the Old Ones rest. Not sure ‘well’ is quite the right word though, since it’s a hole that goes right through the Earth... It used to have a guard, but, serendipitously, the guy seems to have vanished. ‘Drogyn the Battlebrand’ was his name - a proper hero type straight out of a fairy tale... Nothing like you, obviously, although I’m thinking that maybe one day - when I’m done with Earth, and have gotten rid of all the humans - you could have his job. Bit lonely, but you could always wake up a Hell God to keep you company...”
He laughs, and Jack suddenly feels cold terror grip his insides. Sure his life is hellish now, but eternal loneliness- No, he won’t even think it.
Still laughing the Master gets up, walking off without another word. Jack watches him, realising that he probably just wanted someone to take his frustration out on - someone who didn’t matter...
The Master’s killing of Illyria might have been part grandstanding, he knows. A way of making sure they’re aware that not even a god can defeat him. But they know that he blinked. Just for a second, but Willow almost had herself One Good Day. It’ll happen again, sooner or later. And they’re planning - slowly, carefully - he, the Jones’s and the Doctor.
“We will get you,” he whispers, “and I will personally grind your bones to dust. I made a promise to a lady.”
For non-Whovians.
What happened at the end? Bascially a year after the world ended the Master was defeated (long story - Martha saved the world!), the Paradox Machine broken, and time rewound to just after the President had been shot. The only ones to remember the Year That Never Was were the people on board the Valiant at the time... And Illyria. ‘Cause I figure she’s clever like that. :) Oh and the Master gets shot by his wife and dies because he refuses to regenerate, even though the Doctor begs him to. (Dying out of spite - I *love* it!)
Master/Illyria.
I think I’ve shipped these two almost since Simm!Master first showed up. I quoted her ‘Serve no master but your own ambition’ in my VERY long and rambly Doctor/Master essay that I wrote after S3, and added this:
It occurs to me that Illyria and The Master would be the most formidable partnership... there should be fic. Just imagine the possibilities...
Took me a while to get there, but as I had guessed they were absolutely perfect for each other. It was tricky trying to match up the timelines & ‘verses - especially since the shows are pretty vague about when stuff happened ‘back in the old days’ - but figured that it was not unfeasible for Illyria to have come across Gallifrey at the time of its empire, before the wars that made the Timelords retreat to their own planet and swear non-interference.
And of course the Master and Illyria share a certain outlook on the world, and what one should do with it. Interestingly, writing them I unwittingly shed light on one of those lines of Illyria’s that always seemed exceedingly odd:
Wesley: Does it sting you... my betrayal?
Illyria: Betrayal was a neutral word in my day, as unjudged a word as water or breeze. No. (looks away) Or perhaps... I am only bothered because I am bothered.
Wesley’s betrayal *does* bother her, whereas the Master’s doesn’t at all. And I realised that ever since they meet, they both know that one of them will end up killing the other. It’s fundamental to how they interact and as a matter of fact they wouldn’t expect anything less. Betrayal really is a neutral word.
Also I hope that you think Illyria’s characterisation rang true - she obviously gets attached to Angel & co. on the show, and I think this would continue, partly just because she hasn’t got anywhere else to go.
But if someone held out an empire that she could take, I think she’d go for it, definitely, no matter the cost. Furthermore I don’t think she’d think human emotions something to be proud of particularly, and would do her best to suppress them.
Magic.
Magic is dealt with very briefly in New Who - in ‘The Shakespeare Code’ some witches (actually Carrionites, from ‘the dawn of time’) use ‘magic’ in an attempt to destroy the world, and the Doctor talks about how it is perfectly possible to use words instead of maths. However, this does not explain where ‘earthly’ magic comes from.
But as it happens (and the serendipity of this is pretty amazing) the ONLY Old Who story I’ve ever seen is ‘Doctor Who and the Daemons’, which bascially gave me the information that I let the Master re-tell. And it was only as I was writing that it suddenly dawned on me that according to this, the Buffy-verse was right all along. These are the Doctor’s precise words:
"The emotions of a group of ordinary humans generate a tremendous charge of psyhokinetic energy."
See? Emotions = power!!!!!!!
Made my day, that did! :)
Willow.
