Monsters and Men

For discussing the Breaking Destiny series and Doctor Who in general

[malwarechips]

"i think", i say, about my own ocs, who i made,

[rosexknight]

“my headcanon is…” i say about the canon that i made about my own characters

[nirah10]

What were everyone's thoughts about the other world doctor and the meanwhile Harry? Everyone that got a glance or a run in with him, I mean.

I've struggled a bit with addressing that, mostly just because there's so much else going on. It would have been a terrifying thing for the others to see, but everyone is still reeling from the losses to the team and there is work to be done.

I would say Annie has been the most affected. She might not fully comprehend what exactly a Meanwhile is, but she understands enough to know that it was really fucked up. She's always viewed the Doctor as harmless--just a warm, cuddly, fun uncle type--and seeing a version of him that was violent and ruthless has really disturbed that vision of him. Shaun pointed out that the only difference between her uncle and the Doctor that they were fighting was only a matter of how much he'd lost, and her Doctor can still experience those losses. That might not change her immediate view of him, but it is enough to make her start rethinking how much he can be trusted.

I might play with others reactions a little bit in the future, once the shock has worn off, but it was mostly Harry and the Doctor that I needed to see them. Regardless of how the rest of the cast thinks or feels about it, Harry and the Doctor know exactly what they saw and what happened to those other versions of themselves.

[nirah10]

When the doctor snapped at J.J, I thought immediately, "Oh, if the doctor regenerated THAT'S probably how he'd act a lot of the time." Mr. Sassy. Mr. Snappy man. "Oi, watch it earth girl" with a little kick in it. Not nice. Is kind. Too old for this shit.

Also, I could be mistaken. However. Um, the uh, without thinking about it too much, uh- WAS THAT THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET?

I like when he gets sassy 🥰 Regenerating right now I think would result in a very sassy, even angry, Doctor. Perhaps skipping over 11 and straight to 12, as someone else suggested. He's not exactly cuddly and full of whimsy at the moment.

As for the planet . . . the Doctor did think that finding a safe space for the Beast would be next to impossible . . .

[nirah10]

It sounds like Harry and The Doctor want each other but they're not what they need. In not getting their needs met, they seek out other things that can meet their needs or help them cope. EX: The Doctor taking jobs from UNIT to get on his feet. Harry going to people that are more grounded / predictable / stable (Wilfred, staying at Jack's house, Kel).

Another EX: The Doctor defaults to the TARDIS or the Beast because those are things that he can control / things that stay. Same thing with humans as mentioned before, he's more in control. Harry having a preference to people who are self sufficient / useful / durable. He looks for those that can protect him, help him, and exist without him. Much like a "doctor", or someone muscular or someone who's lived through a lot. Something close to an equal cause the only man to keep up with him is himself or the one that keeps leaving for someone else.

That's one way to look at it, for sure. I think the biggest obstacle for them has always been that the Doctor is a runner. He doesn't like facing anything personal and it's so much easier to either play the mysterious Time Lord or run away. Harry tried the same tactic in his youth and has learned that it doesn't really work long-term for him. Harry would rather be uncomfortable, say the thing, and deal with the problem, whereas the Doctor would rather run and pretend the problem doesn't exist. The result of this is that Harry has been healing in ways that the Doctor hasn't.

[nirah10]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

The new chapter is up! I can't for the life of me get ff.net to cooperate so it's not posted there yet but it will be once I figure out the problem. I need to go to bed, so it's only on Ao3 for now.

[nirah10]

do any other characters besides Celeste know Max?

Yes! Obviously, Doug knew them too, mostly just from hanging out with Kel, and would have called them his friend. Jack has met them through work. They don't have any kind of ongoing friendship/relationship, but they did sleep together once (several years back), so Nista also met them when they came over. Celeste will occasionally meet up with them for coffee or lunch and does consider them something of a friend, but most communication is business-related.

