#Doctor Who novellas | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thelifeofchuckmovie · 23 days

Text

When it comes to ending the world, Stephen King is a repeat offender. He has brought life as we know it to a brutal conclusion several times over the decades, usually highlighting the cruelty and desperation that erupts among the last to go. But his 2020 story “The Life of Chuck” uses doomsday to evoke some unlikely sentiments: Wistfulness. Gratitude. Even joy.

The idea of creating an apocalyptic version of It’s a Wonderful Life is what led filmmaker Mike Flanagan to call dibs on the rights to the novella more than four years ago. The breakdown of society, extinction-level natural disasters, and the disintegration of reality itself is explored through the lens of one relatively meek and mild accountant, played by Tom Hiddleston, whose memories and choices are mysteriously connected to these tribulations. Retirement posters congratulating him on “39 great years” pop up everywhere. But who is this guy? What job does he do (or did he used to do)? And why does it matter so much to the fate of the world? This apparent nobody named Chuck Krantz has lived larger than anyone thought possible.

Having explored King country before in 2017’s Gerald’s Game and 2019’s The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, Flanagan got involved after reading an early copy of “Chuck” before it was published in the collection If It Bleeds. The Haunting of Hill House and Fall of the House of Usher creator produced the film independently, believing it might be too offbeat for risk-averse studios to greenlight. He even secured a waiver from the striking Hollywood guilds last year to move forward with the shoot while the rest of the industry was stuck in the work stoppage. Now he and Hiddleston are ready to reveal the finished version of The Life of Chuck as it heads to the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, where it will screen for potential distributors.

Among the skeptics about this adaptation was King himself, according to Flanagan. “His initial responses to me were a little like, ‘Oh, okay. Yeah. If you think that’s a movie…,’” he says. “He did say several times that he thought it would be a challenge to get it supported through traditional means.”

King has now seen the finished movie and no longer has doubts. He described it to Vanity Fair as “a happiness machine.”

“Well, he’s written something very tender and very wise,” Hiddleston says. “I think there is a great wisdom in the soul of the story, which is that it takes courage to hold on to what is good in a world that feels like it’s falling apart.”

Flanagan hopes others see it that way too, although the overpowering dread that begins the story may be more immediately relatable. “I’ve heard it said that every generation feels a little like the world is ending at some point, [but] I still feel like it’s different for us,” the 46-year-old filmmaker says with a mordant laugh. “Institutions we took for granted as propping up our society are failing left and right. Our politics have degraded spectacularly. The sense that it’s breaking down, that the world is moving on, has been increasingly palpable. When I talk to my parents or members of older generations who have been through their own turbulent times, the thing that strikes me is that they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, this is really bad.’”

But…it’s not entirely bad. And that’s the underlying message of The Life of Chuck as its various mysteries play out. “There’s no sense of terror in the way that King drew it,” Flanagan says. “Even as the world feels as though it’s ending, people become introspective, they reach into their past for loves that have left their lives for one reason or another. Strangers engage in open and fearless communication.”

It’s an indie-film variation on the big-budget cataclysm story. “A disaster movie has people meeting the end while running from tidal waves, and this story has people sitting quietly holding hands looking at the stars,” Flanagan says.

The key to it all is Chuck himself, although he doesn’t turn up onscreen until the second segment of the three-act story, which plays out in reverse chronological order.

The beginning is actually the end, as the whole world circles the drain. Caught in this spiral is Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), a school teacher trying to apply logic to the planet’s troubles; Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) is his ex, a hospital worker determined to save everyone she can; Matthew Lillard (Scream) is a construction worker neighbor who finds zen amid the chaos; and Carl Lumbly (Alias), plays a funeral director who has dedicated his life to easing people through death.

The end of the movie is actually the beginning, showing young Chuck (Benjamin Pajak) when he was a boy being raised by his grandparents (Mia Sara of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Mark Hamill). The insight of these two—coupled with the otherworldly revelations he finds in an eerie room tucked into the peak of their Victorian home—help him learn to seek out bright spots when life is marred by sorrow and darkness.

In elementary school, young Chuck discovers some important things about himself thanks to guidance from a brusque dance instructor (Samantha Sloyan), and a kindhearted English teacher, played by Kate Siegel, who gives the boy (not to mention the audience) some important information that serves as a code breaker for the story's more cosmic puzzles.

As for the middle of the film: It’s a dance number. That’s when Hiddleston steps in.

Compounding the peculiarity of The Life of Chuck is the question: Why is this song and dance sequence so important? The answer is for the movie to reveal, but it matters a lot. “The life of every human being is a constellation, as expressed in this film,” Hiddleston says. “There are certain moments which will burn most brightly as individual stars. Sometimes it feels like the world is going to hell in a handcart, and it’s full of pain and suffering, and it is—but there are moments of deep joy and deep connection.”

Hiddleston shows the audience this single moment in the life of a buttoned-up fellow who somehow controls the destiny of the world. It’s not necessarily the most important day in his life, but it’s a memorable one involving a street drummer (Taylor Gordon), a lovely stranger (played by Annalise Basso), and a fateful decision to cast aside caution and cut a rug. “It’s a reminder to do whatever it is that expresses whatever gives you that feeling of being alive,” Hiddleston says. “Whether it’s music or dancing or math or writing or creativity—do it. Do it now. Those moments are what you’ll remember.”

Flanagan considered casting a relative unknown as Chuck to “give the audience the experience of ‘Who the hell is this person?’” as the peculiar retirement signs begin to appear in the midst of the apocalypse. But he felt the promise of the Loki star would build more curiosity as the world falls apart. “You grow an enormous amount of anticipation to finally spend time with an actor like Tom, who can be a literal god in one story, and then an everyman in another,” Flanagan says.

A TikTok video of Hiddleston getting his groove on sealed the deal. “He had a completely unfiltered joy on his face,” Flanagan says. “He was a good dancer, but that wasn’t what struck me. I wasn’t amazed by the technique so much as the degree of happiness that was radiating off of him. The look on his face made me smile the same way I smiled reading that particular portion of the book.”

The resulting scene was created in a month-long collaboration between Flanagan, Hiddleston, Basso, choreographer Mandy Moore (So You Think You Can Dance, and La La Land), and Gordon, a real-life percussionist who performs under the name the Pocket Queen. “Taylor was there for all of the dance choreography. She wrote that piece of music for that performance. They built it together,” Flanagan says.

Hiddleston rattles off the lists of influences: “I had to learn in six weeks the full regime of any dance training. We did jazz, swing, salsa, cha-cha, the Charleston, bossa nova, polka, quickstep, samba. We were trying to tip our hat to anything that might have influenced Chuck. It might’ve had a bit of Gene Kelly or Fred and Ginger. Certainly moonwalking—Stephen King is very specific about the moonwalk.”

Precision was not the goal, exuberance was what they sought. “We need to always bear in mind that this man is an accountant. We needed this to be an earnest, escalating explosion of joy, and a remembrance of who he was,” Flanagan says. “It’s a chance to step back into the skin of his younger self, not caring that his feet are going to kill him the next day, not caring that he’s going to wake up with a horribly stiff neck.”

A surprising thing happened while shooting the scene over the course of several sweltering afternoons in the deep South. “I burned holes in my shoes,” Hiddleston says. “I was dancing out on the asphalt in Alabama, and by the time we’d finished, you could see my socks through the soles.”

The sequence begins awkwardly: Chuck is self-conscious as he first hears the busker’s rhythm while walking back from a banking conference. That feeling quickly gets shaken off. “Tom was very committed,” Flanagan says. “He was like, ‘If I look silly, that’s fine. As long as I look happy.’”

Flanagan remembers being in a bad place when he first discovered “The Life of Chuck.” Then again, everybody was.

