Paramagnetic - fic commentary

[fahye]

I needed to write this out for myself, so that I could make some of the concepts cohere, but if anyone wants a peek at how my brain works when I'm writing...this'll probably give you a fair picture :)

Comments

*follows the author home*

[kheha]

I love your brain.

This story rocks my socks because it is actually fantastic meta (a sort of "best of" meta with little impressive insights from everywhere), but it's also meta that's housed in great prose.

And yay for theme inversions from Doctor Who, for palindromes of Jack, for Jack reflecting himself in his (ineffective) team, and for Tosh trying to sleep with Suzie. I didn't even garner that last one from the fic itself, but you say it now and it is so very, very true. I wish I had meta-ish thoughts to throw back at you, but everything is still percolating through my brain.

Re: *follows the author home*

[fahye]

I find the theme inversions fascinating - death as opposed to life, taint as opposed to good influence.

Anyway, I'm pleased you found enough food for thought in there to make the percolating worthwhile.

[isagel]

To me, this is one of the overriding themes of Torchwood - the fact that good people (Gwen) get drawn into this fight, and we think oh, yes, they’ll teach the jaded alien hunters some humanity, how predictable, and instead…the humanity is what gets shattered. Degraded. It’s the opposite to Doctor Who’s message, it’s not Jack-the-cowardly-conman-gets-taught-courage, it’s Jack the bitter time-traveller gets to infuse a whole lot of other people with that same bitterness. CHARMING. I mean, fuck, I love it, I think it’s fantastically cynical telly and that’s why I watch it, but I really think fandom should acknowledge this a little more without diving straight into the over-done emotion.

[---]

Torchwood, when you get right down to it, is about death. Look past the huge amounts of snogging and humour and fast violence and gore and actually think about the enormity of what happened to Jack without playing it for angst…yup, morbid as fuck.

These comments of yours make it very clear to me why this fic resonates so with me. (Be it

[fahye]

I think that line about resonating concrete is one of my favourites in the entire series :D Though that whole double episode is just fantastic. I am a huge Moffat fan.

And yes, yes, yes - the show is cynicism with a frivolous varnish over the top. Thanks for delving so deep here, I think we certainly see this the same way, and it's good fun to tease things out.

[isagel]

A very late answer to this comment, but I was re-reading your story after reccing it to someone and stumbled back in here, and I just wanted to say:

I am a huge Moffat fan.

Me too. Apart from the brilliance that is "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances", I think "The Girl in the Fireplace" is one of the most overwhelming and poignant pieces of television writing out there. I'm in awe of his skill. And I'd love to see him write something for Torchwood.

[isagel]

Also, two more random comments while I'm at it:

Re: the various references to the number three, such as "Three is not an important number, but five feels right." My immediate, reflexive interpretation when first reading the fic (and on subsequent rereading) was that Jack associates the number three with the trio - the threesome, if you will, though the sexual connotations of that word aren't necessary for this discussion - that was made up of himself, the Doctor and Rose. Hence his insistance that three is not important - a relationship of three is the most important thing he's experienced, but it's an importance he badly wants to forget - and what strikes me as his itchy eagerness to make sure he is not part of a team of three again. I find it interesting that you don't mention having had this thought when writing the relevant paragraphs.

And so it goes, the life of Captain Jack Harkness. Some days are easier than others, sometimes his chest won't seize up when he sees a throbbing blue light, sometimes he can go a whole week

[faith_less_one]

Okay - so now I have a powerful desire to write fic. Not sure what, I just know I want to write some.

I utterly adored all your insight into this. I must admit that I love stuff like this - I don't think I've watched a movie yet that I didn't prefer with the commentary. It makes the actual piece so much more enjoyable when you see the thoughts behind it.

Thank you.

(Also, I'm totally behind you on the "Give Tosh more lines" - our girl just doesn't get enough screentime.)

[fahye]

Well, I know that reading good fic makes ME want to write, so I consider it a great compliment that I've spurred the urge in you :)

I actually don't watch films with the commentaries - something about breaking the fourth wall. I prefer my escapism to be capsulated. I don't read many interviews or go in for finding out about celebrities either.

Hell yes. Hopefully S2 will see Tosh emerge with more lines and more personality.

[schiarire]

* Well, AP English Literature. however, a standardized test is a standardized test, I suppose.

* I never had any idea why on earth you thought "graceful degradation" was special until just now, when I realized that, of course, it's all to do with echoes and parallels. Well, and paradox, I suppose. still. I am impressed with it, finally

[fahye]

response 1/2

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She will have music wherever she goes

The Anglo-Saxon penchant for alliteration is something...uh...my mother and I were talking about because SHE got it out of Peter Ackroyd's Albion: A History of the British Imagination, which I am reading one of these days. I didn't really expect many people to know it, I just...this commentary is a stream-of-consciousness and I don't really edit my thoughts to consider what others might have heard of. Consider it education?

More later!

[fahye]

response 2/2

I fell in love with 'graceful degradation' as soon as my neuroscience lecturer told me about it; in reference to neurological systems, but stealing an engineering term. As psychophysics does.

I must say I have no idea what your reference to AP English Lit has to do with anything. Er.

[schiarire]

* It just refers to your dialogue at the top, where I was not enchanted with the iceberg poem. as in, that poem was on the AP English Literature exam, not the SAT. But as I said . . . it isn't actually important.

* You do that often! Like, you cite something just as an aside that NOBODY ELSE KNOWS. *weeps*