[nirah10]

Hi!!!! I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed Breaking Destiny and Gods of War!!!! They're honestly my favourite stories. The character work is fantastic, especially Harry. He feels like his own person while still fitting naturally into the Doctor Who universe which is a difficult balance to pull off.

One thing I've always found interesting is the way the Master seems to absorb human culture. John Simm's Master danced to the Scissor Sisters, referenced the Teletubbies and generally seemed to enjoy Earth's pop culture despite claiming to be above humanity. Missy constantly referenced songs, films and television, turned "Hey Mickey" into "Hey Missy", and practically modelled herself after Mary Poppins at times. Then Sacha Dhawan's Master became so committed to the Rasputin aesthetic that he built an entire scheme around it and celebrated by dancing to Boney M. Like I am pretth sure that song inspired a whole evil pln ... like how your music inspires you! 🤣

That got me wondering about Harry and pop culture. does he still enjoy human pop culture? Does he listen to music, watch films, quote television shows, or get attached to the same sort of things that other incarnations of the Master seem to enjoy?

Or is he less imvested in the silly pop culture side of things now that he is living on earth full time?

Thank you! 😊 I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so much

Harry is well known for his love of music. It's pretty common for him to play music in the house and dance around a bit, especially if he's doing something like cooking. He doesn't watch a lot of TV anymore, but that's mostly because Ganbri and the Doctor don't watch a lot of TV either. He puts a lot more of his time and effort into his relationships now, much preferring to hang out with Wilfred or Jack for an afternoon than binge watching a show, but he still enjoys most human entertainment. He has adopted and integrated into human culture very well, arguably even better than the Doctor has. He is truly at home on Earth now 😊

[nirah10]

NIRAH.

DROP AN X READER WITH THE WHOLE CAST AND MY LIFE IS YOURS.

Gonna be honest, I don't know what that is 😅 I Googled it, and it looks like it's a fic meant to be through the eyes of the reader as an inserted character. I don't really know how I would go about doing such a thing. I suppose you could always be a new Torchwood recruit, but I think it would be quite difficult for me to write from the perspective of what would essentially be a blank slate, especially because I assume I would need to keep it that way for the sake of immersion.

I get very immersed in my characters with my writing, to the point that I'm literally learning about dissociative disorders because I think I have one 😅 Writing to me feels like slipping into someone else's skin for a while, so I'm just not sure how a generic/blank character would even work for me. It's an interesting idea, but I don't think I'm the right person for it.

[nirah10]

In your amazing fic Breaking Destiny, Harry was so thrilled to discover that his old laboratory was still there. He'd created it when he was little more than a child, during his early travels with the Doctor I think? The Doctor had essentially locked the place up and forgotten about it, which, by complete accident, turned out to be the perfect way to preserve everything Harry had been working on.

Because nobody interfered with the laboratory for so long, the life forms Harry had created were allowed to continue growing and evolving. I seem to remember it being mentioned that one of his plant creations had become mobile and was astonishingly close to crossing the line between plant and animal life. It was practically a new life form. I've forgotten its name, though.

Is that plant still alive?

Now that Kel and Harry are good friends, assuming they both survive everything that's happening and still have access to the TARDIS afterwards, I can easily imagine Harry taking Kel to see it. I think Kel would be completely fascinated. He already likes plants, and Harry is basically a master terraformer. The idea of meeting a plant that's almost evolved into an animal feels like exactly the sort of thing that would capture Kel's attention for hours. Is Harry's plant pet this alive?? What is the life span of a almost animal plant? As plants can live for ageeeeeeeees.

Ah, yes, that would be Lily 🥰 Lily will have passed away by now, but she had a good, full life. Plants can live a long time, but mobility consumes a lot of energy and makes one more prone to illness and injury, and I'd say the lifespan for Lily's species is about 20 years. The lab is home to many of her descendants and Harry still spends time with them. He's quite fond of them.

Kel would be obsessed very quickly. He would adore the whole lab and would be very interested in studying the life there. If Harry was ever able to successfully woo Kel, it would likely be through his lab.