His copy of the manuscript arrived in March 2020. “That was just as the world shut down for COVID,” he says. “We had been a week away from starting principal photography on Midnight Mass in Vancouver and had fled across the border before it closed to make it back to the States. We were hunkered down in our homes and had no idea if this was going to last for two weeks or if this was going to last forever.”

With everything halted as the lockdown set in, Flanagan had plenty of time to do nothing but read. The new King book seemed like the perfect escape. Except…

“The first third of ‘The Life of Chuck’ just rattled me,” he recalls. “There’s no way he wrote this before the world ground to this bizarre halt—but he did. And the feeling of anxiety, and uncertainty, and that everything was falling apart came roaring out at me. I wasn’t sure I could finish it. It just felt too close to the anxiety I was feeling.” But he kept turning the pages. “By the end of it, I was in tears, and incredibly uplifted, and convinced I’d read maybe the best thing that he’d written in a decade. I just was floored by the thing,” Flanagan says. “So I fired off an email to him right away saying how much I loved the story, how incredible I thought it was, how meaningful, and important, and how it had really tattooed itself on my heart and said, ‘It’s the movie I want to make so that it’ll exist in the world for my kids.’”

King’s response: Not so fast. Flanagan and his producing partner, Trevor Macy, had at that point secured the rights to King’s fantasy saga The Dark Tower through their company, Intrepid Pictures. The eight-book series is threaded throughout King’s other works, and adapting it was a massive undertaking that Flanagan is still working to make happen. Other filmmakers had either abandoned the project, were canceled midway through, or bombed miserably. The author didn’t want him to be distracted. “He doesn’t like to give the same filmmaker more than one thing, because it typically means one thing is not advancing at all,” Flanagan says. “He said, ‘Well, let’s focus on The Tower and I’ll try to keep this one available for you for later.’”

The quest to The Dark Tower remains a priority for Flanagan, but a number of disruptions to that epic undertaking led him to reapproach King last year about Chuck. Intrepid’s deal with Netflix, where they had created Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and other shows, had come to a close, and Intrepid signed a new development agreement with Amazon. That meant starting over on The Dark Tower. Meanwhile, the threat of a double-barreled strike by writers and actors was on the horizon, stalling nearly every major new project. The industry plunged into another production-halting lockdown, this time over contract impasses rather than a virus.

Since The Dark Tower was suddenly further off on the horizon, Flanagan saw a chance to make The Life of Chuck happen in the short term. “It’s so rare that I get to approach any project that just has not an ounce of cynicism to it. I just really believed in this thing,” he says. “But it was also clear that we would have an incredibly uphill battle bringing the story to any major studio. They would try to make it as familiar as possible, instead of leaning into what makes it so different.”

King gave Flanagan his blessing to proceed. “I was off like a shot,” the filmmaker says. “I think I turned in the draft to him before he got around to sending the formal agreement.”

For everyone involved, The Life of Chuck became a bright spot in an otherwise dismal time, which matches the theme of the film. “There is a profound optimism in this story,” Hiddleston says. “As the world is spinning off its axis, there are moments of magic.”

#the life of chuck #tom hiddleston #mark hamill #karen gillan #chiwetel ejiofor #jacob tremblay #kate siegel #mike flanagan #carl lumbly

178 notes · View notes

megalony · 3 months

Text

Resemblance- Part 7

Thank you all for the lovely feedback on this Evan Buckley series and for all the ideas you've been sending in, they really help.

I hope you will all like this part, thank you for waiting while I finally got round to finishing this part.

Taglist: @justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @luula @missdreamofendless @bradleybeachbabe @woderfulkawaii @amberpanda99 @daggersquadphantom @marvel-and-chicago-fan @angryknightstatesmantrash @minjix @lyjen @kmc1989 @itsmytimetoodream @noonenuts @hiireadstuff @ashie-babie @classyunknownlover @jayyeahthatsme @sp1ritssz @dumb-fawkin-bitch @oliverstarksbae @gimatida @heart-35 @supernaturalstilinski @stefansalvatoresgf @kyky9103 @wutheringhearts2275 @gay4hotmilfs @itshamleth @chaoticnosleepinfluencer @gs29 @wh0reforsmutstuff @mel-vaz @natashamea18 @chrisevansdaughter @alexandra8484 @deena-beena-weena @targaryenluvs @shelbygeek @kpoplover-19 @marvelmenarebeautiful @gillybear17

@zoeybennett @mrspeacem1nusone @zephyrmonkey @estella-novella @eleventhdoctorsangel @kniselle @senjoritanana

@shauna-carsley @dottierose @cfdhouse51 @darkfemme1 @rainechase45 @ml572 @jessie-lynn28 @lolalolsstuff @jupiter1700

@ashdoctor @an-aliens-ghost @lunaroserites @houseoftwistedspirits @itshamleth @callsignwidow @winterreader-nowwriter @reneinii

Series Taglist: @lunaroserites @swanshells @moonlovers34 @bartkevicius03 @btskzfav @papafritafria @shortchubbybibi @essienoe @capswife

Series Masterlist

Summary: When Evan introduces (Y/n) to Eddie, she resembles someone he used to know. And he can't help himself when he's around her, leading to frightening behaviour.

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't understand…"

Tilting his head back, Evan ran his hand across his jaw and down the back of his neck. His nails scratched into his skin enough to draw blood and create deep indents into his skin. Deep rouge lines appeared like cracks in his pale skin and dragged down beneath the collar of his shirt.

He could feel the doorframe digging into his back right near his spine, but Evan couldn't take his eyes off of Chris.

Then twelve year old looked the smallest Evan had ever seen him. He looked fragile, fractured, panicked. And Evan couldn't blame him.

His eyes raked over Chris, watching as his legs slowly swung back and forth with the heels of his feet disappearing behind the bed, hitting whatever games or toys he had hidden under there. Both hands were clenching around the bed cover and his body was leant forward like he was about to flop down onto the floor.

His chin was tilted down into his chest but his eyes were staring up through his lashes, locked onto Evan like he was a beacon.

"Where's dad going?" Chris sounded awfully young when he said that and it brought a shiver tearing down Evan's spine.

With a sigh, he pushed off the door frame and trudged across the bedroom. He thought it was a good idea to try and talk to Chris here, at home, and then get him to pack. And it had to be Evan who had to explain. He couldn't trust Eddie to explain without breaking down or giving up and trying to talk everyone out of this idea.

But they had all agreed.

Eddie had found a programme he could work with. It involved staying on a ward and entering therapy group sessions and one to one sessions with a counsellor. He would be around doctors twenty four seven and if he agreed and they thought he might need medication, they could do that too.

He couldn't go back to work yet anyway, Bobby had signed him off on leave and he couldn't go back to work without having an assessment first to clear him.

He knew he was lucky. (Y/n) didn't want to press charges, she didn't want the hassle that would entail and it felt cruel. Despite everything Eddie had done, he needed help and charging him wasn't going to help him.

All that was going to be on file was a domestic incident. It was Evan's way of having security. If Eddie tried anything ever again, they would already have it on file that he had been involved in a domestic incident so they had some sort of proof if they ever needed it.

"He… he's coming back, right?" Chris didn't give Evan chance to respond to his first question. "Mum left us, she didn't wanna come back."

He watched Evan plonk down on the bed next to him and reach out to slide one hand up and down Chris's back. His other hand brushed across his jaw again as he tried to gather his senses.

"Your dad would never leave you if he didn't have to, and he will always come back to you. He doesn't wanna go."

Evan knew this was going to be hard. He knew the moment he told Chris that Eddie had to go and he had to come and stay with Evan, that Chris was going to panic. He didn't want his dad to go, he would revert back to the memories of his mum leaving and when she came back, it was clear Shannon wasn't sure if she wanted to be in Chris's life permanently or not. And then she died, she ultimately left and he could never see or talk to her again.