Willow ought to have been on the banner, really, but I liked letting her be a surprise. :) Funnily enough the whole fic stemmed from her - originally the scene with her, Jack and the Master [and Illyria] was supposed to be a flashback (for Jack) in one of the stories in the sequel. But it just grew...
Now it struck me that Willow is the most powerful of all the Scoobies (and thus the greatest threat to the Master), and also the only one who’d be able to teleport away from danger - and so would be able to get herself out of the Council in the split-second when they realise that they’re going to be blown up. She probably managed to get in contact with some of the Slayers - and maybe even helped set up the resistance - but I think her grief (and guilt over being the only survivor) would propel her towards revenge.
I don’t know exactly what she did to the Master, but she waited until Illyria had left so he couldn’t count on any help - hence her (reluctant) going along with a lot of things.
Oh, and I like to think that her visit was timed to co-incide with Martha and Connor’s meeting - so even if she failed, the Master would be distracted and not notice what was going on down on Earth.
Connor (and Martha).
When I began thinking about what might have happened to all the various BtVS/AtS characters during the year, Connor’s role fell into place with absolute perfection. Out of all of them, he’s the one who would be perfectly suited to coping with a post-apocalyptic world, and also the Master wouldn’t know about him! And every resistance movement needs a leader... (Also Terminator-parallels ftw! *g*)
I will probably write about his meeting with Martha at some point, but it wouldn’t fit in this story at all.
Buffy.
Oh my poor Buffy. I hope I made it clear that she was deeply uncomfortable with Saxon (she was one of the people the Arcangel network didn’t work on, of course), and after he took over she blamed herself for not trusting her instincts more.
He, of course, uses Dawn to get to Buffy, a tactic that works entirely too well. Re. Illyria then Buffy thinks (hopes) that she’s on their side - and considering that she’s helped out for 3 years, this is not unreasonable. Going into the lion’s den isn’t quite so dangerous when you have a Hell God for backup...
It was tricky trying to work out what to do with them all though - there was certainly a temptation to write lots of wacky adventures, but I didn’t want to detract from Martha’s story. Also if Slayers exist in the Whoniverse, there is no way the Master would not have taken them into consideration when he was planning his take-over. (And killing everyone was... entirely to much fun.)
Oh and I loved having Buffy and Jack mirrored on the banner, both chained up. They're both the heroes of their own shows, but this time they were victims.
Doctor/Master
My beautiful ‘ship... Not much to say about them, since the Doctor doesn’t appear much, although I loved making him jump straight in as soon as Willow appeared - ever the opportunist.
His words are supposed to call back to ‘The Satan Pit’:
The Doctor (to the devil): Except that implies - in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils - that she [Rose] is just a victim. But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods - out of all that - out of that whole pantheon - if I believe in one thing... just one thing... I believe in HER.
And of course it ties in with CoE ('finest species in the universe' etc).
Also I need to give you the lyrics of You Always Hurt The One You Love, an old pop standard. Here it is performed by the Mills Brothers. I’m sure you can see why the Master thinks it both fitting and amusing (the last two lines especially):
You always hurt the one you love
The one you shouldn't hurt at all
You always take the sweetest rose
And crush it till the petals fall
You always break the kindest heart
With a hasty word you can't recall
So If I broke your heart last night
It's because I love you most of all
Oh, and in ‘Doctor Who and the Daemons’ the Doctor was almost killed by Morris dancers (the Master’s minions), in case that line confused you...
And re. old skool references, then 'The cosmos without the Doctor is unthinkable' is a slight paraphrasing of one of the Master's old sayings: 'The cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about. I love continuity. :)
The Doctor is of course the hero of the piece, but even so I couldn’t help sneaking in an obscure reference to how the two of them are in so many ways similar...
This line of the Master’s: ’Human brains really are so very small - how do you get around in those things’ is lifted pretty straight from this conversation in ‘The Doctor Dances’ (1.10):
The Doctor: Can you sense it?
Jack: Sense what?
The Doctor: Coming out of the walls, can you feel it?
The child: Mummy?
The Doctor stops to look around at Rose and Jack.
The Doctor: Funny little human brains, how do you get around in those things?
Rose (to Jack): When he's stressed, he likes to insult species.
They - the Doctor, the Master and Illyria - are all three very much above humans, their actions determining the fate of the world. The difference lies in their motivations, in how and what they love, not in their nature.