[nirah10]

while I want Doctor/Master to be endgame ... I do hope their is at least one universe where Kel and Harry are happily married and doing weird things with plants together.

There must be at least one ❤️ maybe even a few

[nirah10]

The Doctor 🤝 A Confident Autistic Woman

Two peas in a pod

[nirah10]

ooooo. I am so excited for the chapter! Have so many questions probably because it is a sneak peak and not the full context lol. I wanna know why Kel said no to the Doctor having his husband there, or even asking Harry?? I guess I will have to wait and find out. Is this a logical choice for Harry not to be there? Or is Kel being protective of Harry? So maby questions!!! I guess I have to wait for the chapter. Also will we see harry at all this chapter. That badass is my fave. Love Harry. This is so good by the way. You are an amazing writer!!!

Yeah, I can give you that. I decided to keep it short before and there's a few paragraphs between this section and the one you already got so I figured it made sense to just give you the end bit, but I don't see the harm in providing the beginning 😊 (the short answer is Kel is being protective)

He glanced back over at Kel, still kneeling beside the Beast with one hand on its forehead while the other scribbled notes. “Are we going to get Harry?”

“No.” Kel didn't even glance in his direction when he answered.

“I think maybe we should.”

“No.”

He scowled, twisting a little further around so that Kel might actually look at him. “I didn't think I needed your permission.”

“Not my permission.” Kel looked him directly in the eye then. “I believe Harry has clearly expressed that he has no desire to see this creature again.”

“Well, yes, but,” he shrugged, voice wilting beneath the unmoving stare. “I just thought. . .”

“I will inform him when the mission is complete.”

“Right.” He tugged at his crooked fingers and the Beast groaned. “It's just I'm a bit worried.”

“I understand this will be difficult for you.”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I might . . . I might need Harry.”

“Harry doesn't need this,” Kel answered sharply.

[nirah10]

Holy shit you're back!

Hi! 🥰 Yes, I finally re-emerged from the void 😅 a lot of bonkers stuff happened in life and I just didn't write for a long time, but I finally got back to it. You've got some chapters to catch up on!

[nirah10]

You are making me DREAD the next chapter for the Doctor. PLEASE BE GENTLE

I'm sure he'll be fine

[nirah10]

Any chance of a sneak peak of this next chapter pretry please? I can't stop thinking about this story. It is freaking addictive.

Thanks for the enthusiasm ^_^ Here's a little clip from the next chapter. For context, the Doctor is asking to have Harry present for support, and Kel has firmly told him no. Note that I may change some of the wording here in the editing process.

"You will have Nista for support," Kel offered next.

Poor, frightened J.J., so young and so small. "I can't ask-"

"He is stronger than you." It was stated as a cold, hard fact, but Kel softened his voice for the next words. "He is your nephew--your family. He will help you."

He nodded in agreement but didn't feel any better. He felt his eyes sting with the threat of tears and he whispered the next question to avoid hearing what his voice might sound like.

"What if I can't be helped?"

Kel shrugged. "You can always be shot again."

[muninnhuginn]

love it when characters do a sacrifice play ostensibly to save others but mostly so they don't have to face themselves

[nirah10]

That's my Doctor 🥰

[nirah10]

"It's good," J.J. murmured between mouthfuls, greedily ripping more meat free before he'd even finished chewing.

"That's because it's fresh," Harry answered.

He sat stiffly on his stone seat, trying to keep his suit clean from the muddy filth of the riverbank, with J.J.'s clothes folded neatly on his lap. The pool of blood had stretched towards him at first, but quickly sank into the earth before reaching his polished leather shoes.

"Have you ever eaten one?" J.J. asked, his voice sounding young and innocent even as it joined the sound of flesh ripping. "It's better than rabbit or deer. Not as good as duck though."

Harry felt himself twitch uncomfortably and gazed off into the trees. "Yes, I've tried it and I'd have to agree."

Follow up to my post, just Harry sitting there and agreeing that human tastes better than duck 🤣🤣🤣

Well, he has eaten them before 😅