Chris didn't want that to happen with his dad. He couldn't lose both parents, he had to have his dad around, he didn't want to be apart from him.

"Then why's he going? Where's he going that I can't go too?" His dad had brought him down here to LA from Texas.

When Eddie needed a fresh start away from his overbearing family and away from the memories of Shannon, he brought Chris with him. He couldn't bear the thought of his parents looking after Chris and being apart from his boy. Why was this time any different? Why couldn't Chris go with him this time?

Evan took a deep breath and shuffled back an inch on the bed so he could twist to the left. He wanted to be able to look at Chris when he told him what was happening, he wanted this to go smoothly and he didn't want Chris to panic. This was his nephew, the kid he looked out for and cared about as if he were his own son. Evan never wanted to hurt him or have anything else hurt Chris, he wanted to shield him from the world.

"Your dad… he's- he's going to stay at a facility for a while, in a hospital. At the minute, it might just be for a month, but it could be longer, and you can't go to a hospital with him, buddy."

"He's sick, like grandma?"

The fear in Chris's eyes had Evan's chest shuddering and he let out a trembling breath, doing his best to stop himself from shaking all over. He knew Shannon's mum had battled cancer and eventually lost. He knew Chris barely got to know his grandma before she died and that was why he was closer to Eddie's parents, they were the only grandparents he had left.

"No, no no buddy he's not sick like that I swear."

"Then why's he going to hospital? Buck, why?"

"Chris… you know the phrase die of a broken heart? Well it's true, scientists don't actually know how or why or have a name for it, but sometimes when people lose the one they love, their heart gives up. They can't carry on and they die from heartache."

Chris nodded. He was with Evan so far. He didn't know that was true, but he knew Evan was full of random, fun and inquisitive facts about almost every situation possible. He was always telling Chris something new.

"Your dad's got a broken heart. He misses your mum, and he's not gonna die from it, but he needs help. He's not well in his mind, he's made some bad choices recently and we want to get him help so he can come back to work, and come back to be with you."

Evan wholeheartedly believed in the phenomenon that people died of a broken heart when their loved ones passed. He had seen it. He had seen couples pass away after the other one died. He had seen parents wither away and fade when they lost their children. The mind gave up trying to continue and the heart couldn't beat on its own anymore. He had seen it in animals too, it was real.

And right now, Eddie was heading that way. He was lovesick after someone he lost. It didn't matter that Eddie's relationship with Shannon had been turbulent and broken and estrangled. She had been the one for Eddie and now she was gone. His heart was still beating strong, but his mind was fragmented from loss.

If he didn't get help he was going to hurt himself or do more damage to Evan and (Y/n) and Chris and everyone around him. He was going to hurt them all and if he pushed things too far, none of them would ever recover.

"What did he do?"

Evan didn't want to say. It seemed wrong, everything inside of him was crying out for him to gloss over this, to tell Chris the moderated version of events. But Chris was twelve, he understood a lot more than people gave him credit for and he deserved the truth. He deserved to know what had happened because he needed to see how unwell Eddie was and why he needed help.

If Chris knew what had happened, then he would be the reason Eddie got help. Chris would want Eddie to get help and Eddie wouldn't be able to refuse or back out if hs son told him to get better.

"You know (Y/n)?"

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, well, she reminded your dad of your mum… a lot. And it upset him, he started to think she was alive again. He uh, he had a breakdown the other night, and he hurt (Y/n) by accident. I don't want him to get any worse or hurt himself, do you get what I mean?"

There was more, there was so much more that Evan wanted to say. He didn't want Eddie to hurt (Y/n) again, he didn't want Eddie to frighten her more than he already had. Or to pin her to the wall or force himself on her or smash her through a door or try and lock her in her own home and take her hostage.

Evan wanted to keep (Y/n) safe because he loved her to the end of the Earth and he wasn't going to let her get hurt or let her walk away from him to save his friendship with Eddie.

Eddie was the one causing all this mess, he was the one who needed help and right now, sat here with Chris, Evan could see things through a different perspective.

He could see the person Eddie was. A kind soul, protective of those closest to him, striving to do the best he could for his son, wanting to help people and look out for them. He could see Eddie struggling, wanting the old life he had, wanting someone to love him the way he had felt only once, with Shannon. Feeling so broken and desperate that his mind played tricks on him and made him do anything to get his girl back.

He could see all of that because Chris loved his dad and he knew Chris was Eddie's world.

But when Evan was at home, when he had (Y/n) in his arms, all he could think of was how cruel Eddie was.

He had forced himself on (Y/n). He had frightened her. He got so blindly drunk that he let himself into her home, locked her in and then tried to pin her down and hold her hostage. He attacked her when she denied him and tried to get him to see the truth. He fought her so hard that he knocked her through a glass door and caused her to aspirate.

He shell shocked (Y/n) and almost made her break up with Evan because she didn't want to come between their friendship. And despite being influenced by grief and drowned in sorrow, there had to be part of Eddie that knew what he had done. Because he cried. He said sorry. He begged for forgiveness. He could see in the daylight that (Y/n) wasn't his wife and he had no right to do what he did, even if part of Eddie didn't remember everything he had done.

There were two sides to every story, and Evan was trying to see this from both sides, but it was hard.

"Is she okay?"

"She's okay, I promise. And your dad will be better once he's got help. I said you can come and stay with me and (Y/n), so you can still go to school and I'll always look after you. But if you'd rather stay with your grandparents in Texas, I can always make that call for you. It's your choice, buddy."

It was always going to be Chris's choice, but it was never going to be Eddie's choice.

If Eddie wanted his son in his life, he had to get help. If he didn't, Evan would let Athena take matters further. He would go to social services and explain what had happened. They wouldn't let Chris stay with Eddie when he had attacked someone and held them hostage in a drunken rage.

But if Eddie got help, they would do this informally. Chris would stay with whoever he chose and it would be like a mini vacation, just staying with a friend for a while. No social services involved and Eddie would get Chris back as soon as he was better.

When Eddie made Evan Chris's guardian in his will, he made Chris his responsibility. It was Evan's duty to look out for him and if he thought or saw that Chris wasn't safe, he would do what he could to protect him.

It seemed like a better choice for Chris to stay with Evan and (Y/n). They had a spare room downstairs behind the living room, it was small but it would do just fine for Chris to stay with them. He could bring any of his games and books and the loft was close to his school, his friends and his Abuela. But if Chris would feel safer going to Texas, Evan would try and make that happen.

All he wanted was for Chris to be safe and looked after, he didn't want him to go but if he wanted to, Evan wouldn't stand in his way.

"If I stay with you, can I visit dad?"

"You can see him every week."

***

When the sound of tepid, tender footsteps caught his attention, Evan cast a glance over his shoulder. His lips immediately curved up into a grin and his nose crinkled when he looked across at (Y/n).

She one of his oversized jumper on that pulled down over her hands making her look like a child in their parent's clothes, but it was a somewhat sweet look. Both her hands were rubbing up and down her arms and scratching through the thick material of her jumper.

The smile on her face was one that made Evan's stomach pool with adrenaline and had him wanting to melt on the spot.

Evan realised a second too late that he had been staring for a while when (Y/n)'s lips rolled together and her head tilted down to hide her blush. He could stand there and drink her in forever if he had the time.

"What're you boys making?"

(Y/n) moved over to the island counter and leaned forward, arching her back out as she folded her arms over the countertop.