Speaking of love, then the Doctor is devastated by the Master’s death - I loved to have Illyria mirror that grief. Two god-like cratures, as different as can be, yet in this one instant united in their feelings.
And finally...
You get an extra little scene that wouldn’t fit in the fic. Set after Illyria’s murder it adresses the Master’s feelings.
“You’ve heard the news, right?”
He must have dozed off, because Jack didn’t notice the Master’s arrival. He’s standing right in front of him, eyes hot and unhinged.
“I killed God today!”
He takes a step back, laughing triumphantly, and Jack tries to get the fog out of his brain. The Master looks dishevelled - the shirt is unbuttoned at the top, and stubble is beginning to show. In one hand he holds a near-empty whisky bottle, and in the other his screwdriver.
Jack can feel his spirit sink through the floor. He is again reminded of the fact that the Master is completely and utterly insane... Not just dangerous, or evil, but entirely unpredictable, and tonight he’s obviously even more unhinged than usual. Why is he here?
“How many people can say that, hm?”
The Master lifts the bottle to his lips and empties it, eyes sliding past Jack into something unknown.
“She was so... beautiful... so perfect, so dignified, even in death...”
Gritting his teeth Jack ponders the endless unfairness of this life. Every execution is beamed across the world, yet this one - that he’d have been happy to have on repeat for days - the Master decided to perform in private. He knows he should keep his mouth shut, but he just can’t help himself.
“Well the dead woman she was wearing was certainly easy on the eyes.”
The next second the bottle hits his face, smashing against his cheek with such force that he almost blacks out. By biting his cheek he manages to stay silent, even though the last dregs of alcohol are burning in the open wounds.
“‘Easy on the eyes?’ All you saw was a shell... it’s like a deaf man saying that he likes music because he thinks the instruments are pretty...”
The Master slumps down on the floor, looking lost and forlorn, and Jack wishes there was some way of stopping the blood from dripping into his eyes.
“You couldn’t see her - any of you. Your little heads would probably have broken if you did. She was so much greater than you could fathom... She shaped the world, Jack - she shone brighter than the sun, and you should have worshipped her, kissed the ground she walked on...”
He takes a shaky breath.
“She was the only one who understood me, and now she’s gone...”
On the last word the Master chokes up, and Jack swallows hard, his mind filled with all the people he’s lost - their names a litany that burns him with grief every waking second. And the Master is crying over a Hell God - a creature who betrayed everyone she ever met.
Anger and hatred overwhelming both pain and whatever shred of self-preservation he still has, he speaks without thinking.
“Good riddance if you ask me.”
He only catches the briefest flare of undiluted fury before the laser sears through his chest and blackness engulfs him.
When he comes to the Master is still on the floor, carefully tapping out a rhythm with his fingers, quietly humming to himself.
Jack’s face is blissfully pain-free now, and he keeps as still as possible so as not to unleash any more violence - although the Master’s anger seems to have passed.
The peace is shattered as the Master’s mobile starts bleeping, and he answers immediately.
“Already? All the rituals performed properly? Excellent.”
He switches it off and looks up at Jack. “And she’s back where she belongs.”
Jack doesn’t reply, but the Master still elaborates.
“The Deeper Well - it’s where all the Old Ones rest. Not sure ‘well’ is quite the right word though, since it’s a hole that goes right through the Earth... It used to have a guard, but, serendipitously, the guy seems to have vanished. ‘Drogyn the Battlebrand’ was his name - a proper hero type straight out of a fairy tale... Nothing like you, obviously, although I’m thinking that maybe one day - when I’m done with Earth, and have gotten rid of all the humans - you could have his job. Bit lonely, but you could always wake up a Hell God to keep you company...”
He laughs, and Jack suddenly feels cold terror grip his insides. Sure his life is hellish now, but eternal loneliness- No, he won’t even think it.
Still laughing the Master gets up, walking off without another word. Jack watches him, realising that he probably just wanted someone to take his frustration out on - someone who didn’t matter...
The Master’s killing of Illyria might have been part grandstanding, he knows. A way of making sure they’re aware that not even a god can defeat him. But they know that he blinked. Just for a second, but Willow almost had herself One Good Day. It’ll happen again, sooner or later. And they’re planning - slowly, carefully - he, the Jones’s and the Doctor.
“We will get you,” he whispers, “and I will personally grind your bones to dust. I made a promise to a lady.”