Fic: Even hope (Doctor Who)
Title: Even Hope
Rating: FRM/R
Pairings: Simm!Master/Jack non-con, slight Master/Doctor
Warnings: Non-con, torture, darkfic, angst
Disclaimer: I make no attempt to pretend that I own the fandom(s) herein, or any of the associated characters
Summary: Jack has long since come to understand that he will outlive all things
Notes: Spoilers for the Year That Never Was.
~*~
Despite all appearances to the contrary, despite the flirtation and jokes, Jack is an immensely practical person. There had been a time when the closest thing he had to a goal was simply to survive, no matter what the cost. Of course he has long since fallen out of that way of thinking: for a very long time now it hasn't been necessary.
But it is startlingly easy to slip back into that old mindset, to ignore the countless little defeats and concessions he makes to avoid unnecessary pain. Because there is a difference between surviving and merely continuing to live.
It's a psychological arms race. His pain threshold rises as he becomes increasingly accustomed to torture - the Master ups the ante, finds new and more creative ways of inflicting pain. When injuring him is no longer quite as amusing, the Master sets out instead to humiliate him, use his body against him.
It's just another kind of torture, he tells himself, and does not allow himself to feel responsible. The purpose is to break him, and he will not let that happen.
In the spaces between when the Master is busy, he retreats inside his mind and draws on old, half-forgotten training to strengthen his mental defenses. Deep down, he knows it will not be good enough. No mere human mind could hope to withstand the power of a Time Lord.
Eventually he can control even the most basic, animal side of his brain, reflexes and instinct. He can stop his heart when the pain becomes too much, when the brief peace and healing is worth the dizzying suffocation of death.
In the end, he is lucky. A fixed point should not exist. He brings himself close to death and feels the Master shuddering away from the wrongness of his mind.
When he finally stops responding, reaches the point where he can almost ignore mere physical damage, the Master moves onto more subtle forms of torment. He witnesses the murder and torture of innocent strangers who scream and plead for their lives. And in the back of his mind he envies them the release of a final death.
He begins to doubt that the Doctor has any plan at all, that he would be capable of destroying the only other Time Lord even if he did. He knows that in the worst case scenario he will eventually outlive the Master, but he begins to doubt that his sanity will remain intact
They say that hope is the last thing to die. But Jack has long since come to understand that he will outlive all things.
Even hope.
Rating: FRM/R
Pairings: Simm!Master/Jack non-con, slight Master/Doctor
Warnings: Non-con, torture, darkfic, angst
Disclaimer: I make no attempt to pretend that I own the fandom(s) herein, or any of the associated characters
Summary: Jack has long since come to understand that he will outlive all things
Notes: Spoilers for the Year That Never Was.
~*~
Despite all appearances to the contrary, despite the flirtation and jokes, Jack is an immensely practical person. There had been a time when the closest thing he had to a goal was simply to survive, no matter what the cost. Of course he has long since fallen out of that way of thinking: for a very long time now it hasn't been necessary.
But it is startlingly easy to slip back into that old mindset, to ignore the countless little defeats and concessions he makes to avoid unnecessary pain. Because there is a difference between surviving and merely continuing to live.
It's a psychological arms race. His pain threshold rises as he becomes increasingly accustomed to torture - the Master ups the ante, finds new and more creative ways of inflicting pain. When injuring him is no longer quite as amusing, the Master sets out instead to humiliate him, use his body against him.
It's just another kind of torture, he tells himself, and does not allow himself to feel responsible. The purpose is to break him, and he will not let that happen.
In the spaces between when the Master is busy, he retreats inside his mind and draws on old, half-forgotten training to strengthen his mental defenses. Deep down, he knows it will not be good enough. No mere human mind could hope to withstand the power of a Time Lord.
Eventually he can control even the most basic, animal side of his brain, reflexes and instinct. He can stop his heart when the pain becomes too much, when the brief peace and healing is worth the dizzying suffocation of death.
In the end, he is lucky. A fixed point should not exist. He brings himself close to death and feels the Master shuddering away from the wrongness of his mind.
When he finally stops responding, reaches the point where he can almost ignore mere physical damage, the Master moves onto more subtle forms of torment. He witnesses the murder and torture of innocent strangers who scream and plead for their lives. And in the back of his mind he envies them the release of a final death.
He begins to doubt that the Doctor has any plan at all, that he would be capable of destroying the only other Time Lord even if he did. He knows that in the worst case scenario he will eventually outlive the Master, but he begins to doubt that his sanity will remain intact
They say that hope is the last thing to die. But Jack has long since come to understand that he will outlive all things.
Even hope.