She would admit that Evan looked very appealing in his 'Kiss the Cook' apron which was dark black with a spatula on the front and lots of red and pink kisses dotted all around the front. He had a short shirt on which showed off the way his arms flexed when he moved around the kitchen and his lips creased lovingly when he smiled. Even from this distance, (Y/n) could see the stubble painted across his face and it only made him more appealing.

Then there was Chris. Stood beside Evan like his apprentice chef, a ladle in one hand and a taste-testing spoon in the other. He had a smudging of orange at the corner of his mouth and a cheesy smile on his face that creased his eyes so much he could barely see.

"Lasagne," Evan finally responded, clearing his throat and swiping his tongue out over his lower lip which had suddenly gone very dry.

The steam from the cooker made a shiver roll down (Y/n)'s spine and she realised it was making Evan a bit tense, his arms were straining against the short and rather tight sleeves of his shirt. And a trickle of sweat rolled down his cheek and traced along the vein in his neck.

"Smells good,"

Her eyes cast over the cooker and the worktops, taking in how much effort they had put into making a simple lasagne, making it anything but plain. The white cheese sauce had been made from scratch and so had the bolognaise, the only thing store-bought was the pasta sheets. But (Y/n) knew Evan could make those sheets if he was in a proper cooking mood.

"Want to taste test it?" Chris waved the spoon in his hand towards (Y/n), begging her with his eyes to come over and test their work of art.

Every day off Evan had, he and Chris had been cooking together. They had made cottage pie, homemade pizzas with homemade sauce, they even ventured into making ratatouille which had been a success.

Both of them had done their best to make Chris feel at ease and comfortable while he stayed with them. Of course he had stayed with Evan before and Evan knew all of his routines, but this was different. He had never stayed with Evan for a long period of time, except for when Eddie got shot a few years ago and they had stayed at Chris and Eddie's home that time.

It seemed to be going well. Chris was settled in after the first day and they all had their routines. (Y/n) picked Chris up from school, Evan dropped him off when he wasn't at work. Chris helped with the cleaning, they had a lot of movie nights and cooking together and they were trying to plan two days out a week, whether that was going out to the zoo or just for a walk in the park.

Chris was happy and settled with them and that was all that mattered.

"Of course I do."

(Y/n) grinned brightly and headed over to the boys. She rested her hand on Chris's shoulder and her other hand clamped down on her hip. When she lifted her eyes, she caught the way Evan was looking at her and the way he swiped his tongue over his lower lip which had her shivering.

She leaned down so Chris could hand her the spoon to test the bolognaise. "You two could open up a restaurant, you know." She ruffled Chris's hair and took a step back so they could start layering up the lasagne in the dish.

"Alright, wanna go set up a game before tea?" Evan leaned back against the counter once the dish was in the oven.

He patted Chris's shoulder and watched him hurry out the kitchen towards the living room. He had been here two weeks now and he was doing great in adjusting to such big changes.

Once he was off, (Y/n) turned towards Evan and narrowed her eyes when she noticed the quirky smile on his lips. But when he leaned his right hand on the counter and looked down at his apron, her shoulders sagged and she couldn't help the giggle that left her lips.

"Oh, I see." She murmured quietly, looping her arms around his neck and pushing up on her tiptoes so she could press a chaste kiss to his lips.

She felt Evan's arms circle around her waist, his hands flat out against the middle of her back while he pulled her chest flush against his. She could feel each breath he took, deep and slow but when he stooped down for another kiss, she noticed his pulse quickening. He couldn't seem to help but smile into the kiss, especially when their lips parted and his tongue darted into her mouth, fighting for control.

Her nails scratched lowly into the back of his neck, raking across the short hairs before reaching up to knot her fingers in the curls at the top of his head.

When they pulled apart, (Y/n) let her cheek rest on his shoulder while her hand came down to drag her fingertip slowly across his cheek. She couldn't help the smile that danced across her lips that peppered tender wet kisses against Evan's neck.

"What's that look for?" Evan spoke softly against the top of her head, realising he was swaying them from left to right as if they were having their first dance at their wedding.

"Hm?"

"That melting look." He reached up to drag his thumb across (Y/n)'s cheek and near the corner of her eyes.

There was something tender in her eyes and the way her lips quirked up to one side made her look so adoring and sweet. Evan wanted to know what was going through her mind right now, he wanted to know what was making her smile like that so he could see that look more often.

"You're really good with him, you're a natural." The way Evan was with Chris was what made (Y/n) smile like that. Seeing him get defensive and protective over Chris was one thing, but to see him around him was something else.

To see the way Evan always tried to listen and understand or how he got Chris involved in everything made (Y/n)'s stomach pool with adrenaline. Evan made sure Chris didn't feel left out, that he did all he was capable of, he helped him with homework and calmed him down when he didn't understand the work and got confused. He always stayed calm and she had yet to see either of them fall out. Their dynamic was sweet.

"Thank you." He chuckled softly and tilted his head down to kiss the top of her head.

It wasn't the first time Evan had heard that. He was always babysitting his friend's kids, he had always been first on the list to look after Chris and Maddie knew Jee loved Evan the best out of all their family.

(Y/n) knew he was good with kids, he had a personality that radiated with them and he could always get on their level and understand and listen and be patient. And he was a beaming, enthusiastic person that could light up a room so of course kids levitated to him. But it was lovely to see Evan day in and day out with Chris rather than just seeing glimpses of him with kids for a few hours here and there.

"You'd be a great dad." She murmured the words so quietly into his neck that he almost misheard her. But when her words registered in his ears, his smile turned beaming.

He pushed back against the counter and spread his legs so (Y/n) could stand between them. He slithered his hands down to hold (Y/n)'s hips and he tilted his head down so he could look at her properly. He felt (Y/n)'s hands graze down from his neck to rest against his chest, her fingers slowly scratching into his shirt that she seemed to be focused on.

"Oh yeah? You thinking about us having kids?"

The thought made Evan smirk, he couldn't help it. It was the same way he had looked and thought about (Y/n) when he saw her having a mini tea party with Jee a few weeks ago. He loved that (Y/n) was integrated into his family, that everyone loved her and she made the effort with Jee, one of the most important kids in Evan's life.

He knew (Y/n) would be a great mum and of course they had talked about it, they were engaged now after all.

"I'm late."

"What?" Evan's smirk changed into a smile and his nose crinkled upwards as his lips parted. "What are you late for?" They didn't have any plans that Evan knew about.

But when (Y/n)'s head dipped to one side and her lips pressed together with a deep breath, Evan's lips formed an oh shape.

A shudder jolted down his shoulders and along his spine and his hands tightened on (Y/n)'s hips until his fingers were almost puncturing through into her hips. He stood up straighter, pushing off the counter while he held his breath, hoping this wasn't some kind of joke or a trick being played on him.

"Really, w- how late?"

(Y/n) kept her eyes on Evan's chest until one hand left her hip which tingled in his absence and she felt his fingertips gripping her chin. He tilted her head back and leaned down until she finally let their gazes interlock.

She hadn't been sure how happy Evan would be about this, the timing wasn't great, she knew that. It hadn't been long since the ordeal with Eddie who was still in the hospital in the middle of his recovery. They had Chris staying with them, things weren't right at the station now that the core team knew what had happened. No one knew how to regulate and get back to a sense of normality.

But she couldn't change it, all she could do was wait to find out if she was actually pregnant or not. It could be a false alarm, but she wasn't so sure.

"Enough… I was gonna wait another week to be sure, and do a test. You okay, w-what are you thinking?"

A gasp tumbled past her lips when Evan's hands slid down her thighs as quick as lightning and he hoisted her up. Her arms moved to lock around his neck again and she held her breath, biting down on her lip as she hooked her legs around his waist to secure herself on his torso.

She had never seen such a broad smile on his face and the look in his eyes was one that (Y/n) could drown in. She could already feel her lungs about to pop and adrenaline was swarming throughout her body that was turning numb.

She thought Evan would be apprehensive because of the timing and the situation. They were looking after Chris, they didn't know how long he was going to be here with them. A baby meant they would have to look for somewhere a bit bigger to live. They had only just gotten engaged, they weren't even married yet.

But this reaction showed he was more than overjoyed at the thought of having a baby and (Y/n) was almost worried that if it turned out she was just late, telling Evan was going to be disappointing.

"I think you're gonna look gorgeous with a bump."

***

A sigh tumbled past (Y/n)'s lips as she looked up at the clock on the wall while her nails raked up and down her thighs.

Maddie was late.

If she didn't get here soon, Chris was going to miss his visit to go and see Eddie. For almost three weeks since Chris had moved in with them, he had been going to visit Eddie at the hospital twice a week. He went on a Wednesday after school which Carla took him for the visit, and then he went on a Saturday afternoon and had a bit longer to spend with his dad.

It seemed to be doing them both some good, Chris didn't feel so confused or lost when he still got to see his dad and he could see that Eddie was in fact doing okay. He was consolidated that Eddie wasn't about to die or disappear on him. And Eddie calmed down when he saw Chris, he had his reason for continuing with the programme and to get himself better.

If Evan wasn't able to take Chris to one of his visits, either Carla or Maddie had been stepping in to help. Maddie was always offering to do whatever she could to try and help, she had dropped (Y/n) off to her own therapy sessions quite a lot too.

(Y/n) jumped back against the sofa cushion when her phone started to buzz on the coffee table.

It was Maddie. Maybe she was parked outside ready to take Chris and bring him back later this afternoon. Maybe she was finally on her way and was ringing to say she wouldn't be long and to get Chris ready.

"Hi," She breathed down the receiver, moving her other hand to rake through her hair as she sat forward and slumped her elbows onto her knees.

"Hey, I know I'm supposed to be taking Chris today but Jee's been throwing up and now she's having a meltdown. I don't think I can take him."

(Y/n) felt like she was going to be sick. What was she supposed to do now? Evan was at work and so was Chimney, Hen and Bobby. None of them would be able to come over and take Chris there and it wasn't as if Chris just needed to be dropped off and picked up.

Because he was under eighteen, Chris had to have supervised visits, he wasn't allowed to be left at the hospital. He could be left in the room with Eddie for a few minutes at a time as long as someone was right outside the door and able to look through the window. Whoever took Chris had to stay there with him for the entire visit.

How was (Y/n) supposed to do that? Would it be good for Eddie if she turned up right in the middle of his recovery? Was seeing (Y/n) going to set Eddie back?

Something deep down within (Y/n) told her that Eddie wasn't going to make progress or do well if he saw her right now. She could set him back miles in his progress. But if she didn't go, Chris was going to miss a visit. He needed these visits, he needed these few hours to be with his dad and keep that connection. And these visits were what Eddie was living for, he would break if he missed a visit and had to go a week without seeing his son.

"It's okay, I'll sort it."

"Are you sure? I don't want to let him down-"

"No, no you're not, don't worry. Just ring me later so we know how Jee is, will you?" (Y/n) couldn't believe the calmness that tangled through her tone and masked the panic bubbling up inside of her.

She didn't want Maddie to feel bad or panic about this when she was clearly worried about her own daughter. As long as she let (Y/n) and Evan know later if Jee was alright or not, there was no need for Maddie to panic.

"Of course I will, thanks."

(Y/n) began to tap her phone against the palm of her hand before she looked back up at the clock. There wasn't time to call round and see if she could find someone else to help her out. If she wanted Chris to keep this meeting and not be late or miss out on any time with his dad, she was going to have to take him now.

She was going to have to see Eddie.

She hadn't seen Eddie since the night he took her hostage in the flat. The last memory she had of him was Eddie pinning her to the wall. His hot breath on her neck. His rough fingers scratching up and down her thighs. Pulling her shirt and yanking on her underwear. The feeling of his heavy body crushing hers when they fell into an abyss.

A shudder crawled down her spine and she realised a tear had traced down her cheek at the memory.

She brushed her hand across her face and stood up, feeling her head start to spin and her stomach churn as she turned towards the small box room at the back of the living room. It was poxy, barely bigger than a cupboard, but it was the only spare room they had in the apartment. And it was easier for them all to stay here than for the couple to move into Eddie's home for the time being.

And Chris didn't seem to mind the small room. He had put posters on the walls and the door, his games and books were neatly lined up beneath the bed. There was a tv on the desk that was squashed between the foot of the bed and the wall. And Evan had stuck up hundreds of glow in the dark stars to the ceiling because Chris's new obsession was space.

(Y/n) tried to stop herself from shaking as she rapped her knuckles on the door and gave it a gentle nudge.

"Hey, you ready to go?"

Chris was sat on the bed, jacket on, backpack beside him with a few books and drawings that he wanted to show his dad. He turned off the tv and grinned, nodding his head enthusiastically.

"Is Maddie here?"

"Um, no, Jee's not well today so I'm gonna take you. If that's alright." She slid her phone into her back pocket and started to rub her hands nervously up and down her hips.

She was surprised to watch Chris's smile broaden and he nodded, bouncing up to his feet like a kangaroo before he reached out for her hand. He had grown fond of (Y/n), he was starting to refer to her and Evan as his aunt and uncle and he was more than willing for her to take him today.

It didn't seem to dawn on Chris that (Y/n) tagging along might stir up some memories and problems for his dad.

(Y/n) hooked her bag on her shoulder and once Chris had his bag and shoes on, they headed out the apartment. She let him swing their hands back and forth, rambling about one of the new tv shows he had started to watch. He was a lot like Evan, once he learned something new he loved to ramble and spill every detail and new fact he had learned. And (Y/n) was more than happy to listen to him.

Her hand absentmindedly moved to her stomach that was churning and rotating like a washing machine. She was going to be sick. Her throat was turning dry and the muscles were tightening and closing off, rubbing together awkwardly. Everything was bubbling and fizzing in her veins and she could feel the shakes setting in her system.

It didn't take long to reach the hospital and as soon as they pulled up, (Y/n) felt her fingertips turning numb and her arms began to shake.

"I uh, I don't know where we go honey, you're gonna have to guide me." She held her hand out for Chris who happily entwined their fingers and took the lead.

"It's not far, dad's on the Daffodil ward." Chris found all the different ward names rather amusing, but he wasn't fond of the name of his dad's ward.

Although he thought the ward itself was lovely. Lots of large feature walls dotted around, a clear white tiled floor with flecks of sparkles and black spots glazed on top. Bright lights and skylights built into the ceiling, and all the visiting rooms were lovely.

Plush chairs, books, music, windows looking out onto the gardens and the room he got to visit Eddie in was spacious and they got to be alone.

(Y/n) let Chris drag her through the main entrance, head to the stairs and up to the second floor. All the while, her free arm bound across her waist like an iron bar to try and prevent herself from being sick.

God, if (Y/n) really was pregnant, the baby was going to be doing summersaults and it was turning (Y/n) green at the gills.

She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to be doing this. Seeing Eddie was going to bring the nightmares back and it was only going to cause problems for Eddie. But they didn't have a choice. Chris needed this, he needed to see his dad and Eddie needed the stability and comfort of being around his son.

And if Eddie saw (Y/n), it might put all his hard work to good use. He would have to control himself and the thoughts he had when he was around her. Eddie would have to remind himself that this was (Y/n), a completely different person to his wife. She wasn't Shannon, she didn't belong to him and he couldn't kiss her or hold her or be close to her. Eddie would have to start seeing reality and this would give them a rough guess at how well Eddie was doing in his recovery.

