Lies that bind

[kalypso_v]

This story developed from two things: my dissatisfaction seven months ago with the ending of Last Christmas - because if the Doctor can't tell how old Clara is, why wouldn't he ask her to come with him anyway? - and a recent conversation with kerravonsen about Clara's lying. I doubt that this is the fic she was looking for, but it's helped me to work through

Comments

[jhall1]

That's excellent.

[kalypso_v]

Thank you very much! I never really expected to write about Clara, but I'd been wondering about a short alternative version of that closing scene, and then, when the conversation about lying came up, I decided to see whether I could combine the two ideas.

[quarryquest]

Even if I don't like Dr Who now I liked that. I also need someone to give me a soundbite (or even a word bite) about the importance of fix-it fic to stick in the fandom book. Can you comment?

[kalypso_v]

Thank you very much - I'm glad that it worked for you despite your current feelings for the original.
I'm not quite sure what kind of soundbite you need - could you ask me a question or two so that I can get a feel for what you want?

[astrogirl2]

I will happily accept your lovely present, and squish it tight! It may, in fact, be the fic I didn't even know I was looking for. Even though I like Clara and am happy enough to have her back for another season, I do think that the Christmas ep would have worked better, as a whole, if the elderly Clara was the real Clara. Plus, I'm a fan of old folks getting a chance at a little TARDIS travel. And I love the way you've presented Clara's perspective on her lying and her alternate lives through the Doctor's timestream. It's not a take on it I would even have thought of, but it works so well.

[kalypso_v]

Thank you! I'm delighted that you like it. I'm convinced that the original version of Last Christmas must have been something like this, before Jenna Coleman decided to stay - but it has been annoying me all this time that the current version has the Doctor failing to ask elderly Clara to come with him, whether he understands how old she is or not! But then, the way the scene with the paper hats is shot, with Clara flipping between old and young, made me think that the fact we see Clara as young in the final scene is no guarantee that she is - if the Doctor is telling the truth and can't see the difference (I'm uncertain whether he's lying or not) then we may just be seeing her through his eyes.

[astrogirl2]

That whole "I can't even see what age you are" thing was so weird to me. I'm still not at all sure what to make of it. I did see someone suggest that maybe he was looking at her primarily with some sense other than his eyes, and her timeline was so bizarre that whatever sense tells a Time Lord how old someone is just sort of gave up on her. Or something along those lines. I think I might rather like that as an explanation.

[kalypso_v]

I'm fine with the idea that Time Lords are reading faces and/or bodies quite differently, and there were various other moments when the Twelfth Doctor made odd remarks about her appearance - eg he deduced her date with Danny was over because she'd taken her make-up off, and she said "No, I haven't. I'm still wearing my make-up." And then that bit in Dark Water where he says "Look at you. I need sceptical, clever, critical. I don't need mopey. It put years on your face. And what if people see us together? It looks like you've been melted."

Actually those remarks taken together may suggest he's reading mental state rather than physical appearance - the former may influence the latter, but the fact that he's wrong about the make-up may mean he's looking at her telepathically (and picking up "OMG what a disastrous end to the date") but pretending that the cues are visual and occasionally getting caught out when they don't match. Though I like the idea that her bizarre timeline confuses him too. Probably artron energy comes into it!

[stevie_carroll]

Lovely!

[kalypso_v]

Thank you! Clara wasn't a character I expected I'd write about, but I'm quite glad that I did!