If this meeting went well it would prove that the programme was working for Eddie. If it went south, it showed he needed more concentrated help or a different method of treatment to get his mind back in order and control the impulses he had whenever he saw (Y/n).

"Over there." Chris leaned his head on (Y/n)'s arm and pointed to the reception desk once they walked through the bright yellow doors to the Daffodil ward.

(Y/n) forced her feet to move and pushed herself over to the desk which took her weight when she slumped her hip against it.

"Hi, we're here to visit Eddie Diaz."

"Of course, room two, as usual. Go through lovey." The receptionist smiled across at Chris and gave him a little wink which told (Y/n) she was usually on shift whenever Chris came to visit his dad.

Every pulse of her heartbeat vibrated through (Y/n)'s skin and thumped horribly in her ears. Her lungs expanded to the max, pushing out against her ribs as she realised she couldn't release or take in a new breath. Sweat started to form like crystals glistening on her skin and her palms were slick and grubby with sweat.

Each step closer to the door had (Y/n)'s body breaking out in shakes and a quiet murmur stuck at the back of her throat when Chris let go of her hand and pushed open the door.

Why couldn't she just wait out here for him?

Eddie wasn't a danger to Chris, he was going to be a danger to (Y/n) if she walked in that room. He would be fine to be alone with his son for their session, it would do them both some good. But (Y/n) had to go in, she knew she did. This was her moment to prove to herself that she was okay, that she could stand up for herself and be around the man that had attacked her more than once.

She could see how well Eddie was doing in his recovery and try to get them all back onto a normal track.

If she and Evan were going to get married, Eddie had to get used to her being with his best friend. Eddie had to get better for (Y/n) and Evan to be able to move on. They had to get Eddie back on track if they really were having a baby and if they were going to tell him that they were having a baby.

And (Y/n) instinctively knew that they were going to have to tell Eddie if they were pregnant, while he was in this facility. There was no way they could let him recover and get settled back at home to then break the news. Telling him they were getting married and possibly having a baby was going to send Eddie into another spiral.

It would be best to tell him while he was here so he could be monitored and looked after and if the news set him back in his progress, it wouldn't matter. Because he would be here and be helped and pushed to get back on track again.

Terror pulsed through (Y/n) like she was a boombox when she shuffled over the threshold and quietly shut the door behind her.

Her eyes locked on Chris as he dumped his bag down on one of the chairs and bolted across to the plush leather sofa in the middle of the room where Eddie was sat.

Eddie slumped forward and deadlocked his arms around Chris, letting out a breathless laugh as he pulled his son between his legs, crushing him into his chest. His lips pressed against Chris's curls and he squeezed him tight, swaying from side to side.

"There's my boy! You okay? How are you doing?" Eddie pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek and pulled back enough to look at him. He cupped Chris's face and kissed his temple.

"I'm good, I missed you."

"Oh I missed you too."

Chris looped his arms back around Eddie's neck and reeled him in for another hug which elicited another laugh from deep within Eddie's chest.

But when he opened his eyes and lifted his gaze towards the door, every part of Eddie's body went rigid. His heart hammered itself into his ribs like it was trying to impale itself on his bones. His blood turned thick and cold and gloopy in his veins like it was clogging up and becoming stuck. His muscles went taut and stiff and locked in place when his eyes set on that familiar figure.

That long glossy hair. Those deep swirling pools in her eyes. The dip in the middle of her lips and the way they were plump and lively. How she had both arms wrapped around her waist in that anxious habit he remembered so well.

Every nerve in his brain started to misfire. Wrong signals were sent every which way, his arms tensed and relaxed continuously. His feet began to tap against the floor, his lungs stuttered and had him gasping for breath.

"Hi Eddie."

Just her voice was enough to restart his blood rushing throughout his body and Eddie couldn't help the way he gulped and closed his eyes for a second or two longer. Revelling in the sound of her voice and the way she said his name like it was sugar on her tongue.

"Hi."

He sounded breathless and somewhat confused which (Y/n) could understand and relate to. She leaned her shoulders back against the door, staying as close to the exit as she could in case this meeting went south. She didn't dare step forward, she didn't want to be close enough to Eddie that he would be able to reach out and touch her. She didn't want his gaze on her, let alone remember the feeling of his rough hands groping and pulling at her.

As she stared across at him, she fidgeted from foot to foot, anxiously trying to decipher something. The way Eddie was looking at her was confusing her.

Looking at her like that, did he see (Y/n)… or Shannon?

#imagine #911 imagine #evan buckley #evan buckley x reader #evan buckley imagine #buck x reader #buck imagine #eddie diaz #resemblance

176 notes · View notes

garkgatiss · 4 months

Text

{{esquivalience}}, The Auteur, and Doctor Who the TV Show

alright so this novella.

First, its provenance: I was googling the Twist at the End song last week because it's catchy as hell. I ended up on the Tardis wiki and realized that there was a song by the exact same name that appeared in a licensed DWU novella that was published April 9th. As in, last month. Which is weird. It's hard to say how weird, but given the timing, it either has to be a) pure coincidence (lol), b) someone who worked on the show abusing their advance knowledge of plot details for personal gain, or c) intentional coordination between showrunner and novella-writer, a la Joe Lidster writing John Watson’s blog for BBC Sherlock.

The likelihood of (a) is decreasing by the week. I feel like I have to entertain the idea of (b) happening, but it's hard to square why a DWU-writing supernerd who is also involved somehow with the production of the show would risk a lifetime of blackballing from DW for a bit of cheap promotion for their extended-universe tie-in novella. I am so sorry to be saying this, but I think (c) might actually have legs.

The novella's title is {{esquivalience}}, which is a fake word invented in real life by editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary. The invented word means "deliberate shirking of one's official duties", and it was added to the dictionary to protect the copyright of the electronic version. In S9, Face the Raven showed us a “trap street", i.e. a fake street drawn on a map by a mapmaker to identify any copyright infringement of said map -- a dictionary entry for a word made up by the dictionary editors operates similarly as a copy-trap. The definition is apt for a copy-trap as well, because anyone illicitly copying a dictionary is themselves shirking a job they ought to be doing themselves... it's clever, it's very fun, we're off to a great start.

THE STORY:

The unnamed protagonist applies for a custodial job at this library that serves basically as a databank for the history of everything in the universe. If a book about something is thrown away, that something ceases to have ever existed. Exhibit A: Protagonist works in the Dead & Dying Language Department. They throw away The Book of Belgian Dutch, and a) a couple coworkers with Belgian Dutch heritage either disappear or get completely different names/family trees, and also b) everyone quickly forgets that Belgian Dutch was ever a thing to begin with.

The librarians cover for this accidental deletion of reality by copying/fudging a new book on "Belgian Gerench", their name for what they replace Belgian Dutch with. They try to catch most of the people who were deleted, bring them back, and fit them into that new language/culture/ethnicity bucket they just made up.

(The narration explains that because both Belgian and Dutch still exist separately as concepts, there aren't too many knock-on effects in terms of loanwords in other languages that needed to be modified/recovered. It also explains that time-traveling back to make an exact copy of The Book of Belgian Dutch wouldn't work because of the universe's copyright laws or something.)

Protag then comes after the head of their department, the Head Dictionary Contributor, or Head DC. They find him in a hidden room called the Internal Reference Room. Instead of languages, the books here hold the life stories of every employee, which auto-update as the person lives their life, but can also be edited or destroyed to alter that person's reality. Protag sits down with the Head DC's lifebook and starts adding and erasing things.

It turns out that Head DC knows how wrong editing these books can go from personal experience. Years ago, wanting to leave his mark on the universe, the Head DC chose to add his own copy-trap into The Book of Dutch -- the fake word "esquivalience". This action seemingly created the concept of cutting corners at your job, leading to the insufficient vetting of Protag for this job and therefore their subsequent hiring, which results in Head DC's eventual death.

Head DC pleads with Protag for his life, but Protag is undeterred. They finally tear out the final page in Head DC's book, which kills him. Protag then writes themselves in as Head DC. Settling into their new role, they turn their attention to The Book of English (8th to 25th Century). They first look up the dictionary entry for “esquivalience”, which says it came to English from Dutch, and then flips to the entries for “ravel" and “unravel”, described as contranyms from Dutch roots, both “meaning variably to tangle or to fray”.

This is the central story of the novella. There is also a Prelude and Postlude that describe the lives of two young men, first in a reality in which they never meet, and then in a reality in which they do meet and fall in love (their meeting is enabled by one of them skivving off work in time to make it to see the movie where they first meet -- esquivalience!)

Just before the Postlude, there is also printed the lyrics to a song (see below), and an excerpt from The Book of English, this volume covering the 4th to 5th billionth centuries of history. This excerpt again gives the definition of “unravel”, but refers the reader to an appendix for the full list of definition, and notes they are “largely in usage as reference to Unravel, The” and “N.B. to be used with extreme care and caution”.

NOVELLA-SHOW CONNECTIONS:

Mavity [Wild Blue Yonder]: Mavity happened all the way back in Wild Blue Yonder, so it's not necessarily surprising to see it in a novella published in April 9, 2024, but there's a whole scene establishing that the M has seemingly replaced the G in all Romance languages, while Domhantarraingt in Irish-Gaelic is unaffected.

Rope [The Church on Ruby Road]: We're all learning the vocabulary of rope now! The Unravel is what the novella calls the meta-historical revisions caused by making edits to the books. There are also rope/weaving metaphors everywhere. Again, the rope themes of the TV show predate the April 9 novella just far enough that in theory it would have been possible for the novella to have taken inspiration from the 2023 Christmas Special. Except. The wiki page for The Unravel credits ownership of the concept to Jamie H. Cowan, the author of the novella. Not just that, but The Unravel was used – with credit to Jamie – in a DWU short story collection published December 26, 2023 – the day after The Church on Ruby Road aired.

Dot and Bubble [Dot and Bubble] : At this point, “Dot and Bubble” is a contextless episode title to me, first announced on March 31. In the novella, we get this:

The Twist At The End [The Devil’s Chord] : Just before the novella's Postlude, there are the lyrics to a song called “The Twist At The End”. Just listed there, no context, like an azlyrics.com entry. They are not the same lyrics as the song in The Devil's Chord, but then, meta-historical revision would kind of be the point, wouldn't it? There's just this sentence to connect it to anything happening in the narration: "Somewhere, in the far distance, as ______ continued to erase, an old 1960s Earth tune began to play."

EDITED TO ADD: @corallapis has pointed out to me that not only did the existence of the song "Twist at the End" by John Smith and the Common Men leak, but the novella's author tweeted about it in December 2023.

The Chumerian languages of the planet B’llauit, for instance, needed much consideration. Particularly Krulvan. There was still a great deal of work to be done in compiling the post-technoweb aspects of Krulvan. Like how most emotional words and phrases contracted more and more, until finally, they were little more than abbreviations. The old dot-and-bubble effect.

A parent’s love was no longer expressed post-technoweb as “Kal-at lur amoi”, but instead as merely “KLA”. Which needed to be carefully distinguished in the relevant encyclopedia from another abbreviated Krulvan phrase “Kal’ati Lepr’en Acrumpsal” – which was something rather equivalent to the expletives of other languages like “D’Arvit”, or “Bleno”.

It's only a brief mention in the book, so it's possible in theory that it was added after the episode titles were released, or even after the novella’s publication (Amazon allows post-publication changes up to 10% of the text, and it’s not possible to track those changes). I’ve included the second paragraph because it’s interesting that the example they’ve given is the word for a parent’s love, which we can see as a running theme in this season of DW (though Moffat has said before that the only thing he writes about is a parent’s love, so who knows).

Not the strongest evidence of two-way coordination, but we may learn more when the episode airs.

Dutch [Space Babies, Boom]: Yeah, as in, the Dutch language. The words “spoor” & “smelt” both get a "oo, good word!" callout, spoor in Space Babies and smelt in Boom. These words both have Dutch roots. Splice, the daughter's name in Boom, is not only from a Dutch root, but also means the joining two pieces of rope. I read this novella just before Boom dropped on Disney+, so I can personally confirm that this is not a post-hoc addition to the novella. It hardly could have been anyway, this element is much more integral to the novella’s narrative than any of the other pieces.

The Auteur

This is where this all becomes relevant to the “Doctor Who is a TV Show” theory.

While the Protag is shredding the Head DC’s book, the Head DC is in the room, and what follows is an extremely meta narrative-aware pre-death monologue from the Head DC. He's pleading with Protag to stop changing things in his book, but he also refers to an "It" whose power surpasses them both.

He held eye contact with them as they looked up, “You didn’t pick up Belgian Dutch by chance. It’s how it plays. In weaving coincidences.”

“Just stop reading. Stop changing things. Stop, and we can be spared. Be free! If you keep going, then it will get what it wants. It is a happening [sic]. Out there, and in here in the basement. Everywhere. It will win if you keep going.”

“One day, you’ll make the same mistakes. Goddamn, you will. Because it’s all already written. It has already written it all. The paths, the choices. Rewrites, erasures, and even the contradictions. If you don't just... stop... it will... Unravel us all."

The "It" in question is presumably the author. Like an author writing a story, "It" plays by weaving coincidences, "It" gets what it wants when we keep reading, "It" has already written everything.

The Head DC mentions a special disposal chute, which had recently appeared as if by magic, which enabled Protag’s destruction of Belgian Dutch. Head DC’s references to this “It” suggest that his decision to create a word meaning cutting corners caused his eventual death, not by inventing the concept of cutting corners, but by creating a set-up that the Auteur, a godlike being that cares only for the rules of narrative, was compelled to write a satisfying follow-through for. The Auteur changed reality in order to weave a narratively-satisfying coincidence.

The Auteur is a character from the DW-spinoff series Faction Paradox. The creator of the Faction Paradox universe describes it as “on the surface an SF universe, but it works on the same principles as traditional folklore.”

I am but a humble Moffat scholar, so explaining the character of The Auteur is immediately getting into lore that I cannot even begin to decipher.

But it seems plausible that in the show we’re dealing with a godlike being, someone along the lines of Maestro or the Toymaker, but instead of caring only for the rules of play, cares only for the rules of narrative.

And this being, The Auteur, is altering reality and creating the narratively-satisfying coincidences in 14’s and 15’s timelines, possibly starting all the way back with the coincidence of 14 regenerating as David Tennant and immediately bumping into Donna Noble.

And it seems plausible that this season was created in cooperation with these DWU authors to whom concepts like The Auteur and The Unravel are licenced, and the novella is a tie-in text full of references to the current season to lead savvy superfans on a merry chase that foreshadows the season’s big bad.

Because I... don't really have another explanation for the existence of this novella at this point.

#doctor who #esquivalience #what to even tag this #dust off the old clown costume

82 notes · View notes

do-you-know-this-dw-story · 20 days

Text

blood and hope (novella: 2004)

#tumblr polls #doctor who #novels #telos novellas #2004 #blood and hope #fifth doctor

1 note · View note

studentinpursuitofclouds · 5 months

Note

Hiii. It's been while, but here I am to annoy you with the occasional prompt once more :P

How would the SDV + SVE spouses react to the farmer (who is their partner, spouses or just dating) introducing them to the racoon family? (Because I love torturing Magnus, maybe the parents end up trusting him with their children and make him their babysitter)

❗🦝Spoilers for SDV 1.6.🦝❗

_________________________________________

Heya, good to see you again! :3

When I wrote the headcanon about this, I'm surprised that no one in the game reacted to the new raccoon house. Like, nobody? Not even least Marnie or Leah? Oh, well... 😅Anyway, thanks for the ask and enjoy! 💕

SDV/SVE spouses react to the Farmer introducing them to the raccoon family:

_________________________________________

SDV bachelors/ettes:

The little gray lumps decided to playfully attack Sam right away, poking their wet noses at him and pawing through his bag looking for anything interesting. The young guitarist laughed resoundingly, and decided to use his hand as a "claw" to show the raccoons that he was accepting the game. The babies are having fun squeaking and jumping, Sam is outright glowing with happiness, the parent raccoons are taking a break from the noisy kids, and Farmer is taking pictures on their phone to capture this touching moment.

Sebastian was probably most at ease with the raccoons, sitting on the grass while the little cubs sniffed curiously at the stranger. Farmer crouched nearby, showing their forest friends that Sebby could be trusted. So in five minutes the little raccoons were already playing and jumping around the two of them without restraint. Funny little animals. He won't mind continuing to frolic with his friendly neighbors. Hm, maybe bring them a tasty treat?

Well... Those are definitely real raccoons. It's just that after Farmer's words "neighbors-raccoons", Elliott thought at first that his dear husband did not characterize people so kindly, and then the writer remembered that he had never heard of any new residents of the Valley. The raccoons were surprisingly calm, they seemed to know Farmer for a long time, and the cubs were not afraid of Elliott at all. "Meeting with the forest neighbors..." Hmm, not a bad title for his little novella...

When the Farmer told Harvey that they had purchased so many broccoli seeds from raccoons, the local doctor thought it was a bit of an odd joke that he had no way of understanding. But now he saw with his own eyes as the raccoon came out of their little house and gave Harvey's spouse a baggie of seeds, taking pine cones in exchange. A mixture of confusion and shock, and then complete acceptance of the fact, because, as far back as Harvey could remember, the Farmer had done stranger things.

Shane stood motionless, with a "I don't get paid enough for this shit" look on his face while little baby raccoons sat on his head, shoulders, and scratched his new shoes. He definitely thinks he looks silly. But they seem like cool animals, not aggressive, plus Farmer is smiling so wide and sincere at this picture. So Shane is willing to put up with the squeaky sounds of the fidgety cubs once a week. The only no is introducing his with Farmer children or Jas. Better save that sorry.

Raccoons? Not the same ones Alex's grandfather has been complaining about for the past week? The athlete is used to seeing them as pests, since Alex used to be the one who was always picking up trash from the overturned trash bin. So he shows a bit of distrust when he finds out that their "new cool neighbors" are raccoons. Although Alex has no beef with these raccoons specifically, they seem to be peaceful, plus their cubs are super adorable.

Oh, Leah had known for a long time for that tree stump mini-cabin near the farm. Excellent carpentry, by the way. It was very skillful. And the raccoons who had settled there were apparently enjoying their cozy new place of residence, which would shelter them from any weather. Nevertheless, Leah does not dare to disturb the local fauna and advises Farmer not to get close to the raccoons, believing that animals should be respected.

When Penny saw Farmer with raccoons in their arms, the girl wanted to scream in horror, but ended up just squeaking. These are certainly not dangerous animals like a bear or wolves, but even just a couple of aggressive raccoons can pose a serious threat to humans. And the fact that the Farmer was near their cubes... But these raccoons don't seem to mind human company... probably domesticated. Penny is certainly glad that everything went well, but maybe they both shouldn't bother the wild fauna any further?

So the Farmer has been buying carrot seeds from real raccoons all this time? That's awesome! Abigail isn't exactly thrilled about the carrots, though. She didn't seem too surprised by the situation itself. Even wanted to see what else the forest fauna were selling. Seeds, seeds, more seeds... Oh, magic rock candy? Now that's interesting! Especially while she's looking at all the possible items, the baby raccoons are playing with her. So Abby is very happy to have such neighbors.

Haley squeaked twice, the first out of delight at the raccoon family in their cute little house, and the second out of surprise and fear because the raccoons had come too close to her. They don't carry rabies, do they? She looks at her spouse, waiting for their answer. At Farmer's approval, she decided to gently pet the raccoon, who seems didn't mind at all. It was fun, but Haley had had enough contact with nature for the day. Btw, where is her camera? Because she'll definitely take a dozen cute photos before leaving.

On the one hand, Maru's inner voice urges her to counsel herself and her dear spouse against contact with wild animals. On the other hand, Farmer playing with baby raccoons is probably the cutest thing Maru has ever seen, and her heart instantly melts with an overabundance of cuteness. The young inventor would spend days asking the Farmer about the raccoons themselves and how come they made a house for them.

Forest friends! Emily is unbridled delighted that her spouse has introduced her to a family of raccoons. Small and bright animals that playfully run around the blue-haired girl while she herself smiles at the most adorable picture. The interaction alone filled Emily with a huge amount of positive emotions. Oh, and the raccoons look happy in their cozy little house! She should definitely sew a couple of warm plaids for them, so that the baby raccoons will definitely not freeze in winter.

SVE bachelors/ettes:

Considering that Magnus's partner had previously shown him their ability to talk to the forest fauna ("Deal with bear and maple syrup???"), the introduction to raccoons didn't surprise him too much. What did surprise him, however, was that the parents wanted to give him, a wizard they didn't know well, their raccoon children to look after. With all due respect, he was not a babysitter for forest animals! Magnus already had his own children and a pupil to look after.

*Chuckle* What a adorable forest family. Lance is rather pleased to hear that the Farmer and he have good neighbours. Although the gallant adventurer himself doesn't have a chance to talk to the raccoon parents (and to any wild animals), their behaviour towards Lance says that they are not aggressive and don't consider him a threat. He is more interested in the fact that Farmer is actively trading with the raccoons, exchanging coal for mahogany seeds...

Farmer, wait! Stay away from the raccoons, they can be dangerous! Why don't they listen to Victor? He knows what he's talking about. Moreover, the spaghetti lover has told them many times how he was attacked by a vicious raccoon in town a long time ago. He was terrified. So don't- Farmer? Where are you going? Please don't go near- Oh... Are these raccoons tame? Did they make them a house? To keep them warm in the winter? Oh, how nice of them- ???? Did- did they just buy carrot seeds from raccoons?...

Oh, a raccoon family? This is unusual. Well, Claire kind of realises that the forest is very close by, so it's no wonder there are wildlife running around. but she never noticed this little house with cute raccoon faces sticking out of it. The red-haired girl worries when Farmer gets too close to the animals, what if her parents think they're a threat to the little ones? But they seem to regard them as their own and allow them to be petted. Claire would rather watch from the sidelines if her spouse doesn't mind.

...Olivia was beginning to worry that these raccoons wouldn't hesitate to come to their farm and make a mess in the beds. Living in the city, she knew these animals as pests and disease-carriers that crawl through bins. So she honestly said she wasn't too comfortable around raccoons. Although these ones seem to behave differently, without aggression. And the house is pretty nice. But she will need time to get used to such "neighbours".

Oh, Yoba, the Farmer made this little house themselves?! And the raccoons have babies! Five, or even six! That's so cute! Sophia is even willing to forgive the raccoons for knocking over her trash can last week, because it's the cutest thing she's ever seen in her life. The pink-haired girl is still afraid to touch them since they are wild animals after all. But she'll definitely take 100+ photos of the forest family and be sure to show Scarlett, because it's super adorable!

142 notes